“ENGLAND WILL FALL”

Evening Star, Issue 20256, 17 August 1929, Page 20

“ENGLAND WILL FALL ”

FORMER FRENCH PREMIER’S VIEW The decline and fall of England was foretold by M. Hcrriot, iho former French Premier, in a speech at Lyons, reported in the 4 Matin ’ recently. England will fall, lie says, because she deliberately sacrificed her agriculture in favour of her coal mines. “ Because she had the freedom of the seas,” M. Herriot declared, “ she thought sh© could hve by her industry alone. But to-day the competition of the United States and even of her own colonies has reduced 1,500,000 to 1,800,000 of her workers to unemployment. “ England can still dole out relief,' but what will happen to her when her reserve of gold is exhausted? She is threatened as Venice or Carthage were threatened of old.

“ Let ns take warning,” M. Herriot concluded, “ and preserve for France the character of an agricultural country.” An unauthorised version of M. Herriot’s speech, issued later, gives the text of tho passage dealing with England as follows:

“See what is happening to a great neighbouring nation, whose troubles we must share because she is suffering in some degree for tho loyalty with which she came to our help and stood by us to the end during the war. “ Great Britain is fighting against a terrible burden of unemployment, which was so much discussed during the recent elections. - She will be obliged to undertake a tremendous effort to reestablish her economic equilibrium. “How much happier would she be if, like ourselves,, she could count upon abundance of agricultural resources to supplement her industrial wealth, so threatened by the development of other nations and of her own dominipns. “ Great Britain will triumph over her difficulties in the" same manner as she has done in the past, by her strength and perseverance, but not without labour and suffering.”