The Timaru Herald TUESDAY, MAY 22, 1934. THE WAY TO PEACE.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 19805, 22 May 1934, Page 8

The Timaru Herald TUESDAY, MAY 22, 1934. THE WAY TO PEACE.

Signor Mussolini’s challenge to I imam to play* her cards and by using her power and prestige save the world from war, will attract the attention of the leaders of the nations of Europe. “The world is waiting for Britain to play her cards because millions of lives and the destiuy of Europe are at stake.” It is deeply significant, however, that a section of the press in Britain synchronised its most violent attack on leading British Ministers with Signor Mussolini's outburst. It would almost appear that some sort of

collusion has been at work. Commenting on the policy of Britain, as expressed in Ministerial utterances, The. News Chronicle said: “A study of the speeches of Mr Baldwin and Sir John Simon shows how British diplomacy maintains its foreign reputation for hypocrisy, in spite of their fulsome professions of attachment to peace. Europe vainly awaits a clear lead from England; yet the failure of the Disarmament Conference is foreshadowed by the pitiful bleatings of Sir John Simon and Mr Baldwin. War is upon us, yet apparently the initiative which these peace lovers could not be induced to take on behalf of peafie will be taken instantly when war is in prospect.

.Manifestly such sweeping criticism is scarcely fair. The Imperial Government may not have been able to compose the sharp differences that have operated against international agreements on armaments; yet, nevertheless, Britain’s attitude on the question of disarmament ought never to have been misunderstood. Indeed, the leading statesmen of Britain have consistently championed reductions in armaments; but the plight of the world to-day is largely due to failure of other nations to follow Britain’s lead into the limitation of armaments.

“No peace without collective responsibility”—this was the keynote of Sir Austen Chamberlain’s address to a great audience at the London Guildhall recently in connection with the national conference in defence of the League of Nations. Moving a resolution that members of the League of Nations must be ready to co-operate in the defence of a member which has been wrongfully attacked, Sir Austen said: “None of us can find security in isolation. We as little as any other nation.

“We are bidden to turn our back on Europe and to be content with our role in the Empire. “So the ostrich buries his head in the sand, but that does not render it immune from bullets.

“We may deliberately close our eyes, but situated as we are close to the Continent of Europe it is impossible that we should escape the results of any great war that takes place on that Continent.”

The former Foreign Minister contended that rather than stand aside until the storm had burst upon them they would be better serving British interests if they made her position, clear beforehand, and thus made a contribution to preventing an outbreak of war. It is generally .agreed that hopes of peace based on isolation are dangerously precarious. But in the interests of her own safety Britain must have guarantees. On this point The News Chronicle, the very journal now hotly antagonistic, insists that “it is one thing to commit Britain to collective policing of a world whose armaments have been generally reduced to fairly innocuous dimensions, and quite another thing to give such undertaking an insurance against the risk of war in a Europe in which France refuses to scrap a gun and Germany arms up to the level of France.” Hence Britain should take prompt pains to remind such challengers as Signor Mussolini, that given a substantial levelling down of the fighting forces of the heavily armed Powers and consequently on a very limited rearmament of Germany, the people of Britain would be willing to underwrite a collective League of Nations insurance against the risk of war. Plainly, Britain ought to make it clear to Europe that she is not prepared to underwrite any risk if the policy appertains to a vast powder magazine.