PEACE WITH RUSSIA

Timaru Herald, Issue 170299, 19 August 1920, Page 7

PEACE WITH RUSSIA

LIBERALS AND LABOUR,

WOULD USE .lEav, UE OF NATIONS

By 1$ eetriu leiegrapn —Copyright. Renter's, '.telegrams. LONUOA, August 16. In the House or commons, ioilowing Mr .boiiar j_.aw, iVlr Asyuixn said, lie considered .the tiovernmeiit had taken too proper course in connection with Poland. It would be monstrous tor Due ijovernment to undertake -iii-tter warlike operations witnout -farliamtiit'si approval, 'lne peace of the world was 1101 V the thing voitn purcnasu.,s "t almost any price short; of uistionour. Moreover, peace ougut not be Luyond the resources of Due combined statemanship of Europe, with the mlp of the League of .Nations. Mr J. it. Ciynes disagreed with the statement that there haci not been any variation of the peaceful purpose- of the Government thrn"~i, the rast week. He declared tiiat there would have been suspicion if it had been known what was transpiring at ihe recent -conferences. He disputed the contention that the Council of Action was challenging tho Constitution, because the .League of Nations was part of the Constitution, ;md it had not been used in this connection. He emphasised that if the Government refused at such a time to use the part of the Constitution which made for peace, then workmen must not forfeit the right to strike if war could bo thus prevented. Lord Robert Cecil dissociated himself from the view that r>j© Government'a negotiations had been successfully conducted. He said the threat of direct action was a threat of insurrection. There was no danger of Britain being dragged into a sudden war, nevertheless Labour uttered an ill-advised threat, which might have unfortunate results in the- future.

LEAGUE CANNOT ACT. Mr Lloyd George deprecated t.sing the League of Nations as a weapon to attack uie Government, and pouitea out that the League's existence was largely due to ifmisa support. The Government stood by the .League, and the .League coula not be invoked, bitnerto as regards Poland, as action by the League depended on the unanimity ot its members. It was useless to attempt, te conceal the fact that the lilies differed as regards the llusso-Polisli situation, and consequently the League could not have done more to reach some measure of agreement than the Supreme Council had done, and was doing. Furthermore, Russia emphatically refused any intervention by the League. Continuing, Mr Lloyd George refuted the criticism with regard to the secrecy of the Supreme Council meetings, and 'declared that they had been* given full publicity.

COUNCIL OF ACTION.

CONDEMNED BY PREMIER.

[ Replying to Mr Clynes's defence of the Council of Action, Mr Lloyd George said Mr Clynes claimed to be a Demo-crat-Constitutionalist. Mr Clynes argued that .the Constitution was an unwritten one. That was correct. But that a, new body might be established and substituted for Parliament m : . a dangerous doctrine. Labour had sud-' denly established a body of men who! said: "Wo will formulate a runs of the Constitution for ourselves. We I will not submit to Parliament, because | elected representatives do not <ount. Therefore we are going to declare by a resolution carried alter two or three Lours' discussion that henceforth the Constitution shall, include a Committee i of Action, representing one section of : the community." That- was one ot the j most formidable challenges ever given! 1 tj democracy, and without hesitation j every Government must accept the challenge. The Labour party knew I perfectly what was the policy of the j Government and their action when there was no issue involving rte peril of the community, and when the GoI yernment had taken a responsibility I in full accord with publio opinion, the ] movement approved by Mr dynes was the most unjustifiable action ever undertaken by a responsible body in j this country. It was done to impress | the people with tho idea that without this dire threat the country would be plunged into war. Every responsible .Labour member knew that the Government was striving strenuously and consistently for peace. He hoped s.:.on to bo able to publish the Government's , despatches to Poland. They would show that Britain deprecated the Polish invasion, and solemnly warned, the Poles that if invasion were undertaken they could nob count on the support of British opinion. The Government had not deviated a hair's breadth iroia their policy throughout. Concluding, Mr .Lloyd George er/.;;.hasised the need for preserving the unity of the nation, as it was preserved in J the face of a greater danger, but resoI lutions like tho Council of Act-ion's of Friday last would not help the cause of peace. Such action roused a deep fear and anxiety in the minds of millions .as to what it all meant, and uhe fear of most was that the democratic institutions of the country were to be subverted by some tyranical idea, imposed by force of arms. "I ;.sk them not to repea* that experiment. If they do it will be difficult to preserve an atmosphere of calm judgment, which I is essential to the peace 'A the world." COUNCIL'S~PPJOPAGANDA. FIXES A "PEACE SUNDAY." The Council of Action is appealing to all workers to organise August 21 aa "Peace with Russia, Sunday," including every city, town and village throughout' the country holding mass demonstrations in favour of an immediate. RussoBritish peace, "No more support for French "militarism and no more trickery." Mr Brace, president of the South. Wales Miners' "Union, interviewed, deprecated the proposal to keep the Council of Action permanently hitting. He said chaos and confusion would follow such a course. However, they should now concentrate upon the RussoPolish situation, the cancellation of the Supreme Council and the establishment of machinery to make the League of Nations effective with a view to seeming world peace.

BRITISH A.OTIONISTS EXPELLED FROM FRANCE.

PARIS, August 18. The Government lias expelled Messrs Adamson and Gosling, who went to France tr> address workmen on behalf of the English Council of Action.