GOVERNMENT'S POLICY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22059, 15 March 1935, Page 9

GOVERNMENT'S POLICY

THE WHITE PAPER MR. MacDONALD'S VIEWS ESSENTIAL PRECAUTIONS DRIFT TOWARD INSECURITY By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright LONDON. March 13 "Pacifism in Britain i's becoming an easy-going state of mind, fervidly embracing a meaningless formula of a pious aspect instead of something showing a rugged realism of the objective fact," says the Prime Minister, Mr. Mac Donald, in an article published in the National Labour Party's organ, the News Letter.

Mr. Mac Donald, referring to the Whii;e Paper on defence, says:—

"For some time I have been most impressed by the supine indifference of numbers of our pacifists to the trend of world armaments and the complacency with which they regard conditions in Britain. Peace has become a ms.tter of words and vain moral gestures., merely inviting an aggressor to attack us.

"Britain has been without a policy. The Government was united in issuing the White Paper after many months of most careful consideration. It was essentially a peace document, otherwise I would not have issued it. llaking it Hard for Aggressors

"I am sure that when the history of recent years is written the White Paper will be classed as one of the greatest efforts of these critical times to save peace." Mr. Mac Donald says he is greatly concerned over the way in which the peace prospects of Europe are deteriorating and at the virtual standstill reached in the Disarmament Conference. "Some of us who are peace-lovers are not satisfied to give voice to well used and familiar formula," he continues.

"We are determined to work to make conditions hard for aggressors and not to allow nations which do not appreciate our efforts to assume that our peace lead means that we have ceased to take practicable interest in opposing the tendencies which make for war.

"The White Paper makes it clear that while peace is our policy we shall not neglect our obvious defence. For years we lave set an example to the world in disarmament. The most elementary necessities in our defence system have been neglected. We have felt that even to replace a gun might have been advertised as a departure from our peace and disarmament policy.

Protection of Civilians "We have made proposals for international agreements on armaments and we have not always waited for their acceptance before doing something to carry them out ourselves. The White Paper does nothing, except in the possible case of the Air Force Estimates, to increase our power of offence. "If our moral gesture cannot protect the world from increasing offensive armaments, we must take steps to make collective security more than words and to protect our civilians against attack. "I cannot believe that great nations are blind to the dangers they run in refusing to come to Disarmament Conferences and to make agreements which will neither threaten their own nor any other nations' security."