Dee. 9.
VieWED from practically every standpoint the complications in which the three Allied Powers are involved with Greece are not pleasing. Indeed only the confirmed Royalist can be satisfied at the present trend of events. The ultra-radical views this movement to restore Constantine to his throne with dismay: the moderate would prefer, probably, not to have him back if a king there must be; the peaceably inclined see in him the harbinger of trouble; and only a dynastic loyalist can rejoice that he may once again take over control of the destinies of the country. So much for domestic differences of opinion. Amongst the Allies there is almost as much division. Of the three schools of thought, two might be said to be involved with the internal politics of the countries holding them, while the third adopts the attitude that, having once learnt an unpleasant lesson, it is the height of foolishness to incur the risk of having to con it again. That is France. By his affiliations and his conduct Constantine stands known as no friend of France. An ally of the hated German never can be, and, though it is by now almost axiomatic, France has suffered too much to witness unmoved the triumph of even the meanest of her enemies. She sees in this Greek vote for Constantine's recall a success of one of her foes and, as the good of a part strengthens the fortune of the whole, she cannot but look upon present affairs in Greece with considerable misgiving. Constantine was and is an enemy; his protestations unbacked by precedent in the past or deeds in the present are regarded by France as pure pretence, a bauble to pleasure children with, but not to delude a country which for years has stared red ruin in the face. The recent plebiscite, conducted though it appears to have been with considerable irregularity, does not really alter matters. The defeat of M. Venizelos at the elections was a sufficient portent of what was to happen, and, save for such irregularity, the position is very much where it was.
Great Britain's attitude pears on the surface to be just a trifle weak when compared with
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.