It is especially interesting to see what attitude the Teuton savages assumed towards the efforts of those who were anxious to mitigate the horrors of war. In a handbook published in 1902 by the German General Staff, we observe the ruthless effrontery with which all the efforts of the men who negotiated The Hague, Geneva and Brussels conventions were swept away. It was laid down with absolute frankness that “German military authorities do not recognise the validity of any international conventions dealing with the laws of war.” Thus the scenes which have so shocked us in the present campaign are not inconsistent with, are, indeed, the logical outcome of, principles long since accepted by Berlin. War must be carried to its extreme, even against a peaceful population, because in this way the strongest inducements will be brought to bear upon them to admit conquest and therefore to accept the ultimate conclusion of peace. We know from recent reports of the French Government and other authorities that the murder of prisoners and wounded men has been of frequent occurrence, and that not once but many times orders have been issued to give no quarter. Hostages, also, have been terrorised. Taken in order to serve as securities for the good conduct of the civil population, they have not only been put in the forefront of danger but frequently killed in order to execute the decrees of “Terrorism.” What in point of fact is the German idea of waging war? Inasmuch as the duty of a nation at war is to conquer, all measures, however indefensible in time of peace, are justified. Moreover, if any engagements have been entered into during the pre-war period, they become cancelled when war has begun. Is it not absolutely necessary that a nation which adopts, principles like these should be so weakened in military strength as to render it impotent for mischief for at least half a century? W. L. COURTNEY [Illustration: MON FILS, BELGIUM, 1914 “Ah! was your boy among the twelve this morning? Then you’ll find him among this lot.”] Holland to Belgium Raemaekers knows far more about the real feelings of his own countrymen than a foreigner can do. We have seen that the Dutch people are full of sympathy for the Belgian refugees, and that they have helped them with great generosity. English fugitives from the war zone have also been kindly treated in Holland. But from what I have heard myself, I fear that there are many Dutchmen who do not realise that the existence of their country as an independent nation is bound up with the success of the Allies.