BRITISH EMPIRE’S LEAD

Wairarapa Times-Age, 4 January 1940, Page 8

BRITISH EMPIRE’S LEAD

AN INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM. "Attempts have been made in the past to establish an international system which, by its very nature, should outlaw war and make possible free cooperation between the nations in search of a common prosperity and a common civilisation," said Mr Anthony Eden in a recent address. “Some of these attempts have failed, others have succeeded. and of all the successes perhaps the most outstanding example is afforded by the British Commonwealth of Nations. Here we have a number of equal States, each the master of its own destiny, yet conscious of the mutual advantage to be derived from constant cooperation and consultation upon the problems which face them all. The magnitude of this achievement can be measured only by the mutual benefit which each one of the nations has derived from this association. Why is it that our fellow-nations overseas have entered the present conflict so spontaneously? Why is it that they are sending their Ministers to London to consult with our Ministers upon the conduct of the war? It is because they look upon Britain as defending the principles for which they stand. They are eager to play their part in the struggle which has as its aim the establishment in Europe, and ultimately in the whole world, of that spirit of free and willing co-operation which is the essential characteristic of the British Commonwealth of Nations."