The Winds of Strife in the Far East
THE present instability of the world's peace equilibrium, which came so near to being upset by the sudden and unlooked-for event in the North Sea, is filling the minds of statesmen with apprehension for the immediate future. The following dispatch from Paris, under date of October 31, shows how this apprehension is making itself felt in France:— The prospect that the Russo-Japanese war may last indefinitely is beginning to cause uneasiness among thinking Frenchmen. Diplomacy had to strain every nerve to bring about a pacific issue to the recent Anglo-Russian incident, and it is idle to deny that there is general apprehension that other incidents of equal gravity may arise, and prove less amenable to adjustment. This apprehension probably prompted an important article by M. Hanotaux, formerly minister of foreign affairs, published here to-day. The war, he says, may go on for years without decisive result. Only one thing has so far been accomplished; namely, the demonstration of the bravery of the two armies. The most simple course would be to shake hands. It is high time to do so, if the greatest misfortunes are to be avoided. Is it not henceforth evident, M. Hanotaux asks, that the most peaceful powers are merely awaiting a surprise or a coup d'état. A mere imprudence may engender a new flood of blunders, in which the whole world would be precipitated. Still the winds of strife are being held by the four angels of Revelation 7, that the work of the third angel of Revelation 14 may not be interrupted. The present war is indeed one of great magnitude, but the whirlwind of strife is in a remote corner of the earth, to which the sound of the third angel's voice has as yet scarcely come.