WORLD'S PERIL

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22852, 6 October 1937, Page 13

WORLD'S PERIL

BACK TO BARBARISM LABOUR LEADER'S VIEWS BRITISH POLICY ATTACKED By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright LONDON. Oct. 4 "The world for the past six years has rattled back to barbarism at bveak-neck speed. Peace everywhere is at the mercy of small incidents and the momentary moods of megalomaniacs," said Dr. Hugh Dalton, in his presidential address at the Labour Party's conference at Bournemouth. "Unless Britain speedily reasserts her influence abominable massacres of civilian populations and tlie systematic destruction of whole cities may soon be repeated on an even greater scale than that now in progress in other countries. The British Government, by successive surrenders, has incurred a terrible responsibility and must bo swept out of office. "The whole spirit of direction in Britain's foreign policy must be changed. Tremendous dangers overshadow us and nothing will be gained by playing the ostrich. Peace Being Brutally Broken "Peace to-day is not merely in peril; it is being brutally broken. In this grim situation Britain must be powerfully armed, otherwise a Labour Party coming into power to-morrow would be in danger of humiliations and intimidations. "Any act of intervention is not to be contemplated. Arms, however, must be linked with a foreign policy which would breathe new life into the League of Nations and re-create respect for international law. "Arms must be a contribution to the organised system of collective security and must be linked also with an offer to all nations to take stock of the world's wealth and share its abundance, conditional upon peaceful procedure for the settling of international disputes and a progressive reduction of armaments." Anti-Japanese Resolution The conference unanimously carried a resolution prepared by the executive and tabled by Mr. C. R. Attlee, leader of the party in Parliament, viewing the .Japanese massacres with horror and detestation, welcoming the demand for an early meeting of Parliament to discuss the Far East situation, and calling on the Government to prohibit loans or the sale of war material to Japan; also urging Britain to cooperate with the League and the United States to exercise economic pressure on Japan. Mr. Attlee said it would be a terrible precedent if the Japanese attempt to break the will of the Chinese by frightfulness was allowed to continue without protest. Labour hoped the Empire would boycott Japanese goods. Japan was in a vulnerable economic position, and he believed pressure would be successful.