ARMS INCREASE

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVI, Issue 119, 21 April 1936, Page 7

ARMS INCREASE

ESSENTIAL FOR BRITAIN. PRESERVATION OF SECURITY. MR BALDWIN SPEAKS PLAINLY. (United Press Association—By Electric Telegraph.—Copyright.) (British Official nnx-less.) RUGBY, April 18. The Prime Minister (Mr Stanley Baldwin) in Ins speech at Bewdley, saul that the combination or two events of the first importance during the last few weeks, namely, the rearming ol Germany amt the attempts to put into play the covenant ol tne lit-ague or lNations, halt made it perfectly plain tuat an increase in certain armaments in Britain was absolutely -necessary, li Britain was to play lier part and iulhl her obligations under the Teague, and maintain her position m one world, this step must be taken, and at tne last election the Government had received a mandate to proceed with rearmament. Proceeding, he said it was felt at the close oi the Great War that the imposition of sanctions in order to bring aik aggressor instantly to book by world pressure would be an easy matter. The League as it existed today, however, was not the League that was envisaged when -it was created. At least three great Powers which were armed and industrialised were not in the League: —the United States of America, Germany and Japan. Their absence made the imposition of sanctions of less force. “The League of Nations has been unable to prevent war between Italy and Abyssinia,” he continued. “It is true that it took the prescribed collective . steps in declaring Italy an aggressor and in imposing certain sanctions. But there does not seem yet to 'be effective machinery lor stopping war if one of the parties is determined to go to war and not submit the differences in dispute to discussion and arbitration. In the second place, sanctions are slow in their action. Again, sanctions lose a great deal of their force unless they can be supported by the ultimate sanctions—by blockade or by force. It is ilifflcut to see liow in the existing membership of the League a blockage would be agreed to by the members forming the League. There is a tendency in regard to League action to single out. individuals either for praise or for blame, instead of regarding the recordof the League as the result of collective efforts. “We want the Covenant of tlie League to become the law of the world. That being our object, we are bound, to give our whole support to the League when its Covenant is broken. That is our only motive in the matter, and it is a motive which I believe is fully understood by the rest of the world. If Italv thinks the object of our policy is to bring about her defeat and humiliation, that is a profound mistake on her part.” PEACE OR ANARCHY. Referring to the use of poison gas in Abyssinia, the Premier said: “There are allegations of breaches of the rules of war on both sides, and impartial investigations will be made at Geneva, but if the allegations of the use of poison gas prove true —and we have every reason to believe that it is so — the perjl, 1 say, to the world is this: If a great European nation, in spite of having given its signature to a protocol against the use of such gases, employs them in Africa, what guarantee have we that they may not he used in Europe ? Europe, with its cities 'more densely populated than Abyssinia, would suffer far more. I have uttered the truism that the next war would be the end of civilisation in Europe, and this would be the more certain if the nations of Europe went back on their word and their signatures and used poison gases in Europe, I believe, if such a thing were done, that when the war came to an end the. raging peoples of every country, torn with passion, suffering and horrors, would destroy ever}' Government in Europe, and we should have a state of anarchy as a protest against the wickedness of those in high places.” “I have said, in my time, hard things about dictators, because I believe that in the long run dictatorship might well bring perils in its train in future than the perils it removes. “Herr Hitler, Dictator of Germany, has it in bis power to-day, from his position, to do more at this moment to lift that black shadow which is hanging over Europe than any other man living in Europe. He has it in his power, and God grant he may have the will. If he is willing, nothing that this country can do will be left undone to help. him. I am convinced that if -Herr Hitler has the will there are no people in Europe but would co-operate with him, for their hearts are set on peace and they look on war with horror. The next few months will be vital.”