A SPECTATOR'S NOTEBOOK
" TN our private lives we have learnt to consider the - .11. rights and feelings of our neighbours. If we did the • same in international affairs world-peace would be more secure." Who, if asked to guess the author of these admir- able words, would hit on Lord Rothermere ? Yet there they are, in Wednesday's Daily Mail, as preface to an article ay the proprietor of the Mail advocating the trans- fer of the mandates for Tanganyika, the British Cameroons and British Togoland to Germany. The territories in ques- tion, were, of course, German colonies down to 1914. Since I have more than-once expressed in this column sharp dis- sent from Lord Rothermere's views, I am particularly glad to call attention to an article which, whether it represents a change of outlook or not, does emphasize Most valuably the necessity in all international relations, as in all personal relations; for both- understanding and considering the feelings of our neighbours. Whether it is altogether opportune at this moment to encourage German claims to the old German colonies—it is only a compara- tively small section centring round Dr. von Schnee who keep the question alive, and Herr Hitler the other day disclaimed all colonial ambitions—is a little doubtful. But a sign of goodwill would be valuable, and if it were a joint act by Britain and France, involving the transfer to German mandate of the British and French Cameroons • and British and -French Togoland, if and when Germany returned to Geneva, it might have excellent results.
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