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robbery with transparent sophistry. To assume that because, in time of war, Germany under its old Im­perial government, erected a submarine base in Flan­ders, the new democratic, non-militaristic Republic of Germany would erect such bases with aggressive intent in its African colonies in times of peace, is to close one’s eyes to the immense changes which have come upon the world. Not naval stations, nor submarines, but future laws governing the traffic of the seas in a non-militaristic world, which includes a free, non-mili­taristic ocean, must be the determining factors, if the League of Nations is to have a firm foundation in actuality.

The Real Value of Native Petitions.

It has been reported that a kind of petition had been signed by the chieftains of various native tribes in the German colonies, expressing their desire to remain under British rule. The trickiness of such a manœuvre and the worthlessness of such evidence scarcely require comment. One need only imagine how easily the Ger­mans would have been able to secure by purchase, persuasion or force, similar petitions from the simple- minded natives in the British Colonies, had the fortunes of war brought such colonies into German hands. One need only think of the petitions which would surely be signed not merely under coercion by savage or half-