The Gisborne Herald. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED “THE TIMES.” GISBORNE, WEDNESDAY, OCT. 23, 1940. A MESSAGE TO FRANCE

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20385, 23 October 1940, Page 6

The Gisborne Herald. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED “THE TIMES.” GISBORNE, WEDNESDAY, OCT. 23, 1940. A MESSAGE TO FRANCE

Mr. Churchill never speaks for the sake of talking but only when he has something vital to say. His broadcast to the French people yesterday, far from being an exception to the rule served to emphasise it, for he showed once again a mastery of word and phrase that few men can hope to emulate. This address. In particular, is deserving of analysis and if this is done it wlil be found that there is hardly a sentence that does not de* serve to be underlined and preserved. His appeal to France, his bitter censure "of Hitler, “this evil man, this abortion of hatred and defeat,” and his gibes at Mussolini, “his Italian accomplice trotting along hopefully and hungrily, -but rather wearily and timidly at his side," all struck exactly the right note at what was doubtless precisely the right, time. This latter aspect is not emphasised in the speech itself but its existence may be assumed from the fact that the speech was made at all. In other words, there must have been evidence available in London that the time was opportune for an approach of this nature to be made to the people of France. Mr. Churchill has taken advantage of the opportunity in a way in which few other men could have done and it will be surprising if, for many days to come, his' words do not echo and re-echo wherever French is spoken and wherever there is a hope that France will rise again.

Outstanding, perhaps, was the fact .that in the whole of Mr. Churchill’s address there was not one word of censure of France, although bitterness at her desertion of her ally might have been justified. On the contrary there was nothing but sympathy, a desire to help, and recognition of the fact that Britain and France are “marching still along the same road,” France has had time to lick her wounds, to ponder over the fate that will undoubtedly be hers if she is not liberated from the Nazi invader, and to realise that so long as Britain resists the common enemy hope is not lost. It was at this point that Mr. Churchill issued his message of hope and cheer and gave a pledge that the cause of France is neither lost nor forgotten. It is inconceivable that this message, coming at such a time, could fall upon deaf ears or fail to elicit such response as is possible. And the gist of this message was that “we do not forget the ties land links that unite us with France fend we are persevering steadfastly and in good heart in the cause of European freedom and fair dealing for the common people of all countries.” It is unlikely that the. people of France, thus reminded, will be unmindful of the ties links that unite the two countries or of the common cause for which they both drew the sword and faced the invader.

Mr. Churchill was able to show that ■he optimism which he displayed was well founded. "Now, in 1940,” he said, “in spite of occasional losses, we have, as ever, the command of the seas. In 1941 we shall have command of the air.” Later on, he referred to the successes that would come on land. It was on these hopes that he appealed to the people of France to rearm their spirits before it was too late and to do whatever might lie in their power to hinder the common enemy. He struck at the pride of France when he declared: “Never will I believe that the soul of France is dead or that her place among the greatest nations of the world is lost-for ever.” It is surely not too much to expect that Frenchmen throughout the world will have at least as much faith in themselves as that which .has been expressed by Mr. Churchill. II words such as these fail to revive the heart of a great nation then the heart study must have stopped heating. I here are few people, however, who are more intensely nationalistic than those of France and there is good reason to believe that this great national trait will cause them to respond to the appeal of a foreign leader at a time when they have been betrayed by their own. Mr. Churchill’s words kindle a new spark of hope for a stricken country and the time must come when that spark will light a flame that will glow throughout the country.

The alternative to a reawakening of France was plainly shown by Mr. Churchill. Not only would the Ficnch Empire be devoured by "these two hungry customers.” but they were resolved on nothing less than the complete wiping out of the French nation and the disintegration of its whole life and future. If Hitler had his way “all Europe will he reduced to one uniform Bochdand to he exploited, pillaged, and bullied by the Nazi gangsters.” These are plain words, as Mr. Churchill himself remarked, hut who particularly in France, can doubt their (truth? This is the prospect which stands before France, and, indeed, before the whole world, as the only alternative to a British victory. Is it,

then, too much to ask that the people of France should work and hope for that victory without which there can be no future for them that is worth having? This is the issue which Mr. Churchill has so clearly stated. He has provided much food for thought and much for secret discussion. He has appealed to all that is best in France and offered Frenchmen, wherever they may be, an opportunity to redeem their pride and regain their much-coveted freedom and liberty. Time may be required for the seed to germinate and take root but there is good reason to hope that France will live to take part in "the forward march of the common people in all lands towards their just and true in--heritance.”