June 17. is a dangerous thing," said Mr. Lloyd Georye the other day in the House of Commons, "to predict in the present world," and whd should know better than he, for how many of his predictions have proved incor~ rect? The thought arises after perusal of the Domei telegram carrying extracts from the "Lavoro Fascista," which, like other Ita= lion newspapers, finds much occasion for joy in the recent developments in the Far Bust, The "Lavoro Fascista" described the isolation of the Tientsin Concessions as a "new episode in the sad sunset of the British Empire, land went on to declare. "The English of today ave not the vame as those who in 1858 cupied Tientsin by force. 'Their rights were imposed on all races through initiative, will and force. But nowadays, not only in Asia but also elsewhere initiative, will, and force do not belong to the English any' lon yet." The wish, of course, is father to the thought, but the whole prediction is just one of the many which the British have managed to survive, The machinations of Japan do not appear in their proper Light to those who harbour such sentiments as those quoted above, for they do not realize that what is now happening to the British in Tientsin, shameful as it undoubtedly is, is the shame of every western Power, and for the future what they can look forward to with confidence, if Britain and France and the United States do not succeed in putting an end to it all. Let there be no mistake about it; the Axis Powers may very well rejoice at what is yoing on at the moment, but they may rest assured that if Japan succeeds in what she now attempting the turn of the Germans and Italians in the Far East will follow.
That is the significance of the Japanese in-spited ery of "Asia for the Asiatics," which lly means Asin as the exclusive domain Jupun. If they are inclined to place any reliance in whatever assurances they may have received from Tokyo, let them remember how Tokyo has been flagrantly breaking treaties and the Machiavellian reasons they have given for their conduct, If either Rome or Berlin is' inclined to plice any faith in Japanese promises, they fare living in a fool's paradise. If they' fancy that ultimately they will receive any share of the spoils, they delude themselves and the tuth is not in them. And they are in 4 more parlous condition than is the British Empire in this respect, for they are without means of protecting their interests, when, and if they come to be threatened, and the sWtangeness of their position is all the more to be emphasized when it is understood, as it should be, that the best insurance forthe protection of the interests of all Third-party
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.