British Empire Is Miracle, Churchill Says

Northern Advocate, 22 April 1944, Page 5

British Empire Is Miracle, Churchill Says

(Rec. 1 p.m.) LONDON, April 21. “WHAT IS THIS MIRACLE THAT CALLS MEN FROM THE UTTERMOST ENDS OF THE EARTH, SOME OF THEM RIDING 20 BAYS BEFORE THEY CAN REACH A RECRUITING STATION?” MR. CHURCHILL ASKED WHEN REPLYING TO THE HOUSE OF COMMONS DEBATE ON EMPIRE AFFAIRS.

It could be called nothing else than a miracle, he said. Because of it armies had trailed 14,000 miles to reach the battlefield. “Wh\ i is this force which makes Governments as sovereign as any that have existed, immediately cast aside all their affairs to join in helping the old land against the common foe? “You must look deep into the heart of man and then you will not find the answer unless you look with the eye of spirit. “Then it is that you learn that human beings are not dominated bymaterial things, but by ideas for which they are willing to give their lives.” Britons were bound together by their freedom, re-informed by the tradition. Their bonds did not depend on anything that could be written down. “Here, after our failures amid the wrecks of empires, states, nations and institutions of every kind, we find the British Commonwealth and Empire more strongly united than ever before,” he added. “We have not got to consider how to bind ourselves together more closely. It would pass the will of man to do that." The Future “The question before us now is how can wo make things better? Plow can we improve our already close ties and gain greater results from them? “Methods must be devised to bring the nations of the Empire into intimate secret council upon the march of world events, not only during this war, because that has been done with great labour efficiency, but after the war. so that they know in full our position and we know theirs in regard to the march of events and the action which might have come from them.” The Prime Minister said it had been suggested that machinery should be created on lines of the Committee of Imperial Defence, but on a larger scale. The question now arises should this machinery be extended into spheres of maritime, economic and financial affairs and how far. Easy to Meet These were obviously matters which they must begin to explore together when they met, informally, their colleagues from the great Dominions. Needs No String Mr Churchill said he had never thought the Empire needed tying together with string. He agreed that in natural development, mysterious natural forces would carry everything before them, especially when thoso forces were fanned forward, as they would be, on the wing of victory in a righteous cause. He described hew on the eve of the first Great War all foreign opinion, especially German opinion, was convinced that this vast structure of the Empire was so rickety, so loose, that a single violent shock would bring it clattering down and lay it low for ever. He recalled that TTi'e contrary was the case and the Dominions leapt into the struggle as one. He said that when the mother country was 'geographically involved once more in a struggle in Europe and found it necessary and right to declare war upon Germany, “instantly from all parts of the Empire, save one lamentable exception, about which we must all search our hearts," came the same response. No Dominion Flinched None- of the disillusionment.? that had followed the last war—war to end wars, homes for heroes, and so forthhad affected in any way the living, growing and intensifying inner life of the British Commonwealth and Empire. From the poorest colony to the most powerful Dominion, when the Kingdeclared war, the Empire was at war. “The darkest moment came but did anyone flinch?” he asked. “Was there fear cr doubt or terror? No. Darkness was turned into a light which will never fade away." Mr Churchill continued:: “It will be quite easy to have meetings of Prime Ministers, of an Imperial Conference every year or more often—on every serious occasion when we get time in peace, It is not necessary that those meetings should always take place in London They may take place in other centres of our United Empire. “When peace returns, conferences of Prime Ministers of the Dominions, among whom we trust India will be reckoned and with whom colonies will be associated, will, we hope, become frequent and regular facts and festivities of our annual life. Some assume there must be inherent antagonism between a world order to keep peace and a vast national or federal organisation which will evidently be in existence.

Room For All

‘‘l do not believe this is true. Both world order and great organisations may be so fashioned as to be but parts of one tremendous whole. I never conceived that fraternal association with the United States would militate in any way against unity of the British Commonwealth and Empire or breed ill-feeling with our great Russian ally to whom we are bound by a 20 years’ pact. “In this far greater world structure which we shall surely raise upon the ruins of the desolation of war, there will be room for all generous and free associations of a special character so long as they are not disloyal to the world cause nor seek to bar the forward march of mankind.’*

Healthy Debate The tone of the debate in the House of Commons yesterday snowed a healthy strengthening of the idea of a live, vigorous and proud British Empire when tue war is won, says the "Daily Mail” in an editorial. Mr. Sninwell's admirable speech should do much to remove a lingering impression that there is something disgraceful in the word "Empire.’’ The editorial proceeds to stress the need for a common foreign policy ana a common defence policy tor the Empire as a whole, and says that the fact that there has been no such policy in the past contributed to the outbreak of the present war and nearly wrote the epitaph of the British Empire.

Arguments in favour of adopting this course have- been well put by many statesmen, including Field-Marshal Smuts, Viscount Halifax and Viscount Cranborne. There have been voices against it, particularly in Canada and South Africa. It has been argued that greater unity in Empire countries will somehow be incompatible with that world-wide collaboration of all nations which will he needed to preserve peace, but surely this is not so. A beginning has to be made somewhere; and where better than in the nations of the Commonwealth, whose first and greatest interest is peace. Britain hitherto had been handling relations with other countries, and the Dominions usually had fallen into line. It would be a mark of more, not* less, independence if they had an equal say in these matters,

or, as Lord Halifax said, if they enjoy equality of function as well as status. . The “Daily Herald” describes Mr. Shinwell’s speech as inadequate and says that no pronouncement by a Socialist: leader on Imperial policy, is a true reflection of his party’s views unless it is completely dominated by, an insistence on :the need for world-wide international economic-co-operation. ' ' ’