MR RAMSAY MACDONALD

Southland Times, Issue 20618, 17 October 1928, Page 5

MR RAMSAY MACDONALD

SPEECH IN GERMAN REICHSTAG. A WARM RECEPTION. Berlin, October 15. The Chancellor, Ministers, many deputies, the British Ambassador, other diplomats, and members totalling 800 in all filled the Reichstar to hear Mr Ramsay Macdonald’s speech at the invitation of the Committee for International Discussion. Herr Leobe, president of the Reichstag, introduced Mr Macdonald, saying that Berlin still remembered how Mr Macdonald bravely pleaded for England’s neutrality at the outbreak of the war, and how he recently urged the withdrawal of troops from the Rhineland. Mr Macdonald’s speech, which stressed the necessit” for international peace, was warmly applauded. He said that when the truth was told it would be found that no nation was wholly responsible for the war. Britain’s policy was friendship with all democratic nations. Disarmament had progressed slowly because the nations feared they would be deceived by others, and an honest nation feared victimization by a dishonest nation. The causes of the world war were infinitely complex, declared Mr. Macdonald. The policy of seeking allies was antiquated and must be replaced by a policy of seeking friends. The Kellogg Pact and Locarno Pact were useless unless there was a spirit of peace in the world. The defect at the Geneva meeting was that each nation had visions of a fresh war. The first task of statesmen was to make the people prefer the risks of peace to the risks of war. A great deal of useless discussion had gone on between Britain, Japan and America, each country thinking only of its own armaments. It would better if the United States joined the League. If not, the sooner Europe helped herself the better. Personally, under no circumstances would he ever agree to enforce the stipulations of the peace treaty by an appeal to arms. —Australian Pnw Awociation.