Mr. W. H. Smith, however, is not at all disposed
to concede that our national influence is on the decline. "The power of England," he said, "is at the present moment the make- weight, the equipoise, the safety of the world." "I am con- vinced in my own mind that if England were deposed from the position which the United Kingdom has occupied in the councils of the world, if anything deprived her of the power of self-defence and of maintaining her honour and dignity, it would be the first step towards the most disastrous conflagra- tion in Europe which the world has ever seen." Is not that a rather overcharged assertion of the influence of England in maintaining peace P What do we do to prevent Russia and France from engaging in war with Germany and Italy ? Is it true that we either should or could identify ourselves with the cause of the nation which should be the object of an unprovoked attack P
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