DEFENCE OF CANADA

Greymouth Evening Star, 4 November 1939, Page 4

DEFENCE OF CANADA

MR. ROOSEVELT’S STATEMENT. VANCOUVER, September 28. President Roosevelt, at one of his Press conferences' last week, said that Canada’s declaration of war against Germany did not alter his pledge to the Dominion that the United States

would prevent any attempt at domination of its territory by any non-Britis.h foreign Power. The President took advantage of a question put to him at the, conference to accept .a statefnent j •by the Ministry of Information in London that his pledge of assistance put Canada in a “special status” regarding defence of its- borders from attack. Air. 1 Roosevelt insisted, however, that his pledge could not be interpreted, as had been done in a section of the Press, as an extension of the Monroe Doctrine beyond its original limits. He added that the Doctrine had always contemplated the maintenance of the status quo with reference to the exercise of foreign sovereignty in the Western Hemisphere. As' for the promise he made to Canadians at Kingstone, Ontario, he added ithat he meant it as much to-day as he did then.

On that occasion, accepting an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws al Queen’s* University, the President said: “I give to you assurance that the people of the United States will not stand idly by if domination of Canadian soil is threatened by any other empire.” His statement brought a reply from the Canadian Prime Minister, Mr. Mackenzie King, next day, that, although Canadians were naturally grateful for . the ' President’s assurance, the Dominion would attend to its own defence. | The question of his Canadian promise, long planned but never oliieiallv enunciated by military strategists of! the United Slates, came up when flic I 1 i evident was- asked for his comment!

. on the statement by the Ministry of . Information, which drew a distinction between tile defence problem of such . far-flung possessions as Australia and New Zealand and that of Canada He explained that the Monroe Doctrine and what it intended could be iuliy understood only by an appreciation of the situation prevailing throughout the world when it was promulgated in 1823. There had I been a good deal of discussion about I some sort of coalition—the President I did not refer, as on a previous occa- I sion. to the Holy Alliance of Russia. I Austtia, Prussia, and other European l ! Powers—to re-establish their sever-1 eigniy over parts of Central and South America. That situation was really the origin of the Monroe Doctrine.

It applied also to Cuba and Fuerte Rico, which had remained Spanish. In addition, he added, there were French Dutch, and English islands in the West Indies, and, on the continent. British Honduras and British, French, and Dutch Guiana. As time went on. European sovereignty over the islands was accepted, because there was no trouble -over them, and the Powers continued in possession without any attempt to extend their sovereignty

over other new areas. The only instance that gave rise to dispute was the. boundary question between Jiritisti Guiana and Venezuela. In that Uu i ted stalea immediately excited its influence, and the question settled amicably by arbitration. Jence. be added, his statement at \ingston was not a new statement of foreign policy. 1