Evening star., 1915-12-12

| tHdt tne Berlin agreement was Dut Il
temporary affair, certain 70 be cast
| into the melting pot when the. day of
war. no longer doubted in France,
| should come.
Peace Possibilities.
! So much for the past history. Now the
moment has come in the great war
| when the discussion of peace seems not
! impossible: at least there are growing
| signs of a willingness on the part of
Germany to discuss peace terms, terms
of a victorious peace" be it under
stood. but of a peace which al one time
recognizes German achievement and
does not call upon Germany's oppo-
nents to make sacrifices which they
are not willing to make, and are not
sufficiently beaten to be compelled to
make.
In this situation the talk of African
concession has already been heard
and will be heard with growing fire.
quency in the next few months. Thus,
not Il few German writer's have already
suggested that Germany should agree
to evacuate France and Belgium in re-
turn for the cessicn by France and
Belgium of their colonial territories
lying between the kamerun and Ger
man East Africa.
This suggestion takes cognizance of
certain obvious facts. Neither France
nor Great Britain can or will agree to
peace until Belgium is evacuated and
the integrity of French territory as
sured- 1t would mean the prolongation
of the war by several years if Germany
should insist upon permanent posses
sion of any part of France or Bel
gium. But if France is asked to sur
render only the mutilated Kongo region
liking in exchange Togoland and pos
siblv obtaining German assent to a for
NAL annexation of Morocco thus elimi-
created by the Berlin treaty, would the
French refuse?
Conceivably-and the project was
broached before the war-Germany
might consent to REIN burse France fur
ther by the cession of the French
speaking districts of Lorraine, which
include Metz and have upward of 300.
00G Inhabitants, two-thirds French.
This would give France a safe eastern
frontier and might end the Alsace-
Lorraine problem, which has hampered
German colonial aspirations so heavily
for the last forty years.
There are other variations that have
been mentioned. Germany might con-
sent to pay Belgium not an indemnity
for her losses, but considerable sum
for her African province, which would
amount to the same thing. She might
even consent to Belgian annexation of
Luxembourg, remote but conceiva BILE
concession.
England's Share in Bargaining.
Such an agreement might dispose of
France and Belgium. In point of fact,
it is excessively unlikely that France
would consent TO such a bargain, but
this will not prevent the Germans from
proposing it, as it has not stopped
them from discussing it. But what of
England?
in
Central Africa would at once wreck the
British dream of Cape-to-Cairo en-
pire. 1t would mean that a solid block
of German territory would interpose
between British Uganda and the South
African protectorates and between Nj
geria and British Sudan. 1t would make
Germany and not Great Britain the
leading power in Central Africa; it
would not impossibly presage precise
ly the same kind of continuing war
fare between Britain and Germany in
Africa that France and England waged
in North America for so many genera
tions.
But the Germans have an answer
They purpose to cede to Great Britain
the colony of Southwest Africa. which
has already been conquered by Botha:
, the German possessions in the Pacific,
which have been< taken over by the
Australians. and to assent to the pres
/ ent situation in Kiaochau. In return
4 Great Britain Will be asked 10 evacuate
the kamerun, now for the most part
| jointly occupied by the British and
{ French expeditions. The evacuation OF
Belgium and northern France is a fur
4 ther reward for British acquiescence
/ for the German advance to the chan
mel is primarily a thrust at Great Brit
ain.
What concessions Germany might be
1 willing 10 make in the near east to
4 what extent she would consent to
abandon her threat at Egypt and India
and surrender her predominant position
i in Constantinople, il is not possible to
! say. At the moment there is evil
/ dence that Germany would make any
concession, but. on the other hand her
desire for peace is unmistakabe.
Germany's Place in the Sun.
The basis Of the German protest
| against things as they are has lain in
the fact that alone of the great Euro
pean powers Germany has had no real
| share in the division of the world s
surface outside of Europe. Achieving
| her own unity late, arriving in time
/ only to obtain few minor possessions
!; the left overs Of the great colonial
I scramble Of the last quarter of the
nineteenth century, Germany has been
' Il. tls.. r.sfx.t tH..