TO PRESERVE PEACE

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 48, 26 February 1937, Page 9

TO PRESERVE PEACE

SYSTEM OF REGIONAL

PACTS

THREAT TO AGGRESSORS

(British Official Wireless.)

(Received February 26, 11.40 a.m.)

RUGBY, February 25.

Viscount Halifax, Lord Privy Seal, speaking at Southampton last night, defended Britain's re-armament pro-

gramme

Referring to the League of Nations, he said there was a strong body of opinion for the abolition of sanctions. But there was;a strong opinion also that the League of Nations from which sanctions had been withdrawn would be too light a thing to perform the duties that mankind expected of it.

"In the view of the Government,'' he said, "the peace front night be immensely strengthened by a system of regional pacts, whereby certain areas of the world, sharing common interests in those areas, would be prepared to unite themselves by a pact to do more than the Covenant imposes, namely, to say in advance that if the peace wer e disturbed in those areas they would be prepared to fight to preserve it. If a series of strong points, could be estabilshed on a peace front it would have the effect of making it quite plain to potential aggressors that if they disturbed the peace they would be able to count in advance on the opposition of other people bound by the pact to preserve the peace, and would enable the League to intervene at an earlier stage before an act of aggression had been committed. I would regard it as frankly dishonest of this country to sign pacts or undertake obligations arising out of them unless we knew" we were in a position to be able to carry them out if the need arose. { We shall not be in a position to do so until we have reequipped our defensive forces:"