BRITISH COMMONWEALTH

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 90, 16 April 1923, Page 7

BRITISH COMMONWEALTH

SHOULD SPEAK BEFORE IT IS TOO - LATE .GENERAL SMUTS'S ELOQUENT PLEA. (BKHBD PRESS ASSOCIATION.—COPTRIfIHT.) (HECIER'6 TBIEGRAM.) (Received 16th April, 9 a.m.) CAPETOWN, 14th April. Gsnsral Smuts, Premier of South Africa, at the City Hall, dealing -with the European question, said that it was impossible that the British Commonwealth should be a mere indifferent spectator to the rapidly developing crisis in Europe, where forces were being set going such as might well end in the ruin of European civilisation. The time was - rapidly coming, if it had not already come, when the British Commonwealth might have to detine its position in certain eventualities. "The Commonwealth," ho said, "still has the position and power to be the main European bulwark os the world's poane. The Leagua of Nations in itself 'is devoid of power, and can only rely nn the full disinterested backing of those having the power and no selfish aims of their own to servo." LOYALTY TO PEACE. Foremost amongst these, he continued, was the British Empire, whose greatest interest was undoubtedly the peace of the world. Its position should be defined and its policy made clear to all the world and freed from all doubt and misunderstanding. Not in the jingo spirit, riot in the spirit of arrogance and intermeddling, but in sincere and impartial friendship to all, in the spirit of humble but determined loyalty to the great cause of peace, it should speak before it was too late, 'and before the passions of the nations carried them too far. His view was that-never in all its history had the British Empire had a greater opportunity of great human service. "I trust," he declared,. "that it will realise the greatness and glory of ite peaceful mission and speak the great word which, with the exception of America, it alone can'still speak among the nations of the world."