WHY HOLLAND IS NEUTRAL.
rTo Tux EDITOR OP THE "SPECTATOR."1 Sin,—I have read with considerable interest the letter of my fellow-countryman " Batavier " on this subject. I cannot say, however, that I agree with all the arguments he has advanced, and in particular with his opinion that " Germany does not want to annex Holland." Unlike "Batavier," I do not reside in my native land, but I visit it frequently, and in the course of conversations on the subject I have gathered that a strong fear prevails that Germany regards Holland with covetous eyes, especially for the sake of its ports. Were this not the ease, what is the meaning of the defensive measures that Holland has taken against the only neighbour that could threaten her integrity and independence P I refer to the great works for flooding parts of the country, which are so complete that the pulling of a feW levers will suffice to let in the waters. Perhaps " Batavier" has heard of the bon mot attributed to a Dutch officer who once attended the military manoeuvres in Germany; if not, I venture to repeat it. Probably in order to overawe him, the Kaiser showed the officer some of the very tall men in the Army. None of them had any effect on the visitor, and at last, when the very tallest bad been paraded before him, the officer observed to the Kaiser : " Not tall enough, Sire. We can flood the country to the height of seven feet." The story may be of the ben trovato order, but if it be it serves to indicate the sentiments of the Dutch vis-a-vis Germany.
There is to my mind a very cogent reason not named by your correspondent why Holland is neutral. Geographically situated as she is, she has witnessed more than any other neutral nation the horrors of the present war. Tho roar of the guns is heard, the flames of burning towns are seen in parts of the country, more particularly in the provinces of Zeeland and North Brabant. Through these provinces, too, have passed tens of thousands of fugitives from Belgium— many of them dragging themselves wearily on foot—whose sufferings have been so cruel as to arouse the highest feelings
of pity in the warm-hearted Dutch. We in London have also witnessed the arrival in our midst of thousands of hapless Belgian refugees, but they have conic to our shores in more comfortable conditions. Is it to be wondered at, then, that Queen Wilhelmina and her Government wish to spare their country the horrors experienced by neighbouring Belgium, and hence abstain from entering too into this dreadful war?
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