The New Europe/Volume 5/Three Centuries of Treaties of Peace

by G. G.

The idea carried out by Sir Walter G. F. Phillimore in Three Centuries of Treaties of Peace (Murray, pp, xvi + 227, 7s. 6d. net) is an entirely salutary one, and his execution of it is, up to a certain point, obviously sound. He clearly indicates the relationship between the unsatisfactory nature of former treaties of peace and the wars that followed them, and traces the evolution of their underlying principles. He gives us not merely a valuable, well-indexed book of reference, but proves a trustworthy guide in its interpretation. It is, therefore, all the more surprising that, in some aspects of the practical suggestions which he makes for the settlement of the present war, he should fail to carry his own principles to their logical conclusion. He doubts, for instance, whether the policy advocated by The New Europe with regard to the Czecho-Slovaks and Jugoslavs, as opposed to some form of limited autonomy within the Austro-Hungarian Empire, is justified either on grounds of expediency or of the wishes of the people themselves. Such a doubt is hard to understand. If, as the author submits, one of the main guarantees of the future peace is to be the principle of nationality, why not give it a fair chance, especially as the evidence as to the wishes of the people concerned is, for anyone who cares to read it, so overwhelming?G. G.