THE BOER WAR AND THE FUTURE OF 41OLLAND. [To THE
EDITOR OF 'THE "SPECTATOR."]
SIR,—Most Englishmen at all acquainted with German aspirations will agree with your able correspondent, Mr. Conybeare, in the Spectator of February 10th, that they point to the eventual annexation of Holland, or at least to so bringing it within the sphere of influence of the German Empire as to enable the latter to control its Dutch ports and its valuable Asiatic possessions. What then should be the attitude of England should an attempt be made to realise these aspirations ? The writer submits that it should be of non-intervention. Holland has, perhaps fortunately for us, forfeited any claim which she may have had on our assistance by the hostile attitude of her Press and her people in connection with this war, which war, it should not be forgotten, is largely due to the baleful influence of the Hollander clique at Pretoria. It may, how- ever, be said that we ought to oppose the extension of German domination in this direction purely on the ground of self-interest. But the soundness of this view is open to ques- tion. As tbinga stand at present, in the regrettable and impro- bable event of a war with Germany, a large German trade could be carried on through Rotterdam, with which we should be powerless to interfere ; whereas, were Holland in any sense a part of Germany, we should have a free hand to deal with Dutch ports as we should with Hamburg or Bremen—no small advantage--even were some German trade still to pass by way of Antwerp. Moreover, your wise remarks in the Spectator of February 10th as to the vulnerability of Russia increasing with her acquisition of fresh ports must be allowed to hold good in the case of Germany, always, of course, assuming that we maintain that naval supremacy which Mr. Cobden rightly said we must keep, even if it cost us a hundred million a year. And surely the same line of argument applies, only with even greater force, to Belgium. Holland has perhaps little reason to be grateful to us ; Belgium owes largely to us her creation and existence as a nation, yet the tone of her Press in this hour of our trial is one of virulent enmity. Let it be remembered that we stand committed under a treaty, which (I speak under correction) is still in force, to defend Belgium in case of invasion, and that we might under con- ceivable circumstances find ourselves compelled in honour to fight France and Germany combined, or to choose the other alternative of ignominiously crawling out of our obligations as we did under somewhat similar conditions in the case of Denmark. It is to be hoped that when this war is over, and we have leisure to reckon up our friends and our enemies, consideration may be given to the question as to whether we should not denounce this treaty while we can do so with honour. We should still be free to resist the annexation of Belgium by France or Germany if purely British interests seemed to demand such action.—I am, Sir, &c.,
.1C Wetherby Gardens, S. W.
LEEDHABI WHITE.
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