NO CONFIDENCE

Evening Post, Volume CXXI, Issue 83, 7 April 1936, Page 11

NO CONFIDENCE

MOTION IN COMMONS

FOREIGN POLICY DISCUSSED

OPPOSITION ATTACK

(British Official Wireless.) (Received April 7, 12.30 p.m.)

LONDON, April 6.

Foreign affairs were debated in the House of Commons this evening, along with other matters, on the Prime Minister's motion o! procedure arising out of the defeat of; the Government last Wednesday on the question of equal pay for men and women iii the Civil Service.

A question of confidence has beer: posed to «?cure reversal oi the House of Commons's previous diciuioi, a:id the Leader of the Opposition (Mr. C. JR. Attiee) took occasion to attack the Government's policy both at home and abroad. I.'c contended that the menace of war has grown through years o£ inept leadership of the Government, allowing the initiative to pass from the great Western democracies into the hands of dictators. He argued that for resistance to aggression the Locarno Treaty was too narrow a basis. The whole strength of the League should be organised for the preservation of law and order.

Sir Archibald Sinclair, for the Liberals, and Mr. Winston Churchill took up Mr. Attlee's criticism of the Government's.policy in the Italo-Abys-sinian dispute, and Sir Archibald spoke in favour of more resolute action on behalf of the victim of aggression.

Mr. Churchill thought that the Government's policy had fallen between two stools, and managed to secure the disadvantages of alienating Italy and encouraging Germany to illegal action without the advantages of helping any member or vindicating me League. The lesson of this melancholy chapter was that they should not intervene in such matters unless they were in earnest and were prepared to carry their intervention to all necessary lengths Mr. Churchill also raised the question of colonies arid German re-armament, and spoke of the effects in eastern and south-eastern Europe which would follow reformation by Germany of its western frontier.

The debate is continuing.