EUROPEAN AFFAIRS

Hokitika Guardian, 7 November 1936, Page 5

EUROPEAN AFFAIRS

MR. EDEN’S; VIEWS

! international relations

(British Official Wireless.)

. . RUGBY,, November 5. In- a etowded House . the *oreign Secretary- (Air R. A. Eden}' opened the debate on the ’ ihternational There, were certain guiding principles determining British foreign policy, lie said, and the first and more important of thesS related to the" League of Nations. . . ... It was fashionable in some quarters to sneer' at the league. The British did not join in that practice, but they, must recognise the fundamental realities of the/.situation. While it jvas real" to believe that the league principles ? were the best yet devised for thd regulation of international affairs, and while it was v real to note that some nations did not.at present share that'view, it was real to recognise that until those nations did share that view the authority of .the league could not be complete, though it could still be important. .. '

It ,was a dyty to. make it as important as -possible/ , Finally it was real to make ,it plain t 9,. world that Britain would be second. to none in the defence of her legitijn.te interests. The. , British Government ’favoured action at the'earliest possible moment in any,, dispute, and any necessary modification, of Article XI. of the covenant ;to remove , the need for unanimity. Britain also had pointed out the impracticability of .rigid maintenance pf, the status’ qu6 . through all time. , ; . .. ■■■; >' - '

Referring to the prospects of a five power meeting, Mr Eden gave an assurance that the British Government would do wliat ' lay in; its power to bring about the success of any negotiations.

Mr Eden said that his: main purpose that afternoon was to contribute something T to the smoothing, pf international relations. He proceeded to review the relations of- Britain with other countries. ; ~

With France, he said, it would be

difficult to recall the time when British relations were better. The same applied to Belgium. Mr Eden addei' referring , to King Leopold’s declaration, that he had received assurances that Belgium stood by her existing obligations. , The idesiie for a closer- Anglo-Ger-man friendship had often been expressed in and' ; it generally reciprocated .in Britain. There were, however, two conditions attaching inevitably ,to any friendship which Britain could proffer to anV other country.' These were that such friendships could not be exclusive, and they could not be directed against anyone.

Referring again to ..Germany, Mr. Eden found' 1 it' necessary to * comment on the noticeable tendency. in that country "to put on. Britain, the biaine for present German economic difficulties. That was not in accord with fact, arid he'could nqt accept, it for. a minute. He mentioned, the, basis >of the 1934 Anglo-German payments agreement which left £45 o,ut of eydry £IOO. spent by the, British on. German goods at Germany’s own disposal for the. purposes of buying raw materials and foodstuffs and meeting rher financial obligations-." . ' \ ■ .

Mf Eden declared that there was no. other country with whom Germany had so favourable an agreement'. But much more important' in the solution of Germany’s difficulties was the hopeful mfivement for greater freedom of trade through the three power monetary declaration, in which the co-, operation of others powers, including Germany, was invited. *’

Turning to Italy, with which Brit’sh relations had deteriorated through Britain’s faithful fulfilment of her League Covenant-Obligations, Mr Eden reaffirmed that there had never been, so far as the British were concerned, an A'nglo-Ttafian quarrel. Until that was recognised as true in Italy, AngloItalian relations would continue to suffer 1 by misunderstanding. Mentioning ‘ Signor ‘ Mussolini’s recent description of the Mediterranean as a “short cut,” Mr Eden, declared amid' cheers: “For us tile Mediterranean is not a,.short qut,. but a main arterial road. We do not challenge Signor .Mussolini’s'word that ' for Italy the Mediterranean is - her very lire, *. but we affirm “that' fM&'dtfrfi 'uf communication in these waters is also ol vital interest in fclje -full sense of the words to the British Commonwealth of Nations.

“In the past tlie interests of the two countries .have been complementary rather than divergent, and the Government has ■} every desire ’that these relations should be preserved. It welcomes the assurance of Signor Mussolini that Italy does not mean to threaten this route nor propose to interrupt it. NoF’do we. Our position is the same.” . J