FULLEST WITHIN LIMITS

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 84, 9 April 1938, Page 9

FULLEST WITHIN LIMITS

BRITISH POLICY STATED

SPEECH BY FOREIGN SECRETARY

(Uritlsli Official Wireless.)

(Received April 9, 12.30 p.m.)

RUGBY, April 8.

The Foreign Secretary, Lord Halifax, speaking at Bristol, emphasised that the aim of British foreign policy was peace, and reiterated British hopes for the League of Nations. Early in his speech Lord Halifax paid a tribute to Mr. Anthony Eden, former Foreign Secretary, and said: "I look forward to the time when the country will again enjoy the benefit of his services and guidance in administration." Proceeding, Lord Halifax said: "I have said that while men and women of all parties would agree with the main objective of our policy, which must be honourable peace, they might and do differ as to the method by which it can most surely be achieved." He declared that in considering foreign policy they must be prepared to face facts. Many people thought the League Assembly ought to be called together so that it might pass resolutions condemning things of which British opinion was held to disapprove, but he could not believe this would do any good to the League or to the world. The League had a long record of achievement in many fields to its credit, but it was also necessary to recognise that the League was not and never had v been the universad body for which its founders hoped. AVOIDING BLOCS IN EUROPE. "We still intend to make the fullest use we can of the League within the limits which we are obliged to recognise," said the Foreign Secretary, "and I do not think they are disloyal to the League ideal who have regard for its actual capacity on the political side. It is no fault of the League, and still less of the British Government, but it is the plain truth that if we were to act as some suggest and try to organise a hew pattern of collective security against Germany by the present League Towers we should be doing the very thing that would be not only on a long view destructive of hope of winning Germany and other Powers back to European co-operation, possibly in some new form, but also we should be doing something against which we have always worked, namely the division of Europe into blocs formally ranged against one another and which in our view must greatly aggravate the risk -~ of ultimate catastrophe. "We desire to improve our relations wherever we can, because we believe that if we can relieve tension anywhere we shall relieve it everywhere. We have already succeeded in effecting improved relations with Italy, one of ouv oldest traditional friends in Europe, and I am very confident that this will make its good influence felt not only as between our two countries but in all the Mediterranean area, and indeed over the whole of Europe., should have been able to make more rapid progress in these efforts if it Had not been for the dark clouds overhanging the whole European landscape. ' , CONDITIONS IN PACT WITH ITALY. "We have repeatedly made plain our position in regard to the Italian conversations —that the conclusion of any agreement that might be reached must be dependent on our side upon settlement of the Spanish question. For I think, more than any other question in foreign affairs, by reason of the issues that in" all quarters are felt to be involved, the Spanish civil war has stirred public conscience." Referring to criticism of the policy of non-intervention, he said he had never minimised either the extent or the mischief of breaches of non-inter-vention which had taken place, but he did not believe that non-intervention had been a one-sided policy working in favour of General Franco. Moreover, it was only the non-intervention policy which had prevented the Spanish civil war from developing into a general European conflagration of which no one could foresee the end._ "This nation will have no Spanish blood upon its hands," said Lord Halifax, "and it has been our privilege to render help to both sides through different forms of humaniarian and rescue work which have brought both honour and gratitude to those engaged on them, and not least his Majesty's Navy. It will be everyone's hope that before long we may be able no less to render disinterested service in the task of peaceful reconstruction."