"BRITAIN SAVED WORLD"

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 19886, 13 March 1939, Page 8

"BRITAIN SAVED WORLD"

DETERRENT STRENGTH MR. BRUCE'S BELIEF DETRACTORS CRITICISED SYDNEY, Feb. 8. "The British Empire is again becoming one of the great forces of the world, and its strength is one of the great factors for preserving the peace of the world," said the High Commissioner of Australia in London, Mr. S. M. Bruce, speaking at a dinner given in his horicur by the Royal Empire Society at the Australia Hotel last night. Mr. Bruce said lie believed that Britain was rapidly reaching the point where she need no longer fear a war for which she had been unprepared and a war long drawn out. "Britain and the British Empire have not been false to their trust, in recent years," declared Mr. Bruce. "They have played their part as well as our ancestors did, and I believe that when the history of recent events ccmes to be written it will be shown that Britain lias saved the world. For my part I say, 'To hell with the detractors of the British Empire.'" Mr. Bruce was greeted with cheers when he rose to speak, His health

was proposed by Sir George Mason Allard, who presided, in the absence of the president of the society, Sir Hugh Denison. The toast was supported by the deputy-Premier, Mr. M. F. Bruxner, who represented the Premier Mr. B. S. B. Stevens. Not World's Policeman. Suggestions had been made, said Mr.' Bruce, that the prestige and influence of Great Britain and the British Empire had progressively declined during recent years. The reasons put forward by those who held these views were that Britain should not have allowed the present position to arise; that, now that- it had arisen, she wp-3 truckling to the dictators instead of disciplining them. In considering those views, two 'hings had to be remembered: That Britain was not the policeman of the world, and that the traditional policy cf the British Empire was to keep out of European entanglements, save for the protection of vital British interests, as, for example, the domination' by any foreign Power of France, Belgium, and the Low Countries. "The story of the failure of the League of Nations is not the story of the failure of the British Empire to honour its obligations," said Mr. Bruce. "It is rather a story of great endeavour by the British Empire, which was brought to naught by the failure of .others to live up, to their obligations." Germany's Acts. Mr. Bruce said that Germany walked out of and wrecked the Disarmament Conference in 1933. That

act was a deliance by Germany of the world and the repudiation of her treaty obligation. At that time Germany had few trained men, no military aeroplanes, and practically no serious armament. Germany could have been disciplined with ease. It would have been only a matter of a few weeks before Germany would have been brought to her senses. The method, however, would have had to be by armed force, in other words, a preventive war. The nations were not prepared to take that action. What would have been the attitude of Australia if Brit. ain had then declared she was once more going to war with Germany? Such action would have been bitterly resented. "Germany, having got past this danger point, went ahead in defiance of the world and re-armed," said Mr. Bruce. "In 1936 she re-occupied the demilitarised zone in defiance of her treaty obligations, and in defiance of the world. Again only a preventive war could have halted the Germans—a much more difficult and serious one than when they walked ou cf the Disarmament Conference. Again the world was not prepared to act, nor, do I suggest, would Australia's opinion have endorsed such action. "We then come to last year and the forceful occupation cf Austria by Germany," added Mr. Bruce. "Again. would we have been prepared to fight on .this issue? It would have been difficult because Austrian opinion owing to Nazi propaganda, was dfvid-

I ed on the question of absorption into the Reich " Finally, said Mr. Bruce, had come the Czechoslovakian incident, in which the quarrel was between Czechoslovakian citizens in the Sudeten area and the Czechoslovakian Government. Subsequent to the settlement of the incident in September, Herr Hitler had laid down very harsh terms in which he was revealed not enly as the dictator of Germany, but also the dictator of Europe. Those terms the United Kingdom had refused to accept, and on the question of the tewns had committed herself to war, a decision which showed great courage, and was true to British character and tradition. "Now," said Mr. Bruce, "we are faced with the position that the League is powerless, and that there are certain countries in the world that have shown by their acts that they are prepared to achieve their aims -by force and threats of force. Are they to be allowed to march from threat to threat and from triumph to triumph? answer is no. "lie world is rapidly re-arming morally and physically under the 'eader;nip of Britai.i, and is rapidly apuroaevng defensive deterrent strength before which any aggressor will pause"