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THE WELSH OUTLOOK The Editor does not necessarily identify himself with the opinions of contributors to The Welsh Outlook." Editorial responsibility is limited to the views expressed in the Notes of the Month," and in the unsigned article immediately following. NOTES OF THE MONTH The New War. The real meaning of the breakdown of the London Conference, and the application of the sanctions by the Allies, is that we are again in a state of war with Germany-the only difference now being that our enemy is at the moment too weak to offer any resist- ance. What is most depressing about the sad affair is that the new invasion of Germany at the instigation of France, is, we fear, not even the last of the series of sharp practices played on the beaten and broken enemy since the Armistice. We believe, and have always said, that Germany should and must pay as much as she possibly can for the awful destruction which has resulted from her wilful entry into war in 1914. Her punishment must and will be great, but it must be justly assessed and justly executed. At present Ger- many can with truth charge the Allies with continuous breach of faith since the Armistice. She did not surrender unconditionally, but on the express understanding that the future for her and for her enemies would be governed by President Wilson's Fourteen Points. What does she find two and a half years afterwards? She herself <is to all intents and purposes disarmed, but on her borders and on her own soil she hears little but the rattling of the armour of her quondam enemies. She sees no attempt to extend to her the equal opportunities of trading which were promised as the economic basis of the new world. When she laid down her arms, the victors were talking of conciliation and arbitration," which soon, however, changed into force and sanctions. But now she finds the signed Treaty of Versailles (which was hardly an ideal manifestation of the Wilsonian Charter) disregarded. Under the provisions of that instrument the amount payable by Germany in the way of an indemnity was to be fixed by the Reparations Commission," and she could not be said to be in default unless and until that Commission had notified on or before 1st May, 1921, the extent of her APRIL, 1921. obligations. We have not yet heard that this has been done, and we fail to find anything in the Treaty, which carefully provides for the matter of reparation, to justify the invasion and occupation of enemy towns and cities. The whole dispute is one eminently suited for refer- ence to a real League of Nations, which is obviously the kind of body to decide whether the Allied claim is consonant with the terms of the Treaty, whether their estimate of losses and damages is reasonable, what is the value of the contribution already made by Ger- many, and what her further capacity is. And the failure of the Allies to use the League is an indication of the insincerity of their professions in regard to it. The Methods. What has already been done in the way of penalties will undoubtedly give the utmost satisfaction to French Chauvinists. Allied troops are already on the edge of the Ruhr district; the whole programme is likely to influence the Silesian plebiscite adversely to Germany; a most effective customs barrier will soon be set up which will isolate the Rhinelands from the rest of the German economic system-all steps towards the dis- ruption and dismemberment of Germany. In our last issue we warmly commended our Prime Minister for his speech on reparations at the opening of Parliament. No wiser words were ever uttered than his, when he said that a restored Germany was one of the urgent needs of our civilization. What must he think in his heart of these things? His own contribution to the new system is the idea to be found in the Reparations Bill, that of taking 50 per cent. of the price paid for all German goods sold to Allied customers, the German seller to be recouped by his own Government. The Chancellor of the Exchequer admitted that the success of the method depended on willing co-operation by Germany, which everyone in his senses knows to be impossible. Finan-