MR CHURCHILL’S SPEECH

Southland Times, Issue 25434, 5 August 1944, Page 5

MR CHURCHILL’S SPEECH

WORDS ACT AS TONIC IN BRITAIN (Special Correspondent, N.Z.P.A.) LONDON, August 3. Mr Churchill’s speeches are always regarded here as an event, and usually a bracing event Yesterday’s “good report,” with its full chord of optimism, has been received happily, and his comment “I fear greatly to raise false hopes, but I no longer feel bound to deny that victory may perhaps come soon, acted as a tonic. The House of Commons listened to him throughout in an atmosphere of satisfaction, laughed with him at his humorous sallies and occasional irony and only demurred when he suggested twice that he was tiring the House. Among those who heard him were Brigadier R. S. Park, New Zealand liaison officer in London, Major-Gen-, eral H. K. Kippenberger, of the New Zealand Division, and Mr C. W. Boswell, New Zealand Minister to Russia. Leading articles in all the national newspapers this morning acclaim the The ’Times says: “The lights on the horizon towards which we have travelled so long and painful a road from the gloom of 1940 are now visible far and wide.” The Times continues by reviewing the various points Mr Churchill made and adds: “There are many signs that the

hour of decision is at hand. All has been brought about by the victorious progress of the Allied fighting forces on every front throughout the world. Mighty achievements are coming to fruition; innumerable multitudes contributed to them and Mr .Churchill distributed the credit widely as was due. UNIQUE POSITION “The one conspicuous omission from his honours list was himself; but he has no need to claim his applause. His place among the Allied leaders is for-, ever unique. He it was who ploughed the lowliest furrow and sowed in the bleakest season of English history; now in this late summer he begins to bring his sheaves home.” The Daily Telegraph says: “In Royal Air Force slang, Mr Churchill’s task in reviewing the course and prospects of the war would suitably be described as ‘a piece of cake’.” There was little to excuse and much to expound in the story of the plans carefully laid in what now seems the dark, remote past and carried out in the brilliant present with a precision of timing and an exactitude of detail which may well cause the inveterately suspicious and critical to blush. It must be said that the ‘higher direction of the war,’ once subject to a vote of censure, comes particularly well out of it.” The Manchester Guardian notes that the speech has "not a single passage of foreboding or gloom,” and adds: The end is not yet. The campaigns are still unfinished. London has still, perhaps, worse blows to take, but we can count the rest of the European war in months, if not weeks.” Observing that in his speech on May 24, “Mr Churchill ventured a little unhappily into foreign policy,” The Manchester Guardian adds: ‘ Yesterday he went a long way to redress what seemed to most of us his errors of emphasis. Not even the most hypercritical American liberal will be able to discover criticism in his words. 'That ambiguous phrase about the war having ‘become less ideological in character’ he explained away as meaning only his hope that, instead of warring about doctrines, we are moving towards the ‘broad, simple homely ideals of peace, justice and freedom.’ We may share that hope at any rate. After yesterday the most ideologically-minded of us must not despair that when the final decisions have to be taken we shall find Mr Churchill expounding and acting on the great European liberal tradition.” POLITICAL OUTLOOK The Daily Herald also takes up this point about ideology and says: “Mr Churchill’s speech—so encouraging, so inspiring in its survey of the military situation—suffered from the disturbing, familiar vagueness in its reference to the political outlook.” Saying that Mr Churchill tried this time to forestall opposition by accusing his critics of ‘mixing ideology with idealism,’ The Daily Herald says: “This is a mere bandying of words—a sport at which we should not care to challenge so mighty a master of language as Mr ChurchilL” The Daily Herald recalls his “tender, kind regards to General Franco,” but says that yesterday he "rejoiced to see the Fascist ideology overthrown in Italy and looked forward to seeing the Nazi ideology beaten to the ground.” The paper adds: “But he is still apparently indifferent to the fact that an admiring imitator of Fascism-Nazism is ruler of Spain. There is still an unpleasant suggestion of expediency, as opposed to principle, about some aspects of the Allied policy.” The News Chronicle, while approving the speech, refers to the same point and says: “Only in one respect did Mr Churchill’s survey falter.” > The News Chronicle asks what he means by “the war becoming less ideological" and continues: "He says our aim is a ‘new brotherhood based on the broad human ideals of peace and freedom.’ If this is not the ideology of democracy, what is it? There must be no letting-up of our original purpose to reassert the fundamental values of human freedom in the world we are about to rebuild.”