FOR SOLUTION.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 64, 16 March 1936, Page 7

FOR SOLUTION.

TASK OF THE LEAGUE.

Views of Leaders at Council

Meeting,

GERMANY CONDEMNED. United Press Association. —Copyright. (Received 11.30 a.m.) LONDON, March 15. At the public meeting of the Council of the League of Nations in St. James' Palace the .British Foreign Secretary, Mr. Anthony Eden, said it would not be tpo much to say that the future depended upon the wisdom of its decisions. In Britain's view it was patent that an incontestable breach of the Versailles and Locarno treaties had been committed by Germany. If this conclusion were shared it would be for the Council to endeavour to find a solution of the difficulties of the co-signatories of the Locarno Treaty.

"The Council may count on Britain's fullest co-operation in endeavours to establish peace and understanding on a firm and enduring foundation/' said Mr. Eden.

The French Foreign Minister, M. Flandin, said the German troops in the Rhineland were not symbolic, but comprised more than 30,000 members of the regular army, not to speak of those officially enumerated from Berlin. France had not so much used her right as she had obeyed her duty. If it were only a matter of right, the Locarno Treaty authorised her to take urgently decisive measures.

France, however, was anxious not to add any element of trouble to the European situation, said M. Flandin. Therefore she had abstained so as to give full meaning to respect for international law. The exchange of Notes in May and June amply refuted the German arguments against the FrancoSoviet pact. Locarno Treaty Voided. Germany had not accepted France's declaration that she would remit the pact to the Hague Court and had not sought a common discussion with the Locarno signatories. Instead, Germany had voided the Locarno Treaty, which Herr Hitler admitted had been freely negotiated, also Article 43 of the Versailles Treaty. An offence against this article was described in Article 44 as a hostile act. In asking that this violation should be borne witness to France simply invoked the application of the law. Once the evidence was established it would be the business of the guarantors to furnish France and Belgium with the assistance for %vhich the Locarno Treaty provided. M. Flandin impressed upon the nonsignatories of Locarno that it was a question not only of general peace but of the existence of the League itself. It was a matter of knowing if the practice of un fait accompli and the unilateral repudiation of agreements freely anl solemnly accepted was going to be put up in Europe as a political system. The French Foreign Minister asked the Council to bear witness to Germany's breach and to notify the Locarno signatories so as to put them in a position to fulfil their obligations in regard to assistance. It would be for the Council to examine how it could reinforce this action by recommendations of members of the League. No doubt Germany's decision had been prepared for a long time, said M. Flandin. Germany's arguments were nothing but a pretext chosen from others which they had considered before. France was resolved to put at the disposal of the League all her material and moral forces to aid it to overcome one of the gravest crises in the history of peace and collective organisation. M. Flandin added that France had the right, according to the Locarno Treaty, to take brutal and decisive measures but she relied entirely upon the wisdom of the Council. Dr. van Zeeland, Prime Minister of Belgium, said the demilitarisation of the Rhineland was one of the essential elements of the security system of his country, because she had the longest common frontier to Germany. "The Locarno Treaty is the very basis of our international status," said Dr. van Zeeland, "and a breach of that treaty is serious for a country which relies upon the structure of international law for her security. Belgium never has given an excuse f&r a breach. She has applied the Locarno Treaty in letter and in spirit with scrupulous attention. "The Pact Goes On." "The pact goes on," said Dr. van Zeeland. "In our eyes these pacts are intended to protect those who remain faithful to them against those wh« do not. We realise that the international structure must be rebuilt, but no one can deny that a severe blow has been struck, in the eyes of the world and perhaps of future generations, at the moral value of an attempt to build on the structure of the law. "The weakening of that structure imposes new burdens and duties upon humanity. Belgium is obliged again to appeal to the League. With a feeling of profound sadness and some bitterness, I have the sad duty of asking you in her name to consider this breach in accordance with the text of the Locarno Treaty." Dr. van Zeeland also laid stress on the fact that Belgium considered Locarno a perfect formula for guaranteeing world peace. "It was not made for our benefit alone," he said, "but also for the advantage of Germany. There is no reason why Germany should in any way modify her relations with Belgium."

The president of the Council, Mr. S. M. Bruce, said that unless his colleagues desired to speak immediately, this would be an appropriate time to adjourn. The Council would meet again at 3.30 p.m. on Monday.

The "Sunday Observer" diplomatic correspondent says that one of the decisive considerations understood to have influenced Saturday's conversations in London, was the clear fact that unless means could be discovered for bringing Germany into the conversations there is no alternative to convening the Council and at once recommending economic and financial sanctions.