Meeting Protests About Development of H-Bomb

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27339, 3 May 1954, Page 8

Meeting Protests About Development of H-Bomb

A meeting among the leaders-of the nations to consider the reduction and control of armaments, and the development of policies to remove fear from the peoples of the world and strengthen collective peace throughout the United Nations-, will be advocated in a public petition to Parliament. A decision to sponsor such a petition was made at a public meeting held in the Civic Theatre, Christchurch, yesterday afternoon, to protest. against the development of the ‘■hydrogen bomb. The New Zealand Government will be asked to use its influence in the United to enstire that the wishes of the meeting, as expressed in the following two resolutions, are given due consideration: — “This meeting is concerned by the experiments with the hydrogen bomb, revealing as they do its immense power and range, and its menace to people remote from the test area, that its existence and development constitute a grave threat to civilisation. We recognise that any recourse to war may lead to its use. Therefore, welcoming and supporting the resolution passed recently by the House of Commons, we ask the Government and Opposition to give public expression to the same desire—for the Prime Minister of Great Britain and the heads of Ad-

ministrations of the United States, the Soviet Union, and other countries, to meet and consider the reduction, and control of armaments"and the devising of positive policies and means for removing from all peoples of the world the fear which now oppresses them, and for the strengthening of collective peace through the United Nations. “This meeting of citizens believes that the peoples of the world desire and hope for a peaceful world. Wo believe that a just and lasting peace cannot be obtained through open hostilities or through an uneasy armed truce. The only permanent peace is through universal understanding, cultural relationships, economic assistance, and justness in negotiations. We and all peoples desire the peaceful and just

settlement of the differences in Korea, Indo-China, Malaya, and other troubled places, and that the freedoms of all peoples and nations should be ensured. Therefore we request the Prime Minister (Mr Holland) to instruct our New Zealand delegates to the Geneva conference to use every endeavour to arrange a peaceful and just solution to the problems facing that conference." There appeared to be no opposition to the resolutions when they were put to the meeting, which was attended by about 500 persons. Purpose of Meeting “The purpose of this meeting is to add our protest to those of other towns and cities in all parts of the world,” said Mr L. C. Southern, secretary of the Christchurch Tramway Workers’ Union, the organisation which sponsored the meeting. Tramwaymen were neither anti-American nor pro-Russian, he said, but when moving, among the public perhaps more than others, were aware of the acute untest felt about the experiments with the hydrogen bomb, particularly in the Pacific, they felt they had a duty to take action. There were some who* had the idea that the hydrogen bomb would never be used, said Mr Southon, but history showed that every weapon invented for human destruction was eventually used for that purpose. The Mayor of Christchurch (Mr R. M. Macfarlane, M.P.), who presided, said he had agreed to take the chair because he believed consideration of the destructiveness of the hydrogen bomb affected every citizen of the British Commonwealth. He did not agree 100 per cent, with the remarks of all the speakers aX the meeting, but as the Mayor and a member of Parliament, he was vitally interested ,in the control of the bomb. To secure that control it was essential that agreement should be reached among the nations, and that public consciousness everywhere should be aroused to that end. However, he did not think that they could get anywhere by attacking one nation or another. They ought not to demand the banning of o these weapons just because they were frightened of their own skins, said the Rev. M. W. Wilson, minister of . Knox Presbtyerian Church; but the use of such weapons to olast and maim men and cause great suffering was’ a monstrous evil and a sin against God. The manufacture and storing of

these bombs and the research involved meant that effort and money were being diverted from the development of the peaceful use of atomic energy for the great benefit flf humanity, in abolishing poverty and oppression, said Mr Wilson. Miss Howard’s Views There was now “G gas,” as well as hydrogen and atomic bombs, said Miss M. B. Howard, M.P. “Whether it is the hydrogen bomb, the atomic bomb, or G gas,” we, the common people, have got to raise our voice to see it is stopped,” she said. “If a quarter of the money spent on these weapons nad been spent on cancer research, we would have conquered that insidious disease.” Miss Howard said she still had faith in the United Nations. An appeal should be made to that,, body, but if the United Nations could not do anything,* the women of the world should unite under one of the greatest of their number, Mrs Pandit, to do something. Mr C. Lk Carr, M.P., asked who was responsible for the abuse of power and knowledge which had resulted in the development of atomic weapons? He said he believed that one of the major causes was the activity of the “capitalists and imperialists who are so jealous of their power, wealth, and position of privilege, that they fear socialism in any guise, and if they cannot destroy it, will destroy themselves with it”

Other speakers included Protessor H. Winston Rhodes, the Ven. Archdeacon F. N. Taylor, and Mr John Roberts. Also on the stage were the Revs. C. D. Clark and F. A. Willmot