"It is a dangerous thing," said Mr. Lloyd George 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 incorrect? 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 East. The "Lavoro Fascista" described the isolation of the Tientsin Concessions as a "new episode in the sad sunset of the British Empire," and went on to declare. The English of today are not the same as those who in 1858 occupied 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 longer" 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 going on at the moment, but they may rest assured that if Japan succeeds in what she is now attempting the turn of the Germans and Italians in the Far East will follow.
That is the significance of the Japanese inspired cry of "Asia for the Asiatics," which really means Asia as the exclusive domain of Japan. 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 place any faith in Japanese promises, they are living in a fool's paradise. If they fancy that ultimately they will receive any share of the spoils, they delude themselves and the truth is not in them. And they are in a 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 ta be threatened, and the strangeness of their position is all the more to be emphasized when it is understood, as it should be, that the best insurance for the protection of the interests of all Third-party neutrals in this China Incident is that Great Britain, France and the United States should succeed in defending their own. For the purpose of temporarily embarrassing the democracies, both Italy and Germany are happily welcoming the endeavour an the part of Japan to undermine what after all are their own interests. But to return to the subject of predictions such as that of the "Lavoro Fascista," history has shown that Britain has managed to survive many of them. England survived Shelburne's atrabilious prediction that if the Americans obtained their independence "the sun of England would set and her glories be eclipsed for ever." Nevertheless he had seen how brief was the eclipse of glories of France caused by the loss of French Canada. This complacent acceptance of the theory that the British are a decadent race and that their sun is setting is completely traversed by the facts. The virility with which the British have replied to the demands for service which the policies of the Axis Powers have made necessary, the splendid volunteering which preceded the enactment of the compulsory service Bill, the uncomplaining readiness with which the taxpayers have assumed burdens heavier than in most lands, are all indices of that great inherent strength and determination which permits of the same prophecy which Ruskin made in another connection, that "The sun will be redder still" before that setting which so many of Great Britain's enemies gleefully expect in the near future.
If it is admitted that the British since the Great War were up to a few years ago taking things much too easily, that arose out of a very real desire to bring permanent peace to the world. If she is not so strong from a naval point of view as she was when that struggle come to an end, it was because by example it was hoped to persuade the rest of the world to reduce their armaments. That her policy failed was due to no fault of her own, but to suggest that Great Britain has lost either the initiative, the will or the force to protect her own interests is to indicate complete failure to read the handwriting on the wall. The British lion has always taken a deal of rousing, but once he is stirred to action there never has been, and will not be now, application of the half measures of the decadent, but the whole-hearted striving of the virile. It is one of the characteristics or the possessor of strength that he is so often reluctant to use it. Once the huge forces which the British Empire has under its control are loosed, and have failed of their purpose then, and only then will the time have come to expect the setting of that sun for which some people so constantly yearn. Mistakes of policy, and there have been many enough in all conscience, need not necessarily reflect upon the willingness of a nation to fight to the last to defend its interests. Because Great Britain has been faced with a series of difficult problems by the almost complete collapse of international morality, which at the present moment do not appear easy of solution the impression formed in some quarters is that she will never solve them. Again wish indulges in some more parenthood, but similar problems have been presented in the past, when solution has been long deferred, and it is that very patience which the British have demonstrated throughout their history which is most to be feared by those who consider themselves their enemies. That patience is being sadly frayed, but if matters come to the breaking point the British Empire may be depended to give a very good account of itself and it will be seen that the sun is neither set nor setting, but is becoming redder still, Ministry of Information Intentions of the British Government to create a Ministry of Information have received abroad pointed interpretations almost amounting to a degree of protest in those countries whose propagandist efforts helped to inspire the new British departure. Some of the doubts have been cleared by the explanation that that Government does not contemplate the creation of a propaganda factory, but a shadow organization of about a dozen people will be formed as the nucleus of a war-time organization. In the meantime, however, a more practical conception of the Government's plans is found in the hope that immediate steps will be taken to obtain a wider dissemination of British news in order to counteract the tremendous propaganda let loose to cloud opinion and distort issues in a manner which contemporary history has so graphically revealed. This aspect of the general problem applies in a very definite respect to Shanghai and the Far East where the British case has suffered severely in its presentation to the world through the extremely efficient and prompt action of one party in getting in first, and the extremely dilatory action of the British authorities in attempting to catch up. Sheltered behind the impeccable attitude that truth will out notwithstanding the calumnies which preceded its progress, the result generally has been unfortunate, and no amount of retarded correctness and subservience to long-established procedure is proof against the skilfull propagandist. Not that anybody wants propaganda in its modern sense. The best propaganda any country, sure in its own righteousness, can disseminate is the truth but it should be not be delayed in its Publication. There has been considerable discussion in Shanghai recently for more effective distribution of information from British official in view of an increasing volume of atements. Even the Japanese spokesman at the press conference on Thursday had some remarks to make on the question, emitted in cynical vein, but recent incidents have shown that there should be no feeling of offended propriety in getting to work at once. No doctor waits for peritonitis to set it before operating to remove a painful and useless apbendix. As Swift observed: "Falsehood flies and truth comes limping after it, so that when men come to be undeceived it is too late."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.