The Security of Belgium Mr. Eden's visit to Brussels this
week was, by universal testimony, an unqualified success, by reason both of his singularly happy personal relations with Belgian Ministers and of his complete identity of view with them on general policy. Before the Foreign Secretary's arrival the terms of the British and French assurances to Belgium—guaranteeing her of their support against aggression but demanding no reciprocal guarantee from her, apart from the obligation of the League Covenant—had been published. No pew agreements were concluded, or attempted. It was enough, and mere than enough, that the foreign policies of Great Britain and Belgium were discussed informally and found to be identical, particularly in the matter of loyalty to the League of Nations. Here, indeed, the possibility of trouble is looming up, for Germany is credited with the intention of making her guarantee of Belgian security conditional on Belgium's repudiating her obligations as a member of the League. That it is certain she will not do. She has under- taken to resist any violation of her territory by all means in her power, but while her obligations under Article XVI of the Covenant have still to be thrashed out in detail she very rightly refuses to pledge herself to neutrality in the event of an aggression on one of her neighbours. Whether in these circumstances a Western Pact can be built on guarantees to Belgium, as M. van Zeeland hopes, is rather doubtful. The next word on that lies with Berlin. Meanwhile M. Frere, the Belgian Prime Minister's agent in the economic consultations, is discussing the situation with Dr. Schacht.
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