MR. CHAMBERLAIN’S REPLY

Greymouth Evening Star, 14 October 1939, Page 7

MR. CHAMBERLAIN’S REPLY

BRITISH PRESS APPROVAL HITLER SELF-CONDEMNED [BRITISH OFFICIAL WIRELESS.] (Recd. October 14. 10.15 a.m.) RUGBY, October 13. The measured and impressive terms in which the Prime Minister replied, in the Commons, to Herr Hitler’s Reichstag speech, meet with the wholehearted approval of the British Press, and early reports from neutral countries indicate that his firm, unambiguous insistence on the fact, that peace conditions could not. he acceptable which began by condoning aggression, has made a deep impression. The final sentences of Mr. Chamberlain’s speech, which were received with loud and prolonged cheering in Parliament, receive special prominence in the Press, namely “Either the German Government must give convincing proof of the sincerity of their desire for peace, be definite acts and by the provision of effective guarantees of their intention to fulfil their undertakings, or we must persevere in our duty to the end. It is for Germany to make her choice.” “The Times” says: Herr Hitler’s socalled terms of peace stand self-con-demned. because they start from the assumption that the successful use of force can exclude from peaceful discussion the domain in which force has been exercised. Nevertheless, the nations that were seeking the way of peace through all the time Herr Hitler was threatening and preparing for war, will continue to seek it. Tn rejecting the present terms, with the decision that, their utter falsity requires, Mr. Chamberlain was careful to leave the way open for a genuine offer. He was compelled to give or to repeat a warning. There can no longer be any possibility of coming to terms, unless security for their fulfilment by Germany is something much better than Herr Hitler’s word. It has been given and broken so many times that it has become utterly valueless, in the judgment of every statesman in Europe. Herr Hitler’s position in Bohemia, in Slovakia, in Memel, in Danzig, and in Poland is based in every instance on the separate betrayal of a solemn pledge. OBSTACLE TO PEACE.

The “Daily Telegraph” says: Mr. Chamberlain has never spoken with greater effect, or with more complete command of the sympathies of his audience.

After a close examination of the conditions laid down in the speech, for a settled peace the “Daily Telegraph” says: It is Hitlerism alone that stands in the way of peace. Realisation of that fact has been burnt into the the consciousness of the British and French nations too deeply to permit of any weakening in the cause they have combined to defend.

The “Daily Herald” says: The Prime Minister’s words express the mind of the British people, those of the British Dominions, and the people of France. Britain will not accept .an armistic that leaves Herr Hitler still grasping the fruits of aggression. “The “News Chronicle” says: Mr. Chamberlain’s statement was far from being a blank negation. The peace we are determined to secure must be a peace so justly framed that it will last, not an uneasy truce between wars. That peace the German people can have on one condition. They must show their sincerity by righting the wrongs they have done, and by providing' effective guarantees of their intention to fulfil future obligations. The “Daily Mail” says: If Germany wants to talk, we shall listen, provided that we do not have to accept the word of Herr Hitler, and provided we are given a firm guarantee that future undertakings will be fulfilled. New Zealand newspaper comment, warmly -endorsing Mr. Chamberlain’s speech, is quoted in London. The general tone leaves no doubt that opinion is solidly against any peace that does noU include the most drastic provisions to ensure that promises will be kept and signatures honoured. SOUTH AFRICAN SUPPORT. CAPE TOWN, October 13. The “Cape Times” says that Mr Chamberlain expressed' the view of every Government in the British Dominions.