In the House of Lords on Wednesday the Archbishop of
Canter. bury initiated a debate on the policy of reprisals, in connexion with the Allied air raid made on Freiburg by way of retaliation for . the attacks by German submarines on our hospital ships. Tho Arch- bishop protested most strongly against the policy, and the sense of the House was clearly with him. Lord Curzon explained that the War Cabinet, in threatening reprisals, had hoped to deter the Germans from committing such outrages at sea, from which their wounded as well as ours would suffer. He was uncertain whether the Freiburg raid had not had the desired effect ; only one hospital ship had been sunk since then, and the guilty submarine commander might not have known of any change of policy on the part of his superiors. In any case, Lord Curzon hinted plainly enough that the War Cabinet had no liking for reprisals, and did not want to continue them. There is no desire among sober people to add to the Government's difficultiee by criticism of their war measures, but we shall be heartily glad if Lord Curzon and his colleagues can keep clear of such methods in future.
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