The capture of Baghdad is at once a severe blow to Turkish power and to German ambitions. As he surveys the military position of the Turkish Empire, Enver Bey must begin to realise that the money was put on the wrong horse when the fortunes of Turkey were linked up with those of the Central Powers. To Germany the loss of Baghdad must come as a bitter disappointment. Was not the Baghdad Railway one of the brightest gems in the variegated necklace of German Imperialism? Our hearty congratulations to Sir Stanley Maude and the gallant troops he commands on as well conceived and carried out an operation as the war has seen.

On the Somme the Germans have been busy retreating to some as yet undetermined destination, sometimes called the new Hindenburg line. No one disputes that the retreat has been skilfully carried out, but that does not in any way impair the profound significance of the fact that retreat was found to be necessary. The yielding up of a large tract of French soil (including Bapaume, Péronne, and a hundred villages or so) is the direct result of the pressure exerted by the Allies in offensive gun and man-power. Heavy and continuous fighting is still in progress, and we have no sort of doubt but that the Allied Commanders and Allied troops will more than justify the proud confidence we all feel in them.

The German Chancellor's latest speech was a singularly ineffective performance. In effect, Russian revolution or not, he declares his motto to be " autocracy as usual so long as the war lasts, whilst the indemnity carrot is once again dangled before the nose of the German donkey. And donkey, indeed, it must be if it is willing to believe that its foes can be so defeated as to make them relieve the German taxpayer of the money cost of the war.

As to the submarine peril, it remains grave and menacing. We do not for a moment suggest that we shall not win through, but the toll taken by the U-boats is heavy, and thus far the rate of loss would seem to be fairly constant. Whilst the Navy strains every nerve to grapple with the peril, it remains for us all to do our share by limiting our consumption of foods, particularly when the supplies of the bulk of these have to be brought to us oversea.

Before we say anything as to the situation THE UNITED STATES as between the United States and Germany, AND GERMANY. let us redeem our promise made last month, and give the full text of Herr Zimmermann's Note to Mexico-a secret document which found its way into the hands of the U.S. Government, which at a suitable moment made it public. The text of the Note, short in length but pregnant in meaning, is as follows:

"Berlin, January 19th, 1917.-On February 1st we intend to begin submarine warfare without restriction. In spite of this it is our intention to endeavour to keep the United States neutral. If this attempt

is not successful, we propose an alliance on the following basis with Mexico :

"That we shall make war together and together make peace; we shall give general financial support, and it is understood that Mexico is to reconquer her lost territory of New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona. The details are left to you for settlement.

"You are instructed to inform the President of Mexico of the above in the greatest confidence as soon as it is certain that there will be an outbreak of war with the United States, and suggest that the President of Mexico shall, on his own initiative, communicate with Japan suggesting the latter's adherence at once to this plan, and, at the same time, offer to mediate between Germany and Japan.

"Please call to the attention of the President of Mexico that the employment of ruthless submarine warfare now promises to compel England to make peace in a few months.

"ZIMMERMANN.

Were its authenticity not beyond question, the document would be almost incredible; as it is, it is eloquent of the utter lack of scruple which characterises German methods, whether in diplomacy or in any other field of activity. Herr Zimmermann gaily and glibly defends his projected plan of campaign as perfectly natural and defensible. The Americans, however, venture to think " very otherwise." They realise-some possibly for the first time-the utter hollowness of German protestations of friendship and fair dealing. Even Mexico is said to be not at all enthusiastic over the genial rôle allotted to it, whilst Japan is (as need hardly be said) openly contemptuous of the grossly insulting suggestion made by Herr Zimmermann.

This number of the MAGAZINE (in consequence of the Easter holidays) goes to press just too early for us to know the full details of the results of the summoning (on April 2nd) of the U.S. Congress a fortnight before its appointed time. Mr. Wilson has made a speech in which he explained what he wants from Congress. Here is the decisive passage :

"With a profound sense of the solemn and the tragical character of the step I am taking, and of the grave responsibilities which it involves, but in unhesitating obedience to what I deem my constitutional duty, I advise that Congress declare the recent course of the Imperial Cerman Covernment to be in fact nothing less than war against the Government and people of the U.S.; that it formally accept the status of a belligerent which is thus thrust upon it; and that it take immediate steps not only to put the country in a more thorough state of defence, but also to exert all its power, and to employ its resources, to bring the Government of the German Empire to terms and end the war."

"We are now about to accept gage of battle with this national foe to liberty," he said a little later, "and shall, if necessary, spend

the whole force of the nation to check and nullify its pretensions and its power.

There can be little doubt of what the response of Congress will be, and by the time this is printed we have little doubt that the armed neutrality "* will have become a state of war, and that the great American Republic will have cast in its lot on the Allied side. A momentous event, which, like the Russian Revolution, makes the Allied cause more than ever one of freedom and liberty. Mr. Wilson's address, from which we have this month only been able to make the above short extract, was a very remarkable one, in that it explained how Germany has by her conduct and her methods and her aims made it impossible for democratic and liberty-loving nations to tolerate her action. Germany, in August, 1914, pressed the button for war, counting on a quick dividend for all that she had spent in time and thought and treasure on war preparations. Now, three years later, she finds herself treated by the greater part of the civilised world as an offender against the elementary and fundamental rules of public right and humanity. The moral effect of the Russian Revolution and the coming in of the United States can hardly be over-estimated.

THE BLOCKADE
OF GERMANY.

For many months one of London's "stunt "-loving newspapers has been working hard to convince its readers that our blockade of Germany was little more than a pretence and a sham. When the late Government was in office, Viscount (then Sir Edward) Grey, the Foreign Secretary, and Lord Robert Cecil, the Minister of Blockade, were persistently charged with obstructing the Navy in its conduct of the blockade. Agitation. was made for a real blockade," and by one method, and by one method only, it was urged, could this be secured-the giving of an absolutely free hand to the Navy to do what it pleased without any regard to the policy of the Foreign Office. The change of Government brought no cessation of this agitation; on the contrary, it was revived, and made the excuse for a campaign of spitefulness against the new Foreign Secretary, Mr. Balfour, and against Lord Robert Cecil, who, at the request of the new Prime Minister, retained his office as Minister of Blockade. But the "stunt (as Fleet Street calls these newspaper agitations) has received at last its quietus; debates on the blockade in both Houses on March 27th revealed that the agitation was all humbug.

Two days earlier Mr. Bonar Law, answering a question in the House of Commons, gave a broadside reply to the agitators :

:

The whole question of the blockade has been fully considered by the Cabinet with their naval advisers, and they are satisfied that the pre

*

It should be noted that China in the past month has followed the example of the United States, and broken off diplomatic relations with Germany, a step of real significance, even if it does not affect the military situation.

sent blockade policy is right in principle and is being efficiently administered. The accounts which reach us from Germany through many channels confirm this view."-(House of Commons, March 26th, 1917.)

In the House of Lords, on March 27th, Lord Lansdowne "heard with pleasure from Lord Hylton that the Government did not intend to make any serious change in their policy, which was, he was convinced, not only a wise and prudent policy, but the only policy this country could pursue." Lord Lansdowne summed up in a sentence what would have happened if any other policy had been followed. "Instead of having kept the neutrals in fairly good humour we should have had some of them at war with us by this time, and that was a risk he should have been very sorry to run." In the House of Commons, Lord Robert Cecil explained at great length the policy of the Blockade and the very large measure of success which had attended it. Very briefly, that policy is "to put the greatest possible economic pressure upon our enemies consistent with the paramount object of a military and political character." Lord Robert Cecil made plain that in this business the Foreign Office and the Admiralty are working in perfect harmony, and he gave abundant reasons why to attempt to transfer the responsibility of the Foreign Office to the Admiralty would be "a silly thing to do." Finally, came a declaration from Sir Edward Carson disposing, once and for all, of the main contention of the newspaper agitationthat the Foreign Office, moved by some "unseen hand," deliberately impeded the Admiralty in its conduct of the blockade. Sir Edward Carson had made it his business as First Lord to consult everybody at the Admiralty connected with the blockade, with this result:

"As far as I could gather they were perfectly satisfied not only that the policy laid down by the Government was being carried out between the Foreign Office and themselves to the best advantage of this country, but that the policy itself was the only possible policy, having regard to the complications that would ensue if you tried to adopt a more aggressive attitude towards neutrals with whom we are on perfectly friendly terms."-(House of Commons, March 27th, 1917.)

From which it is clear that the agitation for a real blockade had never the least justification since a real blockade, efficient and effectual, so far as circumstances permitted, was in operation all the time.

CAPTURE OF
BAGHDAD.

British Forces under General Sir Stanley Maude captured Baghdad on Sunday, March 11th. The decisive battle for the famous city of the East lasted three days. It was fought on both banks of the Tigris, and at its climax the Turkish troops were utterly routed, and in their flight left immense quantities of guns, ammunition, and stores behind them. Stanley Maude began his offensive on December 13th, and he recaptured Kut (surrendered by General Townshend after a gallant resistance, lasting 143 days, on April 29th, 1916) on February 24th.

Sir

After this success, Sir Stanley Maude kept the Turks on the run, and captured many thousands of prisoners, and pushed on to his greater victory, for which he received a special message of congratulation from King George.

Sir Stanley Maude issued a notable proclamation to the people of Baghdad, in which he assured them that the British armies came not as conquerors or enemies, but as liberators :

"It is the wish not only of my King and his peoples, but it is also the wish of the great nations with whom he is in alliance, that you should prosper even as in the past, when your lands were fertile, when your ancestors gave to the world literature, science, and art, and when Baghdad city was one of the wonders of the world."

Sir Stanley Maude gave the Arabs a full assurance of the friendly intentions of the British Government:

"You people of Baghdad, whose commercial prosperity and whose safety from oppression and invasion must ever be a matter of the closest concern to the British Government, are not to understand that it is the wish of the British Government to impose upon you alien institutions. It is the hope of the British Government that the aspirations of your philosophers and writers shall be realised, and that once again the people of Baghdad shall flourish, enjoying their wealth and substance under institutions which are in consonance with their sacred laws and their racial ideals Many noble Arabs have perished in the cause of Arab freedom, at the hands of those alien rulers, the Turks, who oppressed them. It is the determination of the Government of Great Britain and the Great Powers allied to Great Britain, that these noble Arabs shall not have suffered in vain. It is the hope and desire of the British people and the nations in alliance with them, that the Arab race may rise once more to greatness and renown among the peoples of the earth, and that it shall bind itself together to this end in unity and concord.

.

"O people of Baghdad! Remember that for twenty-six generations you have suffered under strange tyrants who have ever endeavoured to set one Arab house against another in order that they might profit_by your dissensions. This policy is abhorrent to Great Britain and her Allies, for there can be neither peace nor prosperity where there is enmity and misgovernment. Therefore, I am commanded to invite you, through your nobles and elders and representatives, to participate in the management of your civil affairs in collaboration with the political representatives of Great Britain, who accompany the British Army, so that you may be united with your kinsmen in north, east, south, and west in realising the aspirations of your race."

The full story of the capture of Baghdad will be told in due course in official dispatches, but these are not yet available.

BARBARITIES BY
GERMANS IN
RETREAT.

The Germans, in their great retreat in Northern France, added new precedents to their already terrible examples of frightfulness by so devastating the region evacuated that they literally left the inhabitants or those of the inhabitants they did not carry into captivity-nothing but their eyes to weep with. The facts are beyond dispute, and