GREAT INSTRUMENT

Manawatu Standard, Volume LXV, Issue 226, 23 August 1945, Page 6

GREAT INSTRUMENT

WORLD CHARTER DEBATE. MR ATTLEE’S FAITH. (N.Z. Press Association.—Copyright.) (Rec. 1.35 p.m.) LONDON, Aug. 22. The Prime Minister (Mr Attlee), moving a resolution in the House of Commons approving the United Nations Charter, saiu tlie success of the new organisation would not depend on the exact provisions but the spirit in which they were worked. If a Great Power resolved not to carry out the Charter principles no paper provision would restrain it. Fail- i ore b.y tiie Great Powers to agree and j act together would inevitably mean the organisation’s ruin. The Charter endeavoured to put into practical form the deep feelings of the people, including . the fighting men who made it possible. The Charter went beyond the League of Nations’ powers in providing for minorities’ rights. “Can anyone deny the kind of treatment meted out by tiie Nazis to the ' Jews is a question which transcends mere domestic jurisdiction '( If there*mould arise—God toroid—anything like ! this persecution in other lands the new ; organisation will take note of it and I take action.” i

Collective action was not merely a promise to act when ail emergency occurred, but action and co-operation to prevent an emergency occurring. Lhe League ot Nations came into action at too late a stage. He hoped that error had been corrected. What was required were continual discussions on international affairs, not spasmodic actions in crises.

air Attlee, reverting to the San P’rancisco Conference, said the most critical debates turned on the point as to how the small nations’ rights could be preserved while the Great .Powers were given a position commensurate with their importance and responsibility. There was considerable agreement that the matter could not be settled by putting all the States completely on a level oblivious to their population and the extent of their power. The small States’ ultimate acceptance of the broad lines of the Great Powers' proposals was due to the fact that the Charter’s basis corresponded to the world’s realities today. ONLY ONE CPIOICE. Mr Attlee said: “Tins is a great Charter. it is a great instrument, ready lo be used in tne interest oi worm peace and prosperity. X do not say it is tiie linai step. Tne Quarter ltselt may be amended as a result ol experience. All ot us realise we are now laced with the naked choice between world co-operation and world destruction, with tne consciousness of the s.x years ot war behind us and the possibilities which hang oyer us m the luture. X commend tne Charter to the Plouse.” Mr Eden, to whom Mr Attlee paid a tribute lor liis leadership at (sail P’rancisco, especially in the early stages, welcomed ttic fact that the Charter did not enforce boundaries and organisation. Unlike the League, it was not tied up with a peace treaty. He added that it was ludicrous to suggest that the Great Rowers dictated to the small Powers. The commission or committee on which all the participating nations were represented examined every Article in the Charter. Every item had been carried by a two-thirds majority. “If ever there was a subject on which there ought to be unanimity it is this,” Mr Eden added. The new Lord Chancellor (Lord Jowitt). making his maiden speech in the Plouse of Lords, moved the ratification of the United Nations Charter. “The Charter contains the difference between life and death for civilisation as we know it,” lie said. “The Charter is an outward and visible sign of the determination of the nations which won the war to co-operate until peace is established on such a firm foundation that it cannot be overthrown.” Lord Jowitt said it was a strange irony that the men who made possible the death-dealing atomic bomb were the most internationally-minded in tiie world. “1 don’t believe the atomic bomb is a secret that can be kept indefinitely. To try to do so would indeed only encourage research methods of destruction in every country of the world.” Lord Cranhorne said the Charter gave the world one more chance of putting its affairs on a better basis. Viscount Samuel suggested that a national rather than a purely Labour Government delegation should attend the Peace Conference. That would be a visible expression of Britain’s unity on foreign policy. The debate was adjourned.