5 SEPTEMBER 1925, Page 2

It may be said, " Surely, the plain solution is

to revise the Peace Treaty." But Germany knows perfectly well that France will not dream of consenting to that. She ought to remember that Great Britain is compelled by the circumstances to act with France. If Germany is wise she will trust to us to do all that we can to help her, but she cannot expect us to do what is physically impossible. Much the best and most hopeful course is for her to join the League as soon as possible. She will then have countless opportunities of impressing the world with her case whenever it is reasonable and just. We have men- tioned the dangers to Germany, but it can hardly he denied there are also dangers to Great Britain in the form of new commitments if the Pact should be adopted. On the whole we feel that our obligations under the Covenant are enough for us to bear, and that if we consent to new commitments they should be, as it were, only an imple- menting of the Covenant and not commitments entirely new in kind.

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