GERMANY TO RE-ARM

Greymouth Evening Star, 13 May 1933, Page 7

GERMANY TO RE-ARM

FOREIGN MINISTER’S ARTICLE A CRISIS DEVELOPING [by CABLE —PRESS ASSN. —COPYRIGHT.] LONDON, May 11. Herr Neurath’s blunt announcement, in a Leipzig newspaper as to Germany’s armament attitude, removes any doubt of Germany’s intentions. He declares that 15 months of discussions at Geneva have proved the refusal of the highly-armed States to disarm, and they have negatived Germany’s demand for equality. Even such disarmament as might be adopted would compel Germany to create a military, a naval, and an air force, and higher calibre guns. Those Powers refusing to accept for themselves restrictions that were imposed on Germany at Versailles would not reproach her. Germany’s standpoint -was morally unimpeachable. The “Manchester Guardian’s” ' Geneva correspondent says: An acute erisis has arisen here over Herr Neurath’s article, which has aggravated the situation. It has led to a great sensation and has had a hostile reception, even Germany’s friends declaring it a gross blunder. The “Daily Chronicle” says: A special Cabinet meeting was held this morning to consider the future of the Disarmament Conference, and also Germany’s attitude. “GRAVEST ANXIETY. ” (Recd. May 13, S a.m.) LONDON, May 12. A Cabinet sub-committee, including Messrs Macdonald, and Baldwin and Thomas, and Sir J. Simon, service ministers, met this morning to discuss the disarmament crisis, which is causing the gravest anxiety.

BOUND BY TREATY. LORD HAILSHAM’S WARNING. LONDON, May 11. In the House of Lords, Lord Cecil raised the question of the Far East and the Disarmament Conference. He said that Japan had insolently defied the League of Nations. Therefore Britain, apart from international action, might, at least, have taken as strong an action against Japan as she did take against Russia when she imposed the embargo. Lord Cecil continued: Regarding Germany and the Disarmament Conference we have reached a crisis in international affairs. It is of the utmost importance that we should have a vigorous and a. consistent policy. Lord Parmoor said that Britain ought to take the lead to bring peace to China and Japan; Lord Hailsham said that Britain’s policy regarding Manchuria, was to continue full co-operation with the League of Nations. He said that the cases of Russia and Japan were not parallel. AV© had already given notice to terminate the Russian Trade Agreement, but our commercial agreement with Japan could not be renounced for a year.

Regarding disarmament, he said that the Government had acted with courage, almost foolhardiness, in disarming in a hope that other nations would do the same. He claimed that Mr MacDonald’s intervention had twice avoided a deadlock at the Disarmament Conference. The British Draft Disarmament Convention was a fulfilment of our promises to Germany. If the latter country declined to participate in the disarmament discussion, she must take the responsibility for failure. In this event, Germany would be bound by the Versailles Treaty. Any attempt on her part to re-arm would bring into operation that Treaty’s sanctions.

FRENCH RESENTMENT. PARIS, May 12. Herr Neurath’s statement is regarded here as being brutal. It has caused a widespread stir as it is the first such declaration from a. responsible German statesman. CONFERENCE VOTING. GENEVA, May 12. Yesterday a breakdown occurred over the question of whether Hitler s large irregular forces are to be regarded as part of the German Army under the British Disarmament Plan. The Effectives Committee of the Disarmament Conference voted in favour of these forces being included when calculating the strength of Germany’s Army. The voting was nine to two in favour. The voting was: For inclusion —Britain, France, Belgium, Holland, Poland, Portugal, Rumania, Czecho-Slo-vakia and Jugo Slavia! Against—Germany and Hungary. There were eight abstentions from voting, namely, America. Italy, Austria, Spain, Finland, Japan, Sweden and Turkey. The significance of the-vote lies in the fact that a fortnight ago this Committee had decided that Germany s special armed police must be included as a military organisation, but the Committee has now decided to include the whole Nazi organisation as part of the German Army.

HITLER’S ENVOY. terrorism defended. LONDON, May 11. Doctor Rosenberg has issued a statement, pointing out that Germany’s strong measures against the Communists have saved Central Europe, and have also prevented the destruction of Western civilisation. He remarked that May Day in Germany was an actual peaceful festival, thus showing that, the upheaval there did not involve the guillotining of thousands of people, hu,t represented the people’s uprising. The discipline that had been exhibited was the-more remarkable because Hitlerism had lost three hundred' in killed and twenty-six thousand in wounded in ten years of Marxist outrages. Nazi excesses were insignificant in view of the scale of th R Nazi revolution. Germany, added' Dr. Rosenberg, wished no re-arming of the world. She hoped for a growing Anglo-German understanding.

Doctor Rosenberg subsequently informed the press that he was unable to say whether Mr Ramsay MacDonald and Mr Baldwin had refused to see him. There was no time for him to see them, because his official visits were over. He had ascertained clearly what the people thought, but there

was, he said, no average feeling either way. The persecution of Jews in Germany was nothing compared with what the Nazis had undergone in the past fourteen years. He had himself faced former Governments’ bullets, and had been imprisoned. Only five Jews had been beaten. Many t ,more killings, he said, had occurred in ...Chicago than in Germany. Replying to an inquiry from the Sydney “Sun” representative, as to Chancellor Hitler’s Colonial intentions, Doctor Rosenberg said that Germany must have colonies. She intends to get them, probably six years hence. When asked whether Germany desired to have the Australian or New Zealand mandates, he said that she was aiming at Tanganyika and' the German African colonies. CENOTAPH WREATH. BERLIN, May 12. The “Berlin Tageblatt” says that the fine that w r as imposed on Captain Sears (for throwing the Rosenberg “cenotaph” wreath in the Thames) is astonishing, as a similar act would have been punished much more severely in Germany. The paper predicts a diplomatic protest. LATER— The removal of Rosenberg’s wreath is regarded, as au affront to Hitler and Germany. “Frankfurter Zeitung,, declares that England’s world-wide reputation for treating guests decently has received a severe blow. “Boerzen Zei< tung” says: Germany expects the British Government to brand this offensiveness and formally to disavow it. ’ REGRET EXPRESSED. LONDON, May 12. Sir J. Simon, during a chance meeting with the German Ambassador, expressed regret regarding the Cenotaph incident. ' “WORSE THAN BOLSHEVISM.” . LONDON, May 12. “The Germans refuse to recognise intellectual and moral grounds of humanity. They seem deliberately to be cutting themselves off from civilisation,” said Professor Haldane, addressing the London University Union, prior to the passage of a resolution protesting against persecution, and appointing committees to fight Hitlerism. Professor Haldane added: “Murders or mutilations are relatively unimportant compared with an attempt to starve a million Jew's to death in default of their departure from th© country.” He declared that Hitlerism was more terrible than Bolshevism. The persecution of Jews was only the beginning. Most Britons, he said, were tending to recognise coloured peoples as then' equals, as France already did, to the horror of Herr Hitler, who branded coloured people as untouchable. Professor Haldane continued: “We must smash Hitlerism by economic pressure; succour the refugees,' and prevent the spread of German Fascism here. We must boycott German goods—if necessary, forcibly.” Professor Lancelot Hogben said that nobody was more responsible than the Prime Minister, Mr MacDonald. for placing and keeping Herr Hitler in the saddle.