31 JANUARY 1925, Page 1

• The real point, however, is that no country could

ever so fully disarm itself as to be free of all blame. If France and Great Britain desire to stay on indefinitely in the occupied zone they will always be able to find some verbal pretext. Fortunately, Great Britain at all events does not want to stay. We wish we could say that Mr. Austen Chamberlain has managed this matter of evacuation discreetly.. Although Germany has not literally fulfilled the Treaty, for all practical purposes she is disarmed. We hold that our Government ought to deprive Germany of all excuses for saying that we have not made our intentions clear. If we know what we want, as we assuredly do, why not make it absolutely clear ? Mr. Chamberlain should cling to that one fact that Germany, by comparison with her neighbours, has no power left. Why give her a motive for building up a great army in the future ? In the French Chamber on Wednesday M. Herriot accuscd Germany of deliberately trying to re-arm. He also defended the Geneva Protocol as a most valuable instru- ment that would really make for peace.