THE PEACE FRONT

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 57, Issue 116, 26 February 1937, Page 5

THE PEACE FRONT

REGIONAL PACTS URGED. PRESERVING COMMON INTERESTS BRITISH GOVERNMENT’S VIEW. (United Press Association—Copyright.) (Received This Day, 12.20 p.m.) LONDON, February 25. Viscount Halifax (Lord High Chancellor) speaking at Southampton, defending Britain’s rearmament programme, said it was the view of the Government that the peace front might be immensely strengthened by a system of regional pacts whereby certain countries of the world sharing coaimon interests in those areas would *e piepared to unite themselves by a pact to do more than the League Covenant imposes, namely, to say jn advance, if peace were disturbed in those areas they would he prepared to fight to preserve it.

“I would regard it as frankly dishonest of this country to sign pacts oi undertake obligations arising out of them unless we knew we were in a position to be able to carry them out, said Lord Halifax. British' Official Wireless.

THE REARMAMENT LOAN. NO FEAR OF IMMINENT WAR. (Received This Day, 12.20 p.iP.) LONDON, February 25. The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr Neville Chamberlain), moving the second reading of the Defence Loans Bill in the House of Commons, welcomed the absence from the Opposition s motion for rejection the suggestion made by Major Attlee that the Bill'was a war measure. It would be unfortunate, the Chancellor declared, if any .apprehension of imminent "war was ctoated at a time when there was no rjeason or justification for any such fears. Answering charges that the proposals in the Bill would weaken national credit, and depress the standard of living, and that it contained no piovision for preventing profiteering-, Mr Chamberlain said that no matter in the whole problems connected with the rearmament programme had received more continuous or more concentrated attention than the prevention of excessive prices. Mr Chamberlain went on to sav that the national ciedic had been steadily built up during the last ygjii'g. The standard of life had been protected by the provision of. a constantlyf-increasing sum for social services.— British Official W ircless. POLICY TO BE CONTINUED. LONDON, February 24. Britain will definitely continue her rearmament policy until the nations of the world reach agreement for reduction of arms, said the Earl of Plymouth (Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs), in the course of a brief debate on foreign affairs in the House of Lords.