STRIVING FOR PEACE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23810, 11 November 1940, Page 9

STRIVING FOR PEACE

pacing the dictators FAMILY'S BRILLIANT RECORD -1 FATHER AND TWO SONS r - Britain's man of peace who reluctantly led the Empire to war after the most valiant efforts to avoid the conflict, the Rt. Hon. Arthur Neville Chamberlain was the third member of his family in half- a century to figure prominently in Imperial politics and world affairs. He was 50 years of age before he entered the House of Commons, and became Prime Minister at the age of 68, on the resignation of Mr. Stanley Baldwin, now Earl Baldwin, in May, 1937. In becoming Prime.. Minister, Mr. Chamberlain succeeded to a post that his brilliant father, Joseph Chamberlain, seemed destined to fill. He himself said that his father and his halfbrother, -the late Sir Austen Chamberlain, both had higher qualifications for the Prime. Ministership than he had, and he regarded his,position as the consummation of their life work. The Munich Crisis . To Mr. more than any ethir statesman belongs the credit of averting a European war in September, 1938. The world was grateful for his success after Munich, and, in spite of the war that began a year later, he

ivill be known in history as the peacemaker. His patience in negotiation with dictators, and his courage in standing at a point the aggressor might not pass, won the admiration of all men of goodwill. His name was synonymous fith 'wisdom, resolution, humility and Jionour. ' Born on March 18, 1869, Mr. Chamberlain was educated at Rugby and Mason; College, Birmingham, and for teven years he was engaged in commercial enterprises in the Bahamas. The traditional family association 'with local government in the Midlands was faithfully carried on by him, for on his return to England he entered the municipal life of the city where his father was regarded almost with reverence. He became chairman of the Committee of the Birmingham City Council in 1911, and a n alderman three years later. He was Mayor of Birmingham in 1915, a nd established a fine reputation for competent administration. Entry Into Parliament Although his elder half-brother, Austen, had taken his seat in the House of Commons' at'the age of 27, it *as not until 1918, when he was in his ®"th year, that Neville Chamberlain ecided to stand for the Ladywood divi--8!on °f Birmingham. He won the and remained- in the House ever 'ince. Mr. Chamberlain entered Parliament ,s a man who had served a full apprenticeship both in business and local T «nment. At first he seemed to lack ? .Qualities of personality usually exited of a leading statesman, as he j not possess his father's gift of pic- • oratory, nor his half-brother's y anit y, but it was soon seen that he t|j« n °^' e organising ability, and all Jfenily pertinacity in. tackling big ffoblems. First Ministerial Post

p % four years ' after lie entered ® r lament, Air. Chamberlain was ap'•itcd Postmaster-General by Mr. J' a [ In 1923 he became Minisnet ® ea 't'i, with'a seat in the CabiBto ' n capacity was respon''"n A housing and Rent Restricts S ' over "'ijich there was much at t' lG time. In the same !(t r - Chamberlain was offered and Jj? post of Chancellor of the Itfo e 9" e r, but the Government fell tis p.* new Chancellor had presented j Jf budget.. & e, - tu " lin ® P°' nt in Mr. Cbamber,;thc- year 192.3. A ; % |iP°litical friendship sprang up jtjji Baldwin, and in more recent • have been regarded as an %riiiv1 ?ani '" the Conservatives 4 ' Mr. Chamoecarao Minister of Health and

for the first time began to show his great competence as an administrator. In spite of his excellent work in Parliament, however, it was only in the present decade that he gained real prominence. This came when he took over the chairmanship of the Conservative Party. In the National Government that came with the depression, Mr. Chamberlain succeeded the late Viscount Snowden as Chancellor of the Exchequer and grew immensely in political stature from that time onward. Besides restoring British finances, he built gradually the great structure of Empire trade, translating into practice the theories of Imperial preference he had inherited from his father. 11l the last two or three years before he became Prime Minister, Mr. Chamberlain developed into a dominating figure in British politics. It was inevitable that lie should succeed Mr. Baldwin •when the latter clioso to retire, j The British public did not know Mr. I Chamberlain as well as they did some of the elder statesmen, until he saved them from war in 1935. Little more than a year after his appointment he was called upon to hold the barricades against the forces of chaos, and he held them fast. A year later the barricades collapsed before the onward rush of Nazi aggression, and Mr. Chamberlain, bis voice heavy with emotion and grief, [ told the Empire that Britain was at war. With characteristic modesty and courage, Mr. Chamberlain faced the situation that had arisen after eight months of war and the Norwegian campaign. In his last message from No. 10 Downing Street he } told of bis resignation in order that essential unity might be achieved, and of his decision to continue, at Mr. Winston Churchill's request, as a member of the War Cabinet. As Lord President of the Council, Mr. Chamberlain was little in the public eye. Illness soon overtook him after his resignation from the Prime Ministership and at the end of July he underwent an operation for an internal complaint. He apparently recovered, but early in October he announced his resignation as a member of the War Cabinet, stating that minor difficulties following his recent operation and the stress of war made it impossible for him to carry out his duties. He also resigned from the leadership of the Conservative Party. - Long devotion to the joys of the out-of-doors made Mr. Chamberlain something of a naturalist and a keen angler. His enthusiasm for trout and salmon fishing was nearly as well known as his famous umbrella, which inspired cartoonists the world over. The friend of a lifetime said that his marriage was a real romance. His wife wns formerly Miss Annie Vere Cole. They were married in 1911 and had one son and one daughter.