HOME SECURITY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23175, 22 October 1938, Page 13

HOME SECURITY

ORGANISING NATION PROTECTION FROM THE AIR SIR SAMUEL HOARE'S SPEECH HITLER'S PEACE ASPIRATIONS By Teleprraph—Press Association —Copyright (Received October 2L, 5.."> p.m.) British Wireless RUGBY, Oct. '2l "Herr Hitler believes in Mr. Chamberlain's peaceful aspirations, but fears some possible successor," said Sir Samuel Hoare, Home Secretary, in a speech at Clacton. "I believe in Herr Hitler's peaceful aspirations, and like him, I must be prepared for some successor, who may not hold his views, so I adopt as my own motto, 'Always willing for peace and at any hour ready for defence.' That is the reason why, in the interests of peace, I attach such vital importance to the need for national strength." Under present conditions tho air raid precautions covered the whole field of home security and meant a comprehensive organisation of the people for the purpose of maintaining the nation in the face of air attack, continued Sir Samuel. He had vividly in mind the need of organised home security in which willing citizens would have a full part to play as trained helpers rather thnn newly-joined amateurs.

Mr. Chamberlain's Achievement Sir Samuel Hoare paid an eloquent tribute to Mr. Chamberlain's achievement, which had saved the world from chaos and catastrophe such as it had never suffered in all the centuries.

"Looking back through the chapters of modern history, I can find no similar case in which a single man by his own efforts, physical, mental and moral, so completely changed tho course of events," said the Minister. Tho world had rightly rung with his praises. Parliament had acclaimed him, and the peoples of England and Germany gave him a triumphant welcome. They knew his airborne peace had saved them from death and devastation.

Sir Samuel complained bitterly of the criticism of Mr. Chamberlain, which was now raising its head, and denied that it would have been possible to obtain better terms for Czechoslovakia because, if better terms could have been obtained, Mr. Chamberlain would have secured them. The Fuehrer's Pledges

The speaker read the Munich declaration and said he refused to accept the view that no one could believe Herr Hitler's pledges. It must be admitted that there had been occasions when, having disclaimed the use of force, Hcrr Hitler had yet had recourse to it. That inevitably gave cause for anxiety, said Sir Samuel, but he recalled the Anglo-German naval agreement, by which Germany had stood faithfully, as a powerful reassurance of Herr Hitler's desire for friendship with Britain.

The speaker next dealt with the question why, if the Government had faith in a peaceful future, it felt the necessity of pushing on with rearmament, and mentioned the doubts expressed in the German press on that point. The answer —surely convincing to tho Germans —was to be found in the speech at Saarbrucken, in which Herr Hitler had said the German motto must be: "Always willing for peace and at any hour ready for defence." That was exactly the British position. Tho very condition of future peace was British strength, which was certain to be thrown into the scales for peace. * Lessons of the Crisis Going on to consider the lessons of the recent crisis in relation to defence, Sir Samuel said ho £hought the spirit of public service in the country was greater than ever before, and one of the first duties of the Government was to organise it. The problem was very different from that of 1914, when national service meant conscription into a continental army for foreign service. To-day the need was different: It was for the organisation of the great industrial community to protect itself against a knock-out blow from the air. Willing helpers were there, but the problem of training remained. While reserving fuller details for tho House of Commons, the Minister gave an assurance that tho Government was taking every possible step to improve tho air raid precautions organisation. Ho and his under-secrctary had been engaged in conferences with their advisers on reports collected from the local authorities and at a series of meetings between officials of the Home Office and tho air raid precaution workers, and he would soon be in a position to announce mew steps that they considered necessary. The King yesterday gave audience to Sir Samuel Hoaro.