TASKS AHEAD

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIX, Issue 64, 16 March 1945, Page 5

TASKS AHEAD

WAR AND POLITICS

SPEECH BY CHURCHILL

Rec._ 11 a.m. RUGBY, March 15. Hints that the war might end in the summer and that he might form another Coalition Government before the next General Election were given by Mr Churchill when addressing the Conservative Party conference. "The continuance and the ever more rapid progress of the war against Germany and Nazi tyranny," he said, "leads us all to hope that the giant foe will be forced into unconditional surrender or beaten to the ground in chaos. It will always be the glory of our island race that in the teeth of what seemed to outsiders overwhelming odds they have never swerved from the path of duty and never lost faith in their mission to fight against tyranny to the death. We.have held aloft the flaming torch of freedom when all around was jet black. Then we gained time and space for the United Nations to begin marshalling the forces of power and science. In those terrible days the wnole of our Empire and Commonwealth of Nations, with one melancholy exception round the corner, stood together with us of their own free will, from the greatest Dominion to the smallest colony, in a spontane^ ous resolve to die or conquer with us in a righteous cause. "This outstanding union of communities around the globe sprang not from legal or physical obligations but from the mysterious and unfathomable belief that has raised our world-wide association to a height never attained or even dreamt of by any empire of the past. Certainly, with this unparalleled record we have no need to seek the advice even of our most honoured allies as to how we should conduct, ourselves. SAFEGUARD FOR FREEDOM. "Without freedom there is no foundation for our Empire. We must safesuard our freedom. By this we mean freedom for all the States and nations within the circle of the Crown and also freedom for the individuals within the broad and ever-advancing conception of the British Constitution and the British way of life. We have no use for totalitarian schemes and governments in their various forms. The right of free speech and political opposition has been resolved in our national Parliament to an extent that is incredible outside the Englishspeaking world." Mr. Churchill pointed out that the! present Parliament is nearly ten years old, and that executive government must refresh itself by direct contact with the electors. He added: "Should the war in Europe end before the summer or even sooner, as it may well do, we shall have reached a considerable milestone on our journey, and war conditions will no longer prevent us holding a General Election." HIS APPEAL TO THE NATION. Referring to the decisions of the Labour and Liberal Parties to resume their full liberty of action, he said: "We cannot blind ourselves to the fact that the strength of his Majesty's j Government, which has borne Us thus far through the struggle, will be seriously weakened." He indicated that in the event of a break-up of the present Government before the election another Government would have to be formed, and said: "Should it fall to me, as it may do, to form a Government before the election, I shall seek the aid not only of the Conservatives but of all men of good will of any party or no party who are willing to serve, and thus invest our Administration with a national character. If the verdict of the nation should still leave us responsible, the Government after the election will be further re-formed with the sole idea of leaving- the strongest forces available to carry our cause to the final victory peak." The Prime Minister referred to the time, when the war in Europe would be ended, s nd said: "Our tasks are severely and precisely defined. We have to finish the war against Japan and play our part not only as loyal allies but also to regain, as we are regaining, the territories which Japan ha= wrested from us. We have to repair the injuries they have inflicted and the infernal cruelties they have perpetrated upon subjects British, Australian, Indian. Burmese, and Malayan alike. That will require internal ellort, and no mood of war weariness must prevent us doing our duty to the last inch and the last minute. However, the scale of the war against Japan is limited not by man-power, for that will be readily forthcoming, but by shipping and other means of transport over the vast ocean span and over the steaming jungles. "Although it will be our ceaseless endeavour to hurl our utmost strength into the Japanese war. we shall have to provide for the garrisoning zone m Germany which has been assigned to us, and provide for the return of vrey large numbers of our soldiers now serving abroad, many of whom have been separated from their families for years. GRIM, FUNDAMENTAL TASKS. ■"We will have to get our dear country on the move again and into its full swing of natural health and life. There will be plenty of time for politics when these grim, fundamental tasks have been discharged. When that time comes we shall not show ourselves incapable of expressing our point of view in free discussion of our democracy. We shall not have to live on the charity or the generosity of any nation. We have given our all in the common cause, and we may claim assistance to recover our normal economy from those whom we have helped to victory- But we must never agree to found our economic life upon indulgence or favour, even of the allies we most dearly cherish. "Blood, sweat, toil, tears —there may be less blood and fewer tears. We thank God for that hope, but mental | toil and physical sweat, and the united resolve of every man and woman to give all that is within them will be required from us long after the last bomb or cannon has ceased to function." Concluding, Mr. Churchlil said: "Victory lies before us, certain and perhaps near. But years of cruel torment ' and destruction have wasted the earth, and victory, with all its brilliant trappings, appears to our experienced eye a deliverance rather than a triumph. Our hearts go out in thankfulness that we have been saved from annihilation and from the ruin of our country and that after our long history we shall come once again with life and honour through a convulsion that has ravaged the globe. % We shall show gratitude for these mercies by the zeal and faithfulness with which we devote ourselves to our duty and prove ourselves worthy in strength and spirit of the place we hold in the hearts of man and in the vanguard of the modern world." At the conclusion of the speech the audience gave the Prime Minister resounding cheers.