PEACE THE AIM

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXIII, 10 June 1939, Page 9

PEACE THE AIM

POLICY OF BRITAIN REPLY TO GERMANY HITLER'S ALLEGATION REGRETTED I lßril mh Official Wireless) RUGBY. Bth June. In answering a question in the House of Commons to-day, the Prime Minister, .Mr Chamberlain, referred with regret to the allegaI lions being made in Germany that iritain is planning the destruction of German trade and all bases of German existence with a view to achieving (he political and physical extinction of the German people. Such allegations, he said, continued to be made despite many positive declaration to the contrary by himself and the Foreign Secretary, Lord Halifax. Mr Chamberlain went on. "In my speech in Albert Hall on 12th May. and ' my speech during the debate in the i l House of Commons on 19th May. I stated that any suggestion that we wished to isolate Germany or stand in ; the way of natural and legitimate ex--1 tension of her trade in Central Europe j and South-Eastern Europe, or to plan some combination against her with the > idea of making war upen her. were fan- ! tastic. ! "I made it clear that it was still out’ ! firm desire that our two peoples should never go to war with one another j again, and that we did not desire to enter into unbridled competition with I Germany either in armaments or j economics. ; "On 19th May I said we would not rej fuse to discuss any methods by which reasonable aspirations on the part of 1 other nations could be satisfied, even jif this meant some adjustment of the , existing state of things, but I insisted : that such a discussion could only take | place in an atmosphere of mutual con- ! fidence. J "I can only repeat my regret that j declarations, whether official or otherj wise, should be made in Germany j which do nothing to assist in creating j such an atmosphere. VIEW OF LORD HALIFAX j In the course of his speech in the debate in the House of Lords to-day, J the Foreign Secretary, Lord Halifax, 'referring to the general international situation, said: — i "The British policy seems to ourselves straightforward and plain, but

jit is perhaps not difficult to imagine ! how different it may appear to many i thinking people in Germany. There j must be many such who are not less i shocked than ourselves at the treat- ! ment of the Jews, and who realise that 4 ! whatever Germany may have felt about ’ i the relations between Germany and ' i Czechoslovakia as they were left by ! the Munich Agreement, to attempt to | . solve that problem by the destruction I of Czech independence was—to state it ’ ,in moderate terms—both unwise and wrong. t “Nevertheless. I suspect that such I peole as I have in mind in Germany. * j feeling all this, may, in the light of 1 the history of the post-war years, feel ! 100. that Germany would never, in fact, have secured consideration for J claims that seem to her people cminentIly reasonable and just, unless she had > been prepared to back them up by a . threat of force. [ “The British people. 1 think, have constantly sought. and still would 1 earnestly desire if they thought it posj sible. to reach an understanding with _ Germany such as might not only prove s of assistance in the settlement of pars ticular questions, but also might f place the two countries upon a secure 2 footing of mutual confidence. ) “All the same. I think it should be made clear that the people of this coun- ! try are not less ready and not less dei termined than their friends across the j channel to make whatever contribution | is necessary to uphold their way of life i j and defend their position in the world." A BRIGHTER OUTLOOK : I In making reference to the anti-ag-gression guarantees of Britain and i France and their representation in Ger- ■ many as an encirclement, Lord Halifax i said: "If indeed it were true that in no ; | country do the leaders cherish designs ' ! of imposing settlements under the pres- i ! sure of overwhelming force, then no one j of these engagements will ever be called into operation." I He added: "The way is open to new j opportunities by which all may benefit.

j I am encouraged to say that by the words used by Signor Mussolini in a j speech at Turin on 14th May. But il j these problems are to be solved by ne--1 gotiation, there must be goodwill on | both sides, and there must be a con vie- j j tion on both sides that the word of the j ; other will be kept. "If there is one thing certain in this I uncertain world it is that Britain and j France never will commit an act of ag- | gression or attack by indirect means (he independent security of another I State. So far from our wishing to em- | barrass Germany in the economic field, j u really prosperous Germany would be | good for all Europe and for us; and so far from wishing to obstruct a settlement, our one aim is to throw the whole of our weight in the scale of peaceful settlement. But the day has gone by when the independence of European nations can be destroyed by unilateral acts. It is clear that any further «tI tempt to do so will meet with wide and resolute resistance.

"As to the possibility of a conference, 1 would express some doubt as to whether a conference by itself, whatever may be its appeal to our national feelings. offers a remedy. I can say, however, that if there seems to be a real attempt to reach a settlement and a conference is suggested we should bo prepared to make the best contribution we could to bring it to a successful re-

sult.” GERMAN PRESS COMMENT (Received 10th June, 9.0 a.m.) BERLIN. 9th June. j In an editorial headed "Deeds of Mr ' Chamberlain.” the newspaper "Voejkisjeher Beobachter” advises Mr Chamberlain and Lord Halifax to make less play with words. The article adds that the success of the German peace policy has painfully surprised London. Another Berlin newspaper, “Lokan- ' r.nzeiger,” brands the speeches of Mr | Chamberlain and Lord Halifax as

samples of “pharaisaical hypocrisy” and charges Mr Chamberlain with expressing goodwill to Germany in one breath and advocating encirclement in the next.