PEACE AIMS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 60, Issue 45, 2 December 1939, Page 6

PEACE AIMS

EARLY CONSIDERATION URGED. BRITAIN AND THE NEUTRALS. DEBATE IN THE COMMONS. (United Tress Association' -Copyright.) (Received This Day, 9.5 a.m.) LONDON, November 90. It was no exaggeration to say that the survival of civilisation in Europe depended on close aftd continuous cooperation between France and 'Britain, said Dr. Hugh Dalton (Labour), continuing the Address-in-Reply debate in the House of Commons. He hoped that the closer economic co-operation recently achieved might be only the first step in a Still Wider scheme in which other countries might participate. Urging early consideration in consultation with the French Government and the Dominions of the character of the Allies’ peace aims so that if the v.-ar should be shorter than was expected they 'would not he caught unprepared for the building of a peace which would endure, Dr. Dalton endorsed the Prime Minister’s reference in the de hate on Tuesday to the avoidance of vindictive terms. They should lot the German peoples know that after the war they desired a free, civilised Germany taking her place in a free, civilised Europe as a good neighbour. That might lead sooner than some expected to the liquidation of the Nazi system and its bloody instrument —the Gestapo. He advocated, as part of a framework for peace, that there should be in designating the new Europe of which Mr Chambeidain had spoken, some provision for the abatement of national sovereignty.

Defimrtion of Aims. The Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs (Mr R. A. Butler), replying, said that during the last war Lord Grey had defined the aims of British diplomacy in war-time as, first, the preservation of Allied solidarity, a«d, second, the maintenance of relations with neutral countries. In the present conflict, Great Britain and France had not only maintained Allied solidarity, but had made Allied unity. Britain had also maintained with suceess her relations with neutrals. “Our obligations in this respect are greater in this war than in the last because there are more neutrals,” said Mr Butler. The British Government understood the difficulties faced by neutrals and desired to spare them as far as was consistent with the primary objective of exercising belligerent rights and winning the war. The Government understood the hardships that neutral countries were suffering, and in the interpretation of the new reprisals would attempt to,spare them as much as possible. t

Having mentioned that the application of the new measures against enemy exports would he conducted by the Eriemy Export Committee, under the chairmanship of Lord Justice dtl Pareq. he referred to evidence of the extent to which neutrals understood the British position and appreciated the radical difference between Britain’s policy and tfie German policy of illegally sinking neutral ships at sight. Negotiations in Progress. Giving a review of the country’s relations with other States, Mr Butler said Britain was more closely allied with France, both in thought and action, than ever before. To the Polish Government they could look for valuable consideration and support. - Mr Butler referred also to a statement issued by the Polish Prime Minister (General Sikofski) and the Czech representatives after conversations in London, oil close collaboration between those' two victims of German aggression. The British Government realised the importance of those conversations and regarded them as a happy augury for the future. The Minister said he welcomed the •» . arrival in London of the Secretary-Gen-eral of the Turkish Foreign Ministry, ' accompanied by representatives of the Turkish finance and commerce ministries and the Central Bank of Turkey, to discuss political and economic questions, following the .closer relations that had been brought about between Britain and Turkey. He hoped the conversations would result in the moving of obstacles which at present might appear to prevent British-Turkish trade reaching the level it might and ought to reach. IMr Butler also assured Dr. Dalton that the needs of countries in Southeastern Europe were ever present in the mind of His Majesty’s Government. In particular, any opportunity to develop trade with Greece would he taken, and this was under active consideration, Turkey and Bulgaria. His Majesty’s Government welcomed the recent decision of the Turkish and Bulgarian Governments to reduce the number of their troops in frontier regions. That had diminished the tension and he hoped it would lead to a rej newal of confidence between those two countries.

After expressing gratification at the Portugese Premier’s reaffirmation before the National Assembly of Portuguese loyalty to the old alliance, Mr Butler said that relations with Italy were friendly. Wap-time conditions inevitably made difficulties which the British Government would do- its best to see interfered with legitimate Italian interests as little as possible. He hoped that the joint economic committee recently set up would result in an improvement of British-Italian trade and in mutual advantage to both countries.

A British commercial delegation had recently left for Spain and he hoped that as a result of the negotiations taking place in Spain the task of improving relations and trade with that country would he successful. The message of King Farouk at the opening of the Egyptian Parliamentary

session illustrated the common aims of Egypt and ourselves in the effort of this war, said Mr, Butler. Ho mentioned Egypt’s loss of substantial markets for her raw cotton in Germany, Czechoslovakia and Poland. He described sv proposal for buying up the crop to a given maximum if and where the price fell below' a given level. Official Wireless,