COLONIES AND PEACE

On February 10th, a motion opposing any transfer of British Colonies was presented to the House of Commons by a group of Conservatives. It declared "that this house vigorously opposes the transfer into any other hands of British Colonies or British Mandated Territories, for the welfare, protection and enlightened government of whose peoples the British nation holds an honorable and inalienable trust."

Historians in the future may very well cite this motion as one of the first official notices taken of the growing idea of colonial transfers. To be sure the motion is one of opposition but the very fact that such a proposal should even be introduced into the House of Commons shows that some individuals in authority have at last realized that peace can only be obtained through more equal territorial adjustments. Twenty years ago it would have been political suicide for any Government official even to speak of colonial transfers as a possibility.

The problem of the "have" and "have not" countries, as Mr. Frank Simonds used to call them, is fundamental. As long as there are nations in the world which do not possess natural resources or sufficient land to feed their populations, while at the same time other nations have more than enough of both, world peace is an unattainable goal. Slowly but surely educated people all over the world are coming around to Mr. Simonds idea of redistribution. Naturally this proposal will meet with ever stiffening resistance, particularly in the "have" countries such as Great Britain and France, but the idea is worthy and may become the savior of peace in the far future.