BRITISH LABOUR'S RESOLVE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23490, 30 October 1939, Page 8

BRITISH LABOUR'S RESOLVE

Indicative of the determined national spirit in which Great Britain has embarked on the grim business of war is the uncompromising stand taken by British Labour, both political and industrial, for the overthrow of Hitlerism and all that it represents. Political divisions in the House of Commons have virtually disappeared and, although the Labour Party remains His Majesty's Opposition, its main purpose, as disclosed by recent events, is to co-operate with the Government as fully as possible and indeed, at times, to act as a spur to increased Ministerial activity. It is not to be wondered at, therefore, that the leaders of the party should wax indignant over Nazi propaganda, circulated in neutral countries, to the effect that British workers are unwilling to fight and are anxious for peace. British workers would be unwilling to fight for a cause that did not concern them; they would be anxious for peace if they could be sure it would be a just and lasting peace, honourably obtained. They know, however, that the cause for which they are fighting is the cause of liberty all over the world—in Germany itself just at much as in Poland or France or Britain. They know, too, that peace accepted on Hitler's terms would bo a mockery and that with its acceptance freedom and justice would pass into eclipse. All this was made clear in the message addressed by. British Labour to the workers of Germany shortly after the outbreak of war. If corroborative evidence is necessary, it is to be found in the loyal acceptance of conscription and national registration and in the initiative that Labour leaders themselves have taken in putting forward plans for the furtherance of Britain's productive and industrial effort. In a time of national the British working man has never yet been found wanting and on this occasion he has given an inspiring example to his in all countries of the world where liberty is cherished* <