"A WAR ATMOSPHERE”

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXII, 15 April 1939, Page 6

"A WAR ATMOSPHERE”

AN inspired German statement endeavours in familiar terms to make a case against Britain’s genuineness and accuses it of adopting methods “of provoking a war atmosphere by unscrupulously creating panic.” Britain’s control in Palestine is attacked and no account taken of the extreme difficulties experienced there and of the patient endeavours in the cause of amelioration as between Jew and Arab. And of course there is further reference to the “British encirclement policy,” and the fatuous assertion is made that Mr Chamberlain admitted this policy. The charge of “provoking a war atmosphere” is of course preposterous when applied to a peace-seeking nation such as Britain has clearly demonstrated herself to be. But it is entirely warranted as a charge against the Dictator-aggressors. Then again to describe the system of guarantees against aggression as “encirclement”—as Germany and Italy have described it—is indeed “fantastic,” as one speaker in the House of Commons termed it. The system is led by Britain, with France collaborating closely, and was necessitated by the failure of j the policy of appeasement which was described by Mr Chamberlain last year as having for its objective “the promotion of friendly ! relations with other nations who were willing to reciprocate and J keep the rules of international conduct, without which we can have neither stability nor security.” Germany was responsible for the failure of that policy. She proved to be not only unwilling to reciprocate, but she cynically and violently repudiated her own written pledges. Italy followed Germany’s example. In consequence the world so far from enjoying a new era of peace has hovered agonisingly on the edge of war. As Mr Chamberlain said early in the month, and repeated in effect on Thursday, it was impossible for the nations to live forever in such an atmosphere of surprise and alarm; and, appeasement having failed—or rather never having been given a chance owing to Nazi irreconcilability—Britain’s only recourse is a return to collective restraint of the aggressor.