As for the neutrals, the beat thing that they could
do now for the peace of the world was to develop public opinion in favour of such a general agreement among the PoWera as might prevent war for the future. tut though Lord Grey said this, we are glad to note his very necessary reservation that the nations WhiCh inin- bined together to preserve peace must not underta.kis more than they were prepared to do, should the necessity arise, in the matter of upholding their principles by force at a time of crisis. It is all very well to talk of peace in the abstract. The real question is what sacrifices the nations are prepared to make and what risks they will run to maintain peace. Here the representatives of Britain dare speak with no uncertain- voice. The sacrifices we have made, and no one can say that they are small, were Made to secure the peace of' the world, and to prefent the carrying Mit of that 'destructive and aggressive German policy which must have brought either continual wars or such a system of slavery upon the world as would hat* been worse than war. We are fighting to secure peace for the future. If we had been to base, so short-sighted, so selfish as to let Germany and her conscript allies destroy first France and then Russia, we should hate perished, and deservedly perished, in the second edition of the world-war.
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