CAUTIOUS ATTITUDE

Grey River Argus, 25 March 1943, Page 3

CAUTIOUS ATTITUDE

British Parliament AND SOCIAL SERVICES. / MR CHURCHILL’S STATEMENT. RUGBY, March 21. The Prime Minister, Mr. Churchill, to-night, made his first broadqast since November 29 last, and his fifteenth since the war began. He opened by thanking the very great numbers of people who had made kind enquiries about him during his recent illness. “Although for a week I had a fairly stiff dose of fever, which but for .modern science might have had awkward consequences.’ I never for a moment had to relinquish the responsible direction of affairs. I followed attentively what was happening in Parliament and the lively discussions on our home affairs when peace comes. It 'was very clear to me that many people were so impressed by the favourable turn of our fortunes that they jumped to the conclusion that the'war will soon be over and that we will soon be able to get back to the politics and party fights of peacetime. I am unable to sham these sanguine hopes and my earnest advice is to concentrate' even more zealously upon the war effort. “If, to-night, I, contrary to this advice. turn aside from the course ot the war to deal with some post-war and; domestic issues it is only because 1 hope by' so doing that I may simplify and mollify political divergencies and enable all our political forces to march forward to the. main objective in unity. Firstly, we must beware or all attempts to overpersuade and coerce the British Government to make them pledge themselves to particular schemes without relation to other extremely important aspects ot our post-war needs. The business ot proposing expenditure rests ultimately; with the responsible Government of the day, and it is solely their duty to propose to Parliament, any new charges upon the public, and the means of raising them. “The world is coming increasingly to admire the British Parliamentary system and ideas. It is contrary to those ideas that Ministers or members should become pledge-making .delegates. Nothing, would be easier for me than to make any number of promises and get an immediate response or cheap cheers and glowing leading articles. lam not in any need to go about making promises in order to win political support or be allowed to continue in office. It was on a grim basis that I undertook my present task, and on that basis I have been given loy'alty and support such as no Prime Minister had ever received. 1 cannot express my feeling of gratitude t 0 the nation for the trust and confidence placed in me during the long, dark and disappointing periods. I am absolutely determined not to falsify or mock that confidence by making promises without regard, to whether they can be performed. At my. time' of life I have no personal ambitions or future to provide for, and I feel I can truthfully say I only wish to do my duty by the whole mass of the nation and of the British Empire as long as I am thought of any use for that.

MR FRASER’S COMMENT. P.A. WELLINGTON, March 22. From the vigorous tone of Mr Churchill’s speech,, no one would imagine that he had just recovered from a severe illness, said Mr Fraser to-day. The manner in which he dealt with various war and post-war questions was .masterly. His warning against undue optimism in imagining that the war was already nearly won, and his emphasis on the difficult, hard and long road yet to be trodden before victory is achieved was specially notable at this stage, when there may be a tendency to relax the war effort of the United •Nations on the wrong assumption that the defeat or collapse of the Nazi and Fascist Powers may be imminent. Mr Churchill’s reference to Social Security, equality or opportunity- in education and industry, generally, and to post-war trade, unemployment and international relationships, political, economic and commercial, were most interesting and impressive. In regard to Mr Churchill’s special reference to consultations with the Dominions about questions of international trade and finance after the war, as.well as the immediate postwar relief for devastated centres, Mr Fraser said that the New Zealand Government was at present closely examining some of the proposals in this connection submitted to them through the Secretary of the Dominions.