Cylchgronau Cymru

Chwiliwch trwy dros 450 o deitlau a 1.2 miliwn o dudalennau

THE WELSH OUTLOOK The Editor does not necessarily identify himself with the opinions of contributors to "The Welsh Outlook." Editorial responsibility is limited to the views expressed in the Notes of the Month, and in the unsigned article immediately following. NOTES OF THE MONTH Peace- Before these lines are perused by our At Last readers the Peace Treaty will, we hope, have been signed at* Versailles, and a prolonged and ghastly tragedy brought to a close. But this generation, and still another, will have passed away ere the peoples of Europe will have recovered from the terrible sufferings it has entailed. As in War so in Peace, the Allied Nations have stood firmly shoulder to shoulder, and the enemy, with all his adroit manoeuvring, has failed to escape the -full penalty of his unspeakable crimes. It is a strong and a just peace. We bear no malice to the German people. The time may come when they can again be admitted on equal terms into the family of nations. But the time is not yet. Are there any indications that the people who made the war have realised the enormity of their guilt, much less repented of it? The shameless treachery at Scapa Flow was dictated by the same spirit as led the Kaiser's advisers to treat solemn treaties as scraps of paper and to convert peaceful Belgium into a quagmire of blood. Those of our friends who now pro- test that the terms of Peace are harsh have not yet realised that we are dealing, not with an honourable enemy, but with unprincipled statesmen who have regard only to the law of force. Britain and the Allies may well rejoice that the Peace they sought has at last been attained, and Wales, for its part, can regard with pardonable pride the noble Part played by its sons in ridding the world of its greatest Tyranny, and by that most eminent of its sons, the Prime Minister, in winning the war and securing the fruits of Victory. Wales and The National Conference at Llandrindod Autonomy I Wells, during Whit-week, concerning Self-government for Wales, will go down in history as the first occasion within living memory for Welshmen of all shades of opinion to agree on a common JULY, 1919. policy. There may, or may not, have been defects in its organisation a few who were not delegates may have participated in the voting some parts of Wales, notably Pembrokeshire and the county boroughs of Newport and Swansea, might have been more adequately represented, but, when all is said, the outstanding fact remains that in a conference to which the large majority of local authorities had sent duly appointed delegates, a resolution demanding full autonomy in all matters except those of Imperial con- cern was carried without a single dissentient. This marks a substantial advance in the campaign. Wales is no longer without policy or programme. What is now needed is a vigorous grappling with the many thorny issues which must be solved before a practical bill can be evolved. Self-instruction among leaders is even more necessary than enthusiasm on the part of the people. The terms in which Mr. Murray Macdonald framed his Resolu- tion on Devolution, to which the House of Commons assented, indicates the distance which Wales must yet travel to put itself on a level with Scotland and Ireland as regards its adaptability for the exercise of legislative and administrative autonomy. We congratulate the con- veners of the Llandrindod Conference upon having achieved so signal a triumph. Our pages this month contain much matter arising out of the Conference, and notably so the illuminating address on The Inter- national Settlement and Small Nationalities delivered by Professor A. E. Zimmern at the inaugural meeting. The Question On the question of a Secretary for Wales, of the the Conference fell far short of unanimity. Secretariat The Welsh members admittedly made out a strong case for such an appointment, and they were fortunate in securing the advocacy of their former colleague, Mr. Llewelyn Williams, K.C., whose arguments, largely based on personal experience, were