EUROPE'S CRISIS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22240, 15 October 1935, Page 6

EUROPE'S CRISIS

' VHWii.Vg.VK BRITISH VIGILANCE IMPORTANCE OF ENTENTE . V ANTWERP AND CHANNEL PORTS I BY AUBREY L. WILLIAMS LONDON, Sept. 20 While the Council and Assembly of' the League of Nations held those fateful opening sessions at Geneva I roamed the tiny State of Belgium, little larger than Nelson Province, 011 ploasure bent. ; Belgium stands just outside the maiin stream of current European politics, .:' and was, therefore, a point from which developments could be studied in an atmosphere less electrified than those enveloping Paris or Rome.

London refused and still refuses to ' get excited, be the outlook black to a degree. Nothing is more impressivein this crisis than the wonderful calmness with which the British people face it. ; . Their solo concern, apparently, is to | learn whether the League will stand *1 firm and win a real victory for peace, for it is clear that if its potential power * is asserted in this instance, the League * will henceforth be able to circumvent •' any plans which aim at domination by force.

Trust Eeposed In Britain It was flattering to realise what trust | and hope was reposed in Britain by both | the Belgians and their press. As is the £ case in England there are not lacking J! newspapers and individuals holding views opposed to general opinion. Con- ! versations with French visitors to Bel- * gium and a perusal of the French | journals which circulate so freely in !»■: Belgium revealed similar cross-currents, * but, in the main, faith in Britain and the League was expressed, and a fervent hope breathed that peace would he maintained. There was general recognition that upon a close and harmonious co-opera-tion of Britalm and France depended the fate of all Continental peoples. "If those two forces are not completelj ■ .fused so that they present a united obstacle to the worst in order to prevent the catastrophe which one feels might come, then Europe will glide to * her inevitable doom," said Le Soir (Brussels) on the eve of Sir Samuel ; Hoare's declaration in the League Atsembly. "It is solely from Jhe entente between London and Paris that one can i hope for safety." ' " A faith less tinged with pessimism was voiced by La Derniere Heure (Brussels) ' when it said, " In 1914 Britain hon-. n oured her signature. There is no doubt f that she will do the same now. And there is no doubt that at the decmg ' hour France will range herself at her. ' side."

Lion's Watchful Gaze ': . While Britain puts a refreshing moral •; fervour into her participation in Continental affairs, it must be conceded that for reasons bound up with ton- ■,» siderations for her safety, her existence > even, sho cannot remain indifferent to lit certain developments in Europe. When J the import of those considerations u seized it will perhaps bo realised that there can be no question of Britain's ■ withdrawal from Europe, as is advocated r by a certain section of public opinion both in Britain and I"few Zealand. She can never, for instance, contemplate with equanimity the complete domination of Europe by any single Power.

Twice in the last 120 years Britain has intervened to prevenj/such domina* g ; tion. There are emblematic figures in Belgium which speak eloquently, at least they so spoke/to me, on this | subject. Surmounting the British Menin :: Gate Memorial in the almost completely ; restored city of Ypres is the figure of . a lion, with stern, ever-watchful an • directed to the east. The walls "of that memorial are inscribed with the nam»|S of 65,000 men "without known grare. - yet less than one-quarter of the 225,000 '' * men from Britain and the Dominions who fell in the Ypres' salient in . the struggle to prevent the Germans < from reaching the Channel ports, That was but a part of the price the • .British peoples paid to counter the ex- a Kaiser's plan to secure the oyer lordship h of Europe and the domination of the world. ,r The Emblem at Waterloo - >

On the battlefield of Waterloo, about t„ the centre of the Allied line, there ,|- stands a lofty mound, also surmounted • by the figure of a lion, with watchful v eyes directed to the south-west, whence i came Napoleon, who from a slight ;» eminence near by—strangely close to , those used to modern warfare —witnessed the final overthrow of his Imperial Guard, and realised that ruin had befallen his hopes of achieving the f complete ascendancy of Europe. In both struggles, it may fairly be said, the efforts of Britain wore mainly instru- < mental in checking ambitions which imperilled her existence. _ The lesson was further emphasised by the Archbishop of York in the notable address broadcast just previous to the League meetings. While agreeing that indignation at the violation of Belgium ; had determined the spirit of the British ; people as they entered the Great Yv ar, the archbishop said that even the per- ; fectly sincere and chivalrous feeling for Belgium must be balanced by the permanent policy never to let Antwerp fall into the hands of a major Power. . " The concern for justice was perfectly „ real," Dr. Temple added, political self-interest was also activd." Political expediency then, to the exclusion of other motives, demands close Anglo-Belgian and Anglo-French cooperation upon critical occasions to pre- , vent the use of Antwerp—" The pistol Presented at England's throat," , a® n lapoleon so vividly described the city —and the Channel ports as bases for . hostile use against Britain to France . and Belgium. Warnings of Air Raid* -J Recent experiments have proved that " hostile " aeroplanes coming from the , south and south-east are able to reach London within such a brief space or time that the defenders are unable to take adequate precautions to counter such attacks. It is essential, therefore, that' there should exist a close cooperation between Britain, France and Belgium in order that from advanced listening posts warnings of coming air raids may be flashed back to the London authorities. , . |f Forcible though considerations of seirinterest may be, there is a higher, a nobler motive dominating Britain s friendship with Franco and Belgium, m There are only three moral and pohticical forces essentially representative o liberal and democratic western civilisa- , tion which subsist. They are Great Britain, France and Belgium. Almost alone in Europe they can offer resist- . ance to the philosophy and practice 4 1 that violence which has spread over tno Continent, and can give hope to tiie millions who suffer tyrannical rule, a who yet are unable to free themselves from it.