4 AUGUST 1917, Page 2

On Thursday week Mr. Ramsay. Ma Donald invited the House

of Commons to express its approval of the so-called peace resolution adopted by a majority of the Garman Reichstag on July 19th. German politicians are still disputing over the true significance of - that resolution. Mr. MacDonald submitted it in an adroitly modified form, omitting the assertion that Germany has -waged a purely defensive war, and omitting also the phrase, "The freedom of the seas must be secured," which, to Germans, implies the supre- macy of the German Fleet. On the authority of Vorwarta, the tame Socialist organ, Mr. MacDonald assured the House that German foreign policy would henceforth be conducted according to the Reichstag resolution, which was to be regarded as a "declaration of -the people, unofficial, free from authority." Eighteen members voted with Mr. MacDonald for his motion, and 148 against it.