Page:The Great problems of British statesmanship.djvu/35

Rh the broad principles on which the map of Europe should be reconstructed at a future Congress. In the first place, the desires of the various nationalities to be united under a Government of their own are to be fulfilled. In the second place, territorial rearrangement will be made which will strengthen the peaceful nations, which will make unlikely a war of revenge, and which will secure the maintenance of peace for a very long time. In the third place, the nations which have fought and suffered are to receive suitable compensation, while those which have merely looked on will presumably derive little or no advantage from the general recasting of frontiers. Apparently there are only four questions which might lead to serious disagreement among the Allies. These are the question of Austria-Hungary, the question of Poland, the question of Constantinople, and the question of Asia Minor. All four questions are closely interwoven.

Russia is a Power which is viewed by many Englishmen with a good deal of distrust. Many people in this country fear that when Germany and Austria-Hungary have been defeated, Russia will become too powerful. They ask, Where will be the counterpoise to Russia if Germany should suffer great territorial losses, and if the Dual Monarchy should no longer form a single State, but should become dissolved into its component parts in accordance with the principle of nationality? To many Englishmen who have watched with concern the constant and apparently irresistible progress of Russia in Asia, that country is a dangerous, aggressive Power. They remember that many Russian generals and writers have recommended an expedition against India; that Czar Paul, during his short and tragic reign, actually prepared such a venture; that his successor, Alexander the First, also contemplated an attack on India by land; that more than once Russia has been at war with Great Britain. However, most of those who are thinking of Russia's aggressiveness and her former hostility to England are probably unaware that