FOREIGN POLICY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25853, 25 May 1945, Page 5

FOREIGN POLICY

LABOUR'S PLEDGES

PREVENTION OF AGGRESSION

(Rec. 10 p.m.) LONDON, May 23. Mr Ernest Bevin, outlining Labour’s foreign policy at the Labour Party’s conference, said: “ Our insurance premium, for which we have to pay in commitments, must be Britain, America and Russia. These three must be welded together into a great power to prevent aggression, but this requires patience, toleration, and an attempt to understand the other man’s viewpoint.” Mr Bevin declared that the prime cause of depressions, unemployment and .malnutrition was speculation and financial manipulation by middlemen in the production and distribution of food. A powerful British Labour Government was essential to ensure the success of the policy laid down at Hot Springs, where a resolution designed to reduce hunger and suffering among the poor of the world was adopted, and where it was decided to establish a permanent organisation to work toward the goal of freedom from want. Mr Bevin said Labour stood for universal orderly but sufficient distribution of food, preventing the middleman , from gambling on world markets. If the industrial army of Britain was to maintain a decent standard of life they must be just to the peasants and primary producers of the world. Britain must plan for bulk purchase, which they had done during the war, Britain must aim at the establishment of a minimum wheat price, which was most vital to foreign policy. The must have a guaranteed price, not only nationally, but internationally, ror that reason Britain must return to the almost forgotten policy of import boards.

Labour’s policy was to maintain decent agricultural standards of pay in Britain, to make home agriculture efficient, buy from overseas, put their own ' produce with it, average the price, and maintain a decent standard at both ends. International combines, which limited production and caused scarcities, must be fought. Empire preference must be retained so long as other countries used tariffs against them, but if there was a lowering of tariffs throughout the world the problem would have to be reconsidered with the dominions. Empire Preference Mr Bevin added that Empire preference was useless if private enterprise threw it away. He declared that something must be devised as a bal-. ancing factor in international exchange to prevent wild fluctuations,' - which were disastrous to employment. Declaring that Labour stood for collective security, Mr Bevin said: “It is no use shouting about international police forces if you are not going to

supply policemen.” Full employment, he said, would mean very little voluntary enlistment for services, and Britain therefore must extend national service at least until she knew how the world organisation would turn out. Mr Bevin. said a Labour Government would try to settle the Indian problem by adding more and more responsibility to the Indian Government year by year and would close the India Office and transfer its business to tha Dominions Office. "We are anxious to create a situation in all the States of Europe, east or west, in which free democratic elections can be held.® We pledge ourselves never to use these small States to play off against the bigger States in order to get advantages. There is a fear in the back of some people’s minds that we will use the Eastern States as a springboard against Russia, and there may be lurking fears that Russia will use them against us. It will be Labour’s aim to remove the lack of confidence which is the basis of these fears. We have no bad record to live down and we have never sent a director of the Bank of England to deal with Russia’s enemies-” Mr Bevin concluded with references to France and Italy. " France is going Left,” he said, "and Left understands Left.”

Agreement Between Powers Mr C. R. Attlee stressed' the vital importance of agreement between the three major world Powers. He said: “ We believe the problem of peace can be solved by building an international organisation for its maintenance. I am hopeful that success will crown the efforts of the delegates at San'Francisco. Ido hope that, in spite of all difficulties, an agreement will be reached. If -we get a world organisation it will be only the first step to world peace. I cannot overstate now vitally important it is that the three great nations should work together in harmony for the peace of the world. It is a prerequisite of any success that the comradeship that has won the war shall continue into the peace. I ask mv colleagues not needlessly to raise suspicion between Russia, the United States, and Britain. “The vital thing is to get a world organisation that will keep in step with our great Allies. It must be armed with power to prevent aggression. We hope in due course of time that the world will grow wiser and that less and less will there be need of armed force, but you cannot get rid of that at the present time, and we shall have to put up with whatever is necessary if we are to do our share in the company of the great and small nations. Only under a world organisation can we progress towards reducing the burden of armaments arid only under this protection can we build up world prosperity. It is a very terrible problem, and I earnestly hope that an agreement will yet be come to on the basis of the Yalta agreement. “Let us be realists about Japan and Germany. We must realise that in Germany whole generations have been absolutely warped and twisted into barbarism. We cannot afford to give these people another opportunity to destroy civilisation. You cannot change these warped natures all at once. * There must be great changes, which will take a long time, before the German people are regenerated and fit to be admitted into the comity of The existence of masses of people in poverty and wretchedness makes them the game cf gangsters. World Prosperity “We should try to build up a world prosperity. Let us make no mistake. Our prosperity depends on world prosperity. We want to see rising standards throughout the world. In these coming years the outstanding question is the survival of our civilisation. Buchenwald is a terrible reminder of what human nature can sink to. I believe the British Labour movement, nurtured in freedom and practised in democracy, can give a lead to the world to free itself from slavery and fear, and to establish peace on a sure basis.’’

The Labour Party Conference passed a resolution pledging Labour members to render every support to the services in the war against Japan, in order to achieve speedy victory and an oarh return of servicemen to their homes