BRITAIN’S ATTITUDE

Greymouth Evening Star, 19 October 1939, Page 7

BRITAIN’S ATTITUDE

MR. CHAMBERLAIN’S SPEECH NO REPLY FROM GERMANY [BRITISH OFFICIAL ’WIRELESS.] (Received October 19, T 0.40 a.m.) RUGBY, October 18. Mr. Chamberlain, making his weekly war statement in the Commons, said: “The statement 1 made on October 12 was chiefly concerned with the attitude of the British Government to the speech of Herr Hitler on October 6. Apart from comment which has appeared in German newspapers, there has been no indication from Berlin of the view of the German Government upon the issues d sought to define. There is, therefore, nothing I can add to my statement of las.t week. “Meanwhile, opinion in other countries has had an opportuinty of finding expression, and the German propaganda organs have used all possible ingenuity, so to twist foreign comment as to make it somewhat less unfavourable to their own point of view. 1 should doubt whether this effort has had any success outside Germany itself, for it is difficult to conceal the fact that the vast bulk, of the comment of nearly all shades of political colour in neutral countries has shown an appreciation of the attitude of the Allied Governments. It seems evident that the inconveniences which war inevitably brings for all non-belligerent countries, and which for their part the British Government intends to do their best to mitigate, has not obscured the fundamental issues at stake, the determination of which must affect for good or ill the moral and material welfare of neutral peoples, no less. than that of the belligerents.

RUSSIA AND TURKEY. “Although London official circles are net yet fully informed, of the circumstances which brought the RussianTurkish negotiations to an apparent impasse, it is evident from the statement of Dr. Saydm, the Turkish Premier, that proposal were made which were regarded by the Turkish Government as unacceptable. I noted, however, that the statement of Dr. Saydam, and the official communique of Rusisa, both referred to the continuance of friendly relations between the two countries. With reference to the estimate of the causes leading up to the present situation, issued by Reuter’s, it is pointed out in official circles that the account must not necessarily be accepted as being accurate in all details.” ANGLO-FRENCH UNDERSTANDING Referring to war events, the Prime Minister said that, on the Western front, the British Expeditionary Force had now taken over its allotted sectors of the French line, and all the divisions were in position. The understanding between the French and British High Commands was complete, as was proved by the fact that, the British force was -under the French Commander-in-Chief, while on the other hand, French troops, were serving under the British Commander-in-Chief.

In announcing that the British Expeditionary Force has now finally taken over its allotted sector of the French line, and that all divisions are in position, Mr. Chamberlain said: We are proud to know that our men are thus standing to arms beside the soldiers of France, for whose patriotism, determination, nad magnificent qualities we hdve such deep admiration.

The Prime Minister said that, since he had last spoken, activity had been unremitting in attack and defence, and the whole nation was grateful to the Navy for its efforts to ward off enemy attack, and remove the menace of the submarine, so that the steady flow of trade might remain unbroken. He paid a tribute to the unremitting efforts of the Navy in attack and defence, and to the memory of the officers and men lost, whether at sea, on land, or in the air.

Successes against U-boats had already been reported to the House by Mr. Churchill, yesterday. Heavy toll had been taken of U-boats since the war began. The failure of this form of attack to interfere with British trade was shown by the estimate that the losses sustained by British shipping entering and leaving the United Kingdom ports during the week to October 17, represented only about one-half of one per cent, of the total number of sailings.

FAILURE OF AIR-RAIDS The attacks by enemy aircraft on Fleet bases which had begun, were a new feature of the war, but one which was fully expected. The extent of the enemy’s disappointment at the failure of these attacks to inflict any serious injury, might be measured by the fantastic nature of the claims they felt Qbliged to invent. Mr. Chamberlain adrfed: “It is not true, and I ■ must repeat once again, though by now the news grows stale through repetition, that H.M.S. Hood or H.M.S. Repulse, or any other capital ship, has suffered the least damage.” He continued, amid laughter, “The same is true of the Ark Royal.” This country was resolute enough to bear bad news, and the Government had not hesitated to publish the full extent of the losses sustained. “Imaginary losses, which, the German broadcasts have described with such unblushing impudence, may serve for a time to raise enemy spirits, but in the end their falsity will be demonstrated, and the consequent disappointment will be only more depressing. “DISTORTIONS OF TRUTH." “We. on our side, have no intention of claiming successes of which we are not convinced. It is far more important that the world should be able to believe implicitly in the truth of a communique we issue, than that we should reap short-lived advantages which distortions of the truth may bring.

“We know that in the air battles which during the past two days have, for the first time, been fought over our own coasts, we destroyed eight enemy aircraft, without losing a single machine of our own. We believe that several more German bombers may have failed to reach home. The total number of aircraft taking part in the raids did not exceed 30. The casualties we inflicted upon the

enemy thus certainly exceeded 25 per cent, of the attacking force, and may have been higher."

These results were a splendid tribute to the courage and determination of the officers and men of the Royal Air Force. The Auxiliary Air Force won its first and resounding success by bringing down three out of four German aircraft, destroyed in the raid on Rosy th.

“In those early days.” he added, “we must not. of course, indulge in boasts. The attacks so far have been few and on a small scale, and it is unwise to assume that, we shall always be as successful as in the first exchanges. There are many surprises in war, and they cannot all be pleasant, but we have at least the satisfaction of knowing that we have made a good beginning.”