CENSURE MOTION.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20561, 12 March 1935, Page 7

CENSURE MOTION.

Labour’s Strong Opposition to Defence Plan. MAJOR ATTLEE’S ATTACK. United Press Assn.—By Electric Telegraph—Copyrlght. (Received March 12, 2 p.m.) LONDON, March 11. Major C. R. Attlee moved the Labour Party’s censure motion, which contended that the Government’s poljicv was completely at variance with ! the spirit in which the League of 1 Nations was created to establish colllective world peace, that it jeopardised j the* prospect of any disarmament convention and that, instead of ensuring national safet> r , it would lead to international competition and would engender insecurity which would ultimately lead to war. He claimed that the first part of the White Paper meant repudiation of the League Covenant. (Cries of “ No ” and Labour counter cheers). Failure to make the League effective was the real cause of the present-day talk of war and armaments.

“We spent £1,500,000,000 on armaments during the period when we were supposed to have practised unilateral disarmament,” he said. “ Labour is utterly and entirely opposed to Hitlerism and the present rulers of Germany and detests militarism in every form, in every country. Labour in no way underrates the fact that Germany has left the League and is now re-arming and preaching war, but Labour believes that she should be dealt with by the League in which the whole world could be ranged against the aggressor.

“ If we were inside a League of collective security, we would only need the forces necessary to meet in combination any menace by an aggressor,” said Major Attlee. “ Why did the White Paper talk about the need for us to protect the integrity of certain territories on the other side of the Channel? It is deceiving the country to suggest that it could be protected from air attacks by a larger Air Force, anti-aircraft guns and anti-gas rrteasures.” If they wanted world peace they must sacrifice greed, ambitions, nationalism and Imperialism. The cause of present-day unrest was economic. Everywhere there were masses of people in distress. Their rulers were unable to satisfy them and therefore they preached flamboyant nationalism.