EIRE AND THE WAR

Press, Volume LXXXI, Issue 24569, 18 May 1945, Page 5

EIRE AND THE WAR

De Valera Defends Neutrality RELATIONS WITH ENGLAND (N.Z. Press Association-Copyright) (Rec. 11 p.m.) LONDON, May 17. The Prime Minister of Eire tMr E. de Valera), in a broadcast speech, said that certain newspapers had been most persistent in looKing for his answer to Mr Churchill’s recent broadcast. "I know the kind of answer I am expected to make,” said Mr de Valera. “I know the answer that springs from the lips of every man of Irish blood who heard and read that speech, no matter what the circumstances or what part of the world he found himself in. “I know the reply I would have given a quarter of a century ago, but I deliberately decided that it is not the reply I shall give to-night. I shall contrive not to be guilty of adding any fuel to the flames of hatred and passion which, if they continue to be fed, promise to burn up whatever is left by the war of decent human feeling in Europe. “Allowances will be made for Mr Churchill’s statement, however unworthy. In the first exuberance of his ■victory, Mr Churchill made it clear that he would, in certain circumstances, have violated our neutrality and would have justified his action by Britain’s necessity. It is true that other great Powers, pledged to the same code, would have behaved in accordance with it. That is precisely why we had a succession of disastrous wars, and it is indeed fortunate that Britain’s necessity did not reach the point when Mr Churchill would have acted. “All credit to' him that he successfully resisted the temptation, which. I do not doubt, many times assailed him in his difficulties, and to which I freely admit, other leaders might easily have succumbed. “An Important Step” “Mr Churchill, by resisting the temptation, instead of adding another horrid chapter to the already bloodstained record of relations between England and Eire, advanced the cause of international morality. That was an important step—one of the most important that can be taken on the road to the establishment of any sure basis for peace. “As far as the people of these two islands are concerned, it may perhaps mark a fresh beginning towards the realisation of the mutual comprehension to which Mr Churchill referred, and for which he prayed, and for which. I hope, he will not merely pray, but work, as did his predecessor, who will yet, 1 believe, find the honoured place in British history due to him. He will certainly find it in any fair record of the relations between Britain and ourselves. That Mr Churchill should have been irritated when our neutrality stood in the way of what he thought he vitally needed is understood, but that he. or any thinking person in Britain or elsewhere, should fail to see the reason for our neutrality I find it hard to conceive. . . “Mr Churchill is proud of Britain s stand alone after France fell and before America entered the war. Could not Mr Churchill find in his heart the generosity to acknowledge that there was a small nation that stood alone, not only for one year, but for several hundred years, against aggression, that endured spoliations, famines, and massacres in endless succession, that was clubbed jmany times into insensibility, but each time, on returning to consciousness, took up the fight anew, a small nation that could never be got to accept defeat and never surrendered her soul?” A . . Mr De Valera went on to refer to the establishment of better British and Irish relations. He said he regretted that Mr Churchill, instead of lending a hand, was abusing a people who had done him no wrong. Mr Churchill was trying to find in the present crisis an excuse for continuing the injustice of Ireland’s mutilation. "I sincerely hope Mr Churchill has not deliberately chosen the latter course, but if he has we can only say; ‘Be it so.’ Meanwhile, even as a partitioned, small nation we shall go on striving to play our part in the world, continuing unswervingly to work for the cause of true freedom, and for peace and understanding between all nations.” MANPOWER IN BRITAIN REALLOCATION PLANS RELEASE OF 750,000 FROM FORCES (8.0. W.) RUGBY, May 16. The reallocation of services personnel and war workers was the subject of a debate in the House of Commons, and this gave the Minister of Labour (Mr Ernest Bevin) an opportunity ol explaining his plan for releases from the forces and the relaxation of labour controls in civilian employment. Mr Bevin was careful to explain that he was presenting a comprehensive plan for the reallocation of manpower, and not for demobilisation. He said the end of the war in Europe only emphasised the need for a continued effort in the Far East, and as the nature of supplies for that theatre would be different some industries did not need so many men as formerly. The Minister said he believed everyone realised they had a hard road to follow for several years before tfiey would be able to see the end of the tunnel , , Paying a tribute to British workers, Mr Bevin said a striking feature of war-time production was the low incidence of absenteeism during the worst period of the blitz. Men, women, and boys who had their homes wrecked overnight turned up for jobs the next morning in spite of ah their difficulties. London’s rate of production was one of the highest in the country throughout the most difficult period, and London was still the greatest engineering centre and one of the greatest manufacturing centres in the world. Troops For Far East Mr Bevin said the scheme of releases from the services would commence on June 18, and every effort would be made to include men from all theatres of war, including Burma. The object was to transport men to the Far East and bring those for release back on • the return journey. That would mean that men in the Far East would not be seriously handicapped by distance. He could not say how many would be released because he did not know how many might volunteer to remain in the services, and lust what the commitments would be. It was hoped the figure would be about 750,000, but if the circumstances changed this might have to be revised. The majority of the 750,000 would be from the Army. The ballot for “Bevin boys” had been suspended, and he hoped it would not be necessary to operate it again. Twenty thousand had gone into coalmines under the ballot scheme. Call-ups for the services would continue with a. reduced age limit of 30 years operating. Women could continue to volunteer for the auxiliary forces, but no more women would be called up under the National Service Act. The Minister said that more than 7,500,000 women had gone into national service. Married women and women with household responsibilities could now be released, but they were requested to continue in employment where they could. “At no point in the war were our forces kept short of men or materials, and at no point was production let down,” the Minister concluded. Honour for Sir Howard Florey.—The Lister Medal for 1045, which is awarded in recognition of distinguished contributions to surgical science, has been granted to Professor Sir Howard Florey for his work on penicillin,—London, 1 May 16.