BRITISH FOREIGN POLICY

Grey River Argus, 3 August 1935, Page 7

BRITISH FOREIGN POLICY

ABYSSINIAN ISSUE Ministerial Review (Aus. and N.Z. Cable Assn.) LONDON August 1. At the suggestion of the Leader of the Opposition (Mr Geo. Lausbury) warmely welcomed by the Prime Minister last week, to-day’s debate on international affairs, was of a general eharact'er, and no resolution was moved. The situation arising from the dis pu'te between Italy and Abyssinia was the main subject of the speeches in .t'ho debate, which was introduced by Mr Lansbury. He deplored the failure of the Disarmament* Conference, aad the lack of confidence manifest between the Government and the world. The Labour Party would support the Government by every means in its power so long as the Government stood quite firmly by it's obligations under the Covenant. They did not ask the Govern ment to act alone, but to stand without reservation by the League. Covenant. .Sir 11. Samuel (Liberal) agreed it was essential that, lirltain sin uld aet with other Powers, and particularly Prance, and that the League should fo'Jow its own established procedure, and use every effort t'o adopt measures of conciliation. But. he said, to be careful, did not mean they should be weak or indifferent. It was incumbent on them to intervene strongly in the dispute, and the League should fail in its duty if it failed to take cognisance of the situation. Sir S. Hoare, when he intervened in the, debate,'took up t'hese refer, euces to the question, 1 before the League Council, lie said that if they Im I failed Io achie.’J the progress i'i disarmament all hoped and desired, it was due to no failure on the part of tlie British Government, but rather difficulties between certain countries of Europe, and most of all to the great gulf between the points of view of s rance and Germany. The resumption of the Conference must be in the Hands of the President. The Government would put' no obstacles in the way. but his own view was that no real progress would be made until they could lessen, if not bridge, the gulf between the German and French points of view. The Government were doing everything in their power t'o narrow the differences between those two Governments. They have been concentrating their efforts upon negotiations for an air pact, and he meant also, of course, air limitation. He con'd not very well conceive an air pact' without air limitation of some kind, nor a settlement, of the air question without consideration of bombing. He regretted that he could not report furtlier progress, but not a day passed without his making some new effort to advance the negotia-

tions. Regarding the question now before the. League" the British Government approached' it now with a desire to make declamatory speeches, but with a realist and practical attitude, that admitted its complexities, nnd was determined to make every reasonable effort for averting war. They were second to none in their intention to carry out their obligations under treaties and the covenant. The effect of a war between Italy and Abyssinia. whether long or short, and whichever were victor, would be harmful beyond exaggeration t'o the League and the attempt of the postwar world to substitute peacefu settlements for war, would be frustrated. Small and weak eountreis would see the protection upon which they had been depending, gravely endangered. Pacts, which had been laboriously concluded for security in Europe, would seem little more than scraps of paper. Outside Europe, he continued, the reactions would be no less deplorable. For generations past, we in Britain, and our friends in France, had been engaged in a wise an t generous! policy of eliminating issues between the "white and coloured races. We don’t believe in the inevitability of these coloured clashes. We worked, not to dig a gulf but to build a bridge between Europe and Africa., and be tween Europe nnd Asia. It has _ been the guiding spirit of our work in India. It. was the guiding spirit in Marsha' Lyautey’s policy in North Africa. A war that claimed to be a war between White and Black races, would throw intolerable obstacles into this path o? reconciliation, and mutual understanding. As he had already told the House, the Government were not unsympathetic to the Ita’ian need for expansion, nnd tlieir action since the war had shown their sympathy was more than idle, words. If the Italian Government had complaints against the Abyssinian Government .let' them make them in a proper and regular manner. They would find the League ready to give full and impartial consideration to the case. But. these are issues that can be settled without recourse to war, that would inevitably lend to confusion ’in Europe, to fhe weakening, perhaps the destruction, of forces of peace and to formidable unsettlement of the great coloured races of the world. Up said that the House could relv upon the Government using every influence availab'e to them to avei> the calamities which would follow war. Whilst the League Council was in session he could not be as precise as to the next step, or what the British Government might or might not do in the situations that' had not. yet arisen. But he would say that -o long as there was a chance of peace thny would clinST to it nnd make the most' of it. Thp Loaernc was doa 7 - injT with thp crisis. Thpy would do (vf-rythinfr in ‘their power to support its Infliipnpp and take advantage of tie machinery for peace. The Foreign Secretary then mentioned a question addressed to him bv Sir H. Samuel regarding rumours that at Stresa. the British and French Governments’ had given some kind of undertaking to the Italian Government to give Tt’aly a free hand in Abyssinia. “Sneak’ng for His Majesty’s Government ” he said: “I desire to sav there is no foundation whatever for this report. The question of Abyssinia was’ never discussed between the delegates of three Governments at Stresa. As fpr-<« the French Government is caVeerned, n or make in its Chamber. None the Igtss T feel io paying I am quite certain the French

Government have taken no action that would be contrary to their obligai ions, either under the Covenant or ihe existing treaties. ” Sir S. Hoare referred to Sir A. Samuel’s allusion to Mussolini’s suggestion that Abyssinia might attack he Italian colonies while Italy was ■ngaged with possible trouble in Europe. Sir A. Samuel had expressed the opinion that the situation might be cased if Italy were guaranteed against, any such aggression by Abyssinia, especia'ly if the guarantee were supported by Britain and France. Sir S. Hoare commented: This suggestion struck me as very interesting, and I will certainly see it' is conveyed (o Mr Eden. Sir S. Hoare concluded: I should not be honest with 'the House, If I did not say that in the Government’s view the state of Europe remains one of gloom and apprehension. The world seems t'o have entered an era of genuine anxiety. If that is so, we must see Britain is not only brave enough to have a firm consistent policy towards peace, but is strong enough to ensure that' the world as a whole respects it. The speech was loudly cheered. Sir S. Hoare later said that the power would be left in the hands of the Speaker to summon the House if a crisis should arise during the adjournment.