END TO AGGRESSION BY GERMANY

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 136, 6 December 1939, Page 11

END TO AGGRESSION BY GERMANY

ONE OF WAR AIMS

CONFIDENCE IN VALUE OF PACTS

BASIS FOR LASTING SECURITY

(British Official Wireless.) (Received December 6. 11.15 a.m.) RUGBY, December 5. Replying to a debate in the House of Lords on war and peace aims, the Foreign Secretary, Lord Halifax, said he would summarise what the British war purposes appeared to him to be. He continued: , "We desire the peoples who have been deprived of their independence to recover their liberties. We desire to redeem the people of Europe from this constant fear of German aggression, and we desire to safeguard their' own freedom and security. It is quite true to say that we do not seek aggrandisement and to redraw the map in our own interests, and still less are we moved by any spirit of vengeance. On the contrary, if Germany is able to restore the confidence which she has destroyed,, we aim at a settlement which will encourage her to take her* rightful place in Europe, and we wish to create an international order in which all peoples will be secure under a reign of law in which they might determine their political and economic life free from interference by more powerful neighbours. || "Tp this we would willingly give of our best, in full co-J| operation with other nations, including Germany, to the work'li of reconstruction politically and economically. Only by tha£^| means do we believe ordered international life in Europe can/* be preserved. **

"That general framework' will be found in the speeches of the members of the Opposition * just as much as in speeches by those who speak for the Government and in the views expressed in. statements made on behalf of the Dominions. It will be found in the declaration of M. Daladier and the French leaders of all parties, and I do not believe it will meet with dissent in any Allied quarters. This declaration represents the essential principles of a satistory and lasting peace. "I most devoutly hope the sacrifices of this war will lead to a truer appreciation of Christian values., As to the precise terms upon which this country would be willing to end the war today, his Majesty the other day, in, answering the peace proposals of the King of the Belgians and the Queen of the Netherlands, said it was not his wish,'nor that of his Government, for the war to continue a day longer, than necessary." Proceeding, he said that an answer to the question on what conditions his country would lay down arms was given by M. Daladier in a speech he made a few days ago. He said that the French, and he might have added the United Kingdom, would lay down their arms when she could treat with a Government whose signature could be trusted. She would treat when the wrongs caused to weaker nations could be righted and lasting security established, and he went on ,to indicate that France must have confidence that this security would endure. CONDITIONS FOR SUCCESS OF TALKS. Referring to a suggestion made in some quarters that an'armistice should be proclaimed and a conference summoned, Lord Halifax said: "The success of any conference depends on the conditions of its meeting, conference method was followed in September, 1938. We were willing to follow it again immediately before this war if Germany would have abandoned her intention of invading Poland and would have withdrawn her troops. "Did' the Munich conference secure lasting peace in Europe? An agreement was reached. Most' solemn assurances were given, and only six months afterwards Herr Hitler changed his mind. As he so often shows, he can always find excuses satisfactory to himself to justify action which completely contradicts assurances given earlier. That kind ; of right about turn after solemn undertakings does showthat no conference can surely be accounted a success unless that habit of disregarding assurances is abandoned. "There is littie use in indulging in wishful thinking about conferences unless the primary lesson has been learned that force is a Bad plan. There is evidence that the German Govern-! mcnt has not yet learned that primary lesson. Two prerequisites for conferences are firstly, that the German Government should be willing to acoept terms corresponding to the purposes for which we took up arms, and secondly, that there should be security that any settlement reached would be respected. On any. other basis a conference in my judgment would achieve nothing and would only be likely to enable the leaders of Germany to make their people believe that on the whole the old method of force had not worked too badly." GROWTH OF AGGRESSION. Lord Halifax added that the practice of aggression grew, and in the

last few days they had witnessed an inexcusable act which had been condemned. Open towns had been bombarded and women and children mutilated and done to death on the pretext that a nation of less than four million people had a hostile design against 180,000,000. The British people had experienced two deep emotions: they had been profoundly shocked by the circumstances of the Soviet attack, and they had profoundly admired the magnificent resistance of the Finns. At the meetings of the Council and Assembly of the League his Majesty's Government would make its position plain.

Commenting on this unhappy extension of the conflict, Lord' Halifaxsaid: "The Russian attack on Finland seems to me to be a direct consequence of Germany's policy. By an agreement which he thought would, give him a free hand to attack Poland, it would seem that Herr Hitler bartered what was not his property to barter, namely, the liberties of the Baltic peoples, and the sequence of events has shown the damage once the floodgates are opened."