CRITICAL STAGE IN HISTORY

Southland Times, Issue 25796, 6 October 1945, Page 7

CRITICAL STAGE IN HISTORY

Plea For Spirit Of Understanding

PRIME MINISTER AND LONDON FAILURE (P.A.) WELLINGTON, October 5. Although he regretted the partial failure of the Foreign Ministers’ Conference, he could not regret that a stand had been taken for more democratic methods and principles, said the Prime Minister (Mr Fraser), addressing the Dominion Conference of the League of Nations Union today. This was a time when not only the principles for which the union stood were being tested, but when the future of the world for weal or woe was also being settled, said Mr Fraser. The worst that could happen now was for people to rush in in condemnatory terms about any nation or the representatives of any nation. Yet all had the duty of examining as closely as possible, thinking fairly, and speaking frankly as the situation demanded. It was necessary to endeavour to shed preconceived ideas and perhaps prejudices built up over the years. Even in the partial failure of the Foreign Ministers’ meeting, he believed there were signs of progress, said Mr Fraser. The recent declaration of the Dominions at the London Conference showed they had seen' and still saw, though he thought the danger was lessening, the very great menace to the world in the form of domination by a few big Powers. Such an arrangement, though unavoidable in wartime, might in peacetime mean, however good the intentions of members, only the setting up of one dictatorship in place of another, and mankind would not agree to anything of that nature permanently. It now appeared, however, that the limit of domination by big nations had been reached at the Foreign Ministers’ Conference.

Mr Fraser made an eloquent plea for a .spirit of understanding regarding international affairs, because it was just as true of nations as of individuals, that they had to know the truth, and the truth only would make them free. A solution was possible only if justice were done to the smaller nations. The world was now at the most critical stage in history, and the future could not be settled unless simple principles were applied on the widest scale.