BELGIAN HOPE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23489, 28 October 1939, Page 11

BELGIAN HOPE

NEUTRALITY VITAL RESIST SAME' SPIRIT AS 1914 MUCH STRONGER FORCES .(Received October 27, 10.35 p.m.) BRUSSELS, Oct. 27 King Leopold of Belgium, in a broadcast speech to the United States from Brussels last night, said that neutrality was vital to Belgium. ; "Peace is a matter of life or death for us, because if we became involved, it would be on our soil that the war would be fought out, regardless of the issue, meaning our destruction,' said King Leopold. "Our Army in 1914 did its best to arrest the, of a cruel invasion. If we are-. attacked again to-day, we will not hesitate to fight with the same conviction, but with forces 10 times Stronger. ' . "But we cannot believe that any belligerent will disregard our neutrality," King Leopold concluded. "

POLICY ENDORSED CANADIAN GOVERNMENT CABINET POSITION EASED EFFECT OF QUEBEC ELECTION OTTAWA. Oct. 2« Dominion Government officials have • acclaimed the Liberal .victory as a •keeping endorsement of the Government's war policy. The Prime Minister, Mr. Mackenzie King, asserted that it was impossible to exaggerate the significance of the voting, "which has shown that tho people of Quebec share in tho determination of their fellow-Canadians, that a united Canada shall co-operato on the side of Britain and Franco in •• the war to' defend freedom and resist aggression." Tim defeat of ths Duplessis Government has eased a tense situation in tho -Dominion Cabinet, from which tlireo Liberul Ministers from Quebec said they would 'resign if.the party was defeated. Seven members of the Duplessis Cabinet were defeated. Without the Quebec election tliero would doubtless have been a general election in 1940. but sinco the Government's war record was to a considerable extent the issue in Quebec, Mr. Mackenzie King may consider tho same r ? Vote of confidence sufficiently convincing to warrant asking Parliament to extend its life beyond the five years, • was do no at the outbreak of tin* world War. Although he retained his seat and a single Action Liberalo Xationalo wat, the leader, Mr. Paul Gouin himself was defeated. Mr. Duplessis declined to comment.