FINNS’ DEFENCE SALUTED BY BRITISH PARLIAMENT

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 146, 15 March 1940, Page 9

FINNS’ DEFENCE SALUTED BY BRITISH PARLIAMENT

Members’ Questions Answered EXTENT OF MILITARY AID; NO INTERVENTION APPEAL Press Association and British Official Wireless. LONDON, March 13. In a crowded and expectant House, the Prime Minister, Mr. Chamberlain, made a statement today on the Finnish peace settlement. His brief recital of the facts ended with a tribute to the, .Finnish people which drew full-throated cheers from all parts of the House. “The British Minister at Helsinki was informed by M. Tanner ( Finnish Foreign Minister) that Soviet-Finnish peace terms were signed in Moscow last night and that an armistice was signed at 11 a.m. today (Finnish time) between the two armies,” said Mr. Chamberlain. “Throughout the Soviet-Finnish struggle Britain, in concert with France, furnished the Finns with large quantities of war materials and supplies of all sorts, particulars of which have been made known so far as was in the public interest. “Britain has, in fact, made plain her readiness to give all possible help to the Finns in their gallant struggle against aggression, and as I informed the House on Monday, we had made preparations to throw the full weight of all our available resources into the scales on hearing that this would be in accordance with the desire of Finland. “It has always been understood that it was for Finland to decide upon the course of action which Finland considered best suited to her interests in the light of all the available knowledge. “In their decision the Finns may be assured that the people of this country are united in sympathy with the situation in which the Finns find themselves and in admiration for the courage with which they have maintained for so long the struggle against overwhelming odds. This epic story will ever be recounted in the chronicles of their own country and will remain alive in the memory of all peoples.” ,

The Leader of the Opposition, Jlr. Attlee, rose immediately and said: “We are all agreed in our admiration for the Finns in their struggle, and while we, all of us, are relieved that the slaughter lias been stopped, we deeply regret the success of aggression. “May I ask the Prime Minister that just as tliis country has been willing to assist the Finns in defending themselves against aggression, so we shall render them all the assistance we can in order to repair the damage of this unprovoked attack on them?” Jlr. Belisha’s Query. Jlr. L. Hore-Belisha, the former Secretary of War. intervened to ask if it was not a fact that repeated appeals had been made by Finland for assistance not only in material but in men, and was it not a pity, in relation to the magnitude of these events and their far-reaching character, to plead as an excuse for inaction a pure technicality ? Jlr. Chamberlain replied: “It is not correct that repeated requests for men have been made by the Finnish Government. The Finnish Government made repeated requests for material, and every one of those requests has been answered. “The Finns had been informed as long ago as .February 25 that if they were to make an appeal to us we had been prepared, and were making arrangements, to send out men as well as materials. In the circumstances in which they found themselves they decided not to make such an appeal.” A member asked if it could be made clear that Britain had at no time threatened the neutrality of Sweden. Jlr. Chamberlain replied: “Certainly. At no time did we threaten the neutrality of Sweden.” One or two members asked for a debate on the whole matter, but Mr. Chamberlain said that there had been no official request for a debate and he could not discuss the matter on the floor of the House. Jlr. ,7. JlcGovern (Independent Labour Party) said that the overwhelming mass of the people in Britain were of the - '~opinion that Soviet and Nazi bureaucracy had brought on. themselves the loathing and contempt of every decent man. Extent.Of Help. Sir Archibald Sinclair associated the Liberals with the tributes of admiration and sympathy to the Finns, and made a request to the Prime Jlinister for particulars of the assistance given. Jlr. Hore-Belisha then asked Jlr. Chamberlain to confirm the figures given by JI. Daladier yesterday. The Prime Jlinister said he had endeavoured to obtain an accurate account of JI. Daladier’s speech, and in the absence of such a report he would prefer not to comment upon it. Regarding statements in the Press purporting to give the amount of Allied help to the Finns, Jlr. Chamberlain said that the Government had never made any complete statement of the amount of help given to Finland, and that a distinction must be drawn between what was sent and what actually arrived. The tense atmosphere in which the. House heard the Premier’s original answer was broken during the putting of supplementary questions when Jlr. JlcGovern interjected au impassioned i

denunciation of the Soviet Government which members found relief in greeting with amused cheers. The Jlarquess of Clydeside, a member who had been invited iu many scenes in the House in the past by his fervid championship of the needs of the unemployed, said: “Is the Prime Jlinister aware that while a considerable number of people are glad that the slaughter of the Finns is over, the overwhelming mass of the people of this country are of the opinion that Stalin and his Nazi-minded bureaucracy have brought down upon themselves the loathing and contempt ot’ every decent-minded person?” Triumph of Wrong. The Foreign Secretary, Lord Halifax, made a statement in the House of Lords on the Finnish, peace similar to Jlr. Chamberlain’s. The Labour peer, Lord Snell, said: “Your Lordships will have heard the statement with mixed feelings—first, a feeling of satisfaction that the physical agony of a small and almost miraculous little people has now ended, and secondly with regret that the spiritual injuries they have received will endure, and that right once more has been defeated and wrong has once more triumphed in the world. “As far as the Finns are concerned, they may take comfort in the sympathy of all the free peoples of the world. They have done all that bravery and endurance could do. They have set a new standard of resistance against overwhelming odds and written a page of history that will be read with wonder through generations yet to come. We can only acknowledge and admire their indomitable courage and grieve with them in their defeat. “It must be a proud day for the Russian Empire,” continued Lord .Snell, sarcastically, “with their 180,000,000 people, to celebrate the success of their attack upon a population which is less than that residing within the area of the London County Council. ““I will not comment on the other Scandinavian nations, but I feel sure that if their own trial comes the events of recent weeks and months will not be forgotten.” Full Aim Frustrated. Lord Samuel found consolatory satisfaction in the fact that the Soviet had been unable to impose any political terms on Finland. “The claim that the workers of Finland were only too eager to welcome the Soviet intervention,” lie said, “has been refuted by the gallantry of the Finns themselves, who inflicted appalling losses upon the Russians. “JI. Tanner this afternoon, according to reports just received, attributed the disaster which has fallen on his country to the decisions of Sweden and Norway not to permit the passage of troops of the Allies. It is not for us to criticize or even to comment upon those decisions. Those countries know better than anyone else what were the limitations imposed by their own situation. “Sweden and Norway having reached those decisions, it would not have been possible for Britain or France to have overridden them. To have proceeded in the face of the protests of Sweden and Norway would have been a gross breach of their neutrality and a dear infraction of international law.”