TOPICS OF THE DAY.
MR. LLOYD GEORGE'S SPEECH AT GENOA.
IF tactful eloquence, happy phraseology and an optim- istic spirit could alter physical facts, change human nature, bring back yesterday, or unlock the gates of the future, Mr. Lloyd George would be the greatest man alive. He has all the talents of all the orators in his own person. He never scolds. He never bores one with un- necessary doses of rhetoric. He goes as near as possible to making positive statements which do not invoke the law of reversed effort. In a word, he is the greatest manipulator of words not only of our time but perhaps of all ages. When somebody proposed in the height of the enthusiasm over Garibaldi that he should become an Englishman and marry Miss Burdett-Coutts, some pedantic person put in the objection that Garibaldi was already married, and received the reply, " That does not matter. We can easily get Gladstone to explain her away." Mr. Lloyd George is willing and able to explain away any difficulties that obstruct his path, and while people are listening to him they feel that even the most tremendous of iron gates will swing back on their hinges at his word ; the rocks divide ; the waters dry up; and all oppOsition to the smooth progress of his schemes ceases to exist. But, alas, words are not as potent as they seem. Realities are untouched by rhetoric, nor can sharp-toothed rocks and foaming seas be permanently quelled by words. While the orator is speaking the charm is working, but the hard, practical world breaks back with a rush almost as soon as the reverberations of the silver voice have died away.
But though caution makes one determined not to deceive oneself about the Genoa programme nor let hope triumph over experience, we are bound to say that provided Mr. Lloyd George can get a true and lasting assent for his pro- posals and does not merely have to trust to an assent en- forced by his personal magnetism, the Genoa proposals are excellent in themselves. Mr. Lloyd George has described them so tersely that we cannot do better than quote his actual words. His first point, and a point not of ceremony but of substance, was that all the Powers met on equal terms : " We mei'', on equal terms, provided we accept equal con- ditions. We are not here as allied and enemy States. We are not here as belligerents and neutrals. We have not come together as Monarchists, or Republicans, or Sovietists. We are assembled as the representatives of all the nations and peoples of Europe, to seek out in common the best methods for restoring the shattered prosperity of this continent, so that we may each build up in his own land, each in his own way, a better condition of things for our people than the world has yet enjoyed, but, if we meet on terms of equality, it must be because we accept equal conditions.
Mr. Lloyd George added that the Genoa Conference assembled under conditions which the inviting Powers had laid down at Cannes. These conditions applied to all alike. They were, in fact, the conditions which had hitherto been accepted by civilized communities as the basis of international good faith. They did not derogate from the complete sovereignty of States. Mr. Lloyd George then went on to summarize these conditions under four heads " The first is that when a country enters into contractual obligations with another country or its nationals for value received, that contract cannot be repudiated whenever a country changes its government without returning the value. The second is that no country can wage war on the institutions of another. The third is that one nation shall not engage in aggressive operations against the territory of another. The fourth is that the nationals of one country shall be entitled to impartial justice in the courts of another."
Mr. Lloyd George, with that touch of firmness which he knows so well how to employ even when his mood is most conciliatory, said that, if any people reject these elementary conditions of civilized intercourse between nations they cannot be expected to be received into the comity of nations. _ He went on to declare that, the fundamental basis of the Conference being what he had described, " all those who accepted the invitation must be presumed to have accepted the conditions." That was a view which be had every reason to believe was accepted by every country represented in the assembly.
Mr. Lloyd George's next point, and, needless to say, a very sound one in the abstract, was that the good of another country was not necessarily an evil for one's own land. On the contrary, each nation ought to realize that what benefits all lands must necessarily be best for itself. " The world," he went on, " is one economic unit." That, of course, is one of the few absolute things that can be affirmed in the region of politics. It is only another way of stating a truth which, though it ought to be universally admitted, is, alas, universally ignored or even denounced. We mean the fact that men trade with each other as individuals, and that the talk about nations trading is not only untrue but is exceedingly mischievous, for it provides a premise which, though it looks like a harmless metaphor, will, when used syllogistically, lead to most dangerous results. It was because of this economic personification of the nation that the Spaniards tried to hoard the gold of the Indies rather than make more wealth by encouraging the exchanges. The inevitable result was that they ruined their country, destroyed their industries and demoralized their people till they became a race of gilded beggars. Spain could not begin to recover till she lost her useless monopoly over the precious metals. When she lost that she began to mend. Let us trust that the new world will not fail to note the awful warning and example afforded her by the old. You cannot eat gold. Its only use is to go spinning round the world. It is not a cause but merely a carrier of prosperity, and carriers are only useful when they are on the road. We ask pardon for dwelling so long upon this simple point. Unless, however, it is properly understood that trade is only carried on between individuals, we shall never get that economic peace which is even more important to us than the peace that comes with disarmament. Exchange must be our watchword. If we can once more embrace the life-giving principles which were practised and supported in the great Hall in which the Conference sits, we may once more see prosperity spread its healing waters over the world. Mr. Lloyd George ended his speech with a peroration so good that we must once more have recourse to verbatim quotation :- "There are thirty-four nations represented at this table, and the interest taken in the Conference by the world is by no means exhausted by that representation. The Press of practically the world is represented. They would not be here if the great publics, which, according to their genius, they either fortify and instruct or alarm and chasten, were not deeply concerned in our proceedings and anxious as to the results. The world will follow our deliberations with alternate hopes and fears. If we fail, there will be a sense of despair which will sweep over the whole world. If we succeed a ray of confidence will illuminate the gloom which is resting on the spirit of mankind. Europe is the cradle of a great civilisation, which during the last five hun- dred years has spread across the globe ; that civilization has been menaced with destruction by the horrors of the last few years, but if we do our duty manfully and fearlessly we shall prove that this Conference, meeting as it does in the sacred week of that civilization, is capable of achieving its exalted purpose by establishing on a firm basis peace and good will amongst men."
We cannot leave the matter without alluding to the breeze or incident which threatened to mar the good impression made by Mr. Lloyd George's speech. It is unfortunately only too good an example of our contention that just as hard words break no bones, so words whether hard or soft remove no mountains and alter none of the facts of human nature, or at any rate alter none of them permanently. The rhetorician suffers the same anxious pangs as does the man who bribes. As he goes home with his empty gold bags he is apt to repine. The trouble is not buying the people, but that they won't stay bought." The trouble is not to fascinate your hearers, but to keep them under the spell after you have sat down. In the present case, for example, it looked at first as though Mr. Lloyd George had by his mixture of. conciliation and firmness quite smoothed away the prospective difficulties of fitting the Russian delegates into the Conference without committing the other Powers assembled into a full and not merely an ad hce recognition of fellowship with Russia. In a word, he managed to pledge the assembled Powers to equality of status in the Conference, if not to equality outside. But M. Chicherin, the Russian delegate, when he spoke insisted, as was perhaps only natural, that the status of Russia should be expanded and enlarged. Russia, he declared, would go beyond the Cannes resolution :- "They would support any proposals calculated to avoid a new war or designed to lighten the burden of armaments. But they must demand as indispensable a guarantee against attacks from outside, and they must also demand reciprocity in financial relations."
An English or American delegate might have passed this over as the babble of the political auction room or shrugged his shoulders with the remark, " Well, we shall see about that later." Not so the French delegates. It is the nature of Frenchmen, nay, it is the nature of the Latin temperament, to disperse fog, to insist upon clarity and to submit all vague statements to a searching analysis. M. Barthou accordingly pointed out that the things touched on by M. Chicherin were not on the Agenda of the Con- ference. Here is the Times summary of his remarks :- "Nothing in the Cannes resolution prepared us for such a Conference. The Russian delegates also suggested that the Conference of Genoa would be the beginning of other Conferences which the delegates here present would be morally bound to attend. ' This, again, is not referred to in the Cannes resolu- tions, and in the name of the French Delegation and of France I must protest strongly against these two questions being raised.' There was, besides, a third question which was deliberately put aside at Cannes, and on which France could accept no discussion. M. Chicherin had announced his intention of introducing the question of disarmament. This,' added M. Barthou, ' is not on the Agenda, and I say simply but clearly that when and if Russia wants to examine this question she will be faced not only with tho reserve of France, but with her protest and absolute final and decisive refusal to discuss it. Her attitude will be the same if in Committee the President allows the problem to be raised at all.' M. Barthou pointed out that earlier in the after- noon his speech had been very conciliatory, but there were times when one must say No. He was convinced that the Italian delegation would support him in insisting that no one could escape from the Cannes resolution either directly or indirectly."
Mr. Lloyd George, who has a sound diplomatic instinct for being on the side of the big battalions, made a charac- teristic but very able comment on the incident :— " If Chicherin removes the load-line of our Conference ship he will sink it, and he might be among the drowned. Let Chicherin finish this voyage and go home with all he can carry. Then we will welcome him on another voyage when we know what sort of a passenger he is."
Though that looks a little hostile to M. Chicherin, that could easily be diluted in a private talk, which in all prob- . ability is going on as we write. Mr. Lloyd George is a master of the Celtic art of making a strong statement in public and of reducing it in private. He often reminds us of the inimitable conversation in Stevenson's Kidnapped, in which the unfortunate suspected Stewart explains to Allan and his friends how he was obliged to " paper " them, i.e., by offering a reward for their arrest. It meant nothing, he explained, but if he did not do it he would have the legal authorities down upon him. He had taken care to have it issued in such a way and at such times as would soothe the enemies, and yet do the hunted men no harm. That, of course, is what a diplo- matist is often called upon to do, and we make no complaint. We trust, however, that Mr. Lloyd George will not overdo what we may call the policy of placation. It is, like many other poisons, all right in very small doses ; but you do far more injury than good to the patient if you are not very scrupulous in employing it. All we can do is to wish, and this we do most sincerely, a happy voyage for the new Columbus and his strange vessel and portentous crew. If he can only bring her safe to land through the perils of the Gulf of Genoa he will indeed be a wizard helmsman.
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