NEWS OF THE WEEK.
THERE is only one fact to be recorded in regard to the negotiations with France as to the German Note. It is that France is preparing her reply to our communication, and that Belgium is doing the same. It is rumoured also that Belgium and France, owing to certain differences of opinion that have arisen, will answer not jointly, as at first proposed, but separately. But though so little is known as to what is happening behind the closed diplomatic doors, the question of our relations with France remains the vital problem of the hour. The world feels that for the moment nothing else matters. If France continues to demand her full pound of flesh, whether it kills or does not kill her prisoner, we cannot merely regret her action and deplore its conse- quences. We must actively oppose her and do our very best to prevent the destruction, moral and economic, of a nation whose existence, whatever her past crimes, as a stable working community is essential not only to the welfare of Europe but to the continuance of civiliza- tion. This sounds like an exaggeration, but it is literally true. France's veto on a settlement which will allow the world to get back to work, if maintained, means ruin for us all. We shall not, of course, attempt to use force against France to stop her progressive occupation and destruction of Germany, but if France persists in her present course we must pursue a line of policy which cannot but end in her isolation. But that, she will find, will contribute little either to her security or to her pros- perity. It is an appalling prospect ; but to leave her to kill herself and us and the rest of Europe without an attempt to restrain her madness would be to choose the greater of two evils.
