Cylchgronau Cymru

THE WELSH OUTLOOK The Editor dpes 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 Genoa. There is a tragic and a comic side to the Genoa Conference. The collapse of the Conference, only narrowly averted by Mr. Lloyd George s tact, would, indeed, be a dark event for Europe. The Bolshevik-German alliance, considered under all the circumstances, was not an unnatural thing, but it was foolishly done and most unwisely timed. It has added enormously to the task of those who desire the peace of Europe, and has given France an excuse for un- pleasantness and obstruction. The Bolshevik dele- gates are clever and resourceful, but the picture of regicide Republicans drinking champagne with the King of Italy and discussing religion with the Arch- bishop of Genoa while Russian peasants are starving, will hardly win them the respect of either their friends or their enemies. Still, these are details. The great fact remains that until Germany and Russia are brought into the comity of nations there is no hope of European peace and restoration. We wish this great conference success, but deem it the greatest of mis- fortunes that the two nations were not long ago admitted into the League of Nations and that it is not the League that is dealing with the great issues at Genoa. If only that they would, at any rate to some extent, be dealt with apart from purely domestic political issues, that in itself would be an enormous gain. Wales and the League of Nations. The great League of Nations Campaign in Wales seems to have commenced in deadly earnest at the first Easter Conference, which opened at Llandrindod on Wednes- day, April 20th. Major David Davies generous gift ought in itself to prove an inspiration and an incentive to all workers in the campaign. We are profoundly glad that we are going to have a truly national crusade on behalf of this great ideal, which inspired some of Our greatest national figures in the past. It is no wild or impossible dream to conceive MAY, 1922. of a hundred thousand Welshmen and Welshwomen banded together avowedly in the cause of peace, and bearing witness among the peoples of the earth to the great Christian truth of the brotherhood of men, nations, and races. It was a Welshman who wrote- Segurdod yw clod y cledd A rhwd yw ei anrhydedd, and it may be the mission of Welshmen in these stricken days to bring home the truth to the mind and heart of Europe. The Welsh organisers have started well by realising that the finest missionary field for this work is among the adolescents, and we hope that every school and teaching organisation in the country will become a temple of this gospel. Whatever the cynics and the realists may say, it is winning, and we welcome the prominent place given to it in the political manifesto of Lord Robert Cecil. Whatever its effects on party politics may be, it is of first rate importance as a declaration in favour of the New Internationalism. The first and foremost need of our civilization is for all of us to shake ourselves free from the Machiavellian political ideas which have been the curse of Europe for over four centuries. This will mean a great conversion, and, to secure it, all the religious and educational institutions of our land must co-operate, and by doing so they will themselves be- come revitalised in the process. Welsh Home Rule. We publish elsewhere a very able account and estimate of the Shrewsbury Conference on the Welsh Home Rule Bill drafted by the Welsh Members of Parliament, which makes it unnecessary for us to deal with it in detail. One thing is clear to everyone--that the Conference was a fiasco indeed, it is difficult to see how it could have been anything else. Wisely or unwisely the Welsh members decided to confer with representa- tives of the local authorities throughout Wales and Monmouthshire, and a more {unsatisfactory way of