ON PEACE-TIME BASIS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 63, 14 March 1936, Page 9

ON PEACE-TIME BASIS

GERMAN RHINELAND FORCES BRITAINS REQUEST FOR FRIENDLY GESTURE HOPES FAR FROM FULFILLED BY HITLER S REPLY jßy Telegraph—Preag Association—Copyright! It is now revealed that after a meeting of Cabinet last night Mr. Anthony Eden (Foreign Minister) summoned the German Ambassador and told him it would be difficult to exaggerate the gravity of the view the Government took concerning the present situation, and that in view of the next day’s meeting of the Locarno Powers the Government felt justified in asking Herr Hitler to make, at the earliest moment, a spontaneous contribution which would help in securing a settlement. Mr. Eden then suggested that in order to illustrate the sincerity of Germany's desire for a settlement she should withdraw all but a symbolic number of troops from the zone, that she should not increase the number, and should not fortify the zone, at least for a period necessary for pacts to be negotiated, and the international situation to be regularised. If Germany would make such a spontaneous gesture. Mr. Eden said, he felt sure it would be a valuable contribution towards easing the international situation. Abassador's Reply. I pon Herr Hitler's instruction, Herr von Hoesch called on Mr. Eden to-day and made the following reply, which Britain regards as a contribution, but far from fulfilling its hopes:— "The German Government cannot enter into a discussion regarding lasting or provisional limitation of sovereignty in the Rhineland. Herr Hitler wishes, however, to facilitate the French Government’s acceptance of the German proposals, and therefore reiterates his original intentions to give to the re-establishment of German sovereignty in the Rhineland only a symbolic character, namely, the strength of the troops stationed in the Rhineland to be on a peace-time basis, as already indicated to the British and French military attaches in Berlin. This strength will not be increased at present, nor is it at present intended to station them nearer the French and Belgian frontiers. Such restriction will be observed for the duration and pending the negotiations. It is, however, assumed that a similar attitude will be observed by France and Belgium. Mr. Eden informed the French, Belgian, and Italian representatives of the negotiations with Herr von Hoesch prior to to-night’s meeting. Germany's Troops in Rhineland. The Times’ political correspondent says that the Germans maintain that there are 28.000 to 30,000 troops in the remilitarised zone. The highest French estimate has been 90,000. The British Government has no grounds on which to estimate, but the number generally is taken to be about 60,000. The Daily Mail’s Metz correspondent says that French observers on the Maginot line report the withdrawal of large contingents of German troops which, since Saturday, have been close to the frontier. The Times’ Berlin correspondent says that the number ol Rhineland troops is regarded as small considering the large area of territory occupied. It is true that the German Government at first intended to send smaller detachments, but the military authortiies represented that it was inconvenient to send small bodies to widely separated districts, and therefore decided not to divide the formations into smaller strengths than a battalion. The German publie are fully convinced that the Locarno Treaty already has been ended by the French action, and all that Herr Hitler has done has been to register its decease. It has been suggested in authoritative quarters that a slight alleviation of the tension might be induced if the French and German troops nowhere approached within 5 kilometres of the 1- ranco-German border. It is stated that the French fortifications are along a strip sto 15 kilometres from the frontier. The arrangement would mean that no troops would be quartered nearer than the nearest fortress. The Daily Telegraph's diplomatic correspondent says that the Soviet has marked its disapproval oi Herr Hitler s policy by cutting off its negotiations with Germany for 50(1,1X10,000 marks of credits for Russian purchases of German goods during tin next ten years. The Times’ \ ienna correspondent says that a surprise has been provided by the Reiehpost. the organ of. the powerful t'atholie interests, which welcomes Herr Hitler’s offer. It says that Austria should not place any obstacle in the ways of a return to an orderly, neighbourly relationship with the kindred Reich. The Reiehpost's attitude is illuminating to those who think that t 'atholie opinion is solidly anti Nazi. official quarters disclaim the article. Diplomatic Activity in Rome. Beneath an outward appearance of clam and reserve, intense diplomatic activity is progressing in Rome. The Press, apparently from official sources, states that Italy cannot apply sanctions against Germany, since she imports so many essentials from Germane. Nevertheless. Italy will do everything possible to assure European peace, though her own position as a sanctioned country impels important reservations.

SCENE AT KARLSRUHE • HERR HITLER’S SPEECH GREAT CROUD GATHERS ; PASSIONATE APPEAL MADE. LONDON. March 12. | A Karl-ruhr message bays that 7* I special trains helped to amat-s a < rov •’ of 100/XM) at. Karlsruhe, the garri.-'-•. | town nearest the French border. t-> hear Herr Hitler's first campaign • speech in support of his pence plan. Continuous cheering for ton minute-* necessitated the sounding of a bugle :•> command silence. Herr Hitler declared that hr had • :>- « deavoured to instil reason into the i German relations with foreign countries. Th*r* was no reason to trv to •Oppress the individuality of any na- i tier. He, passionately appealed to the I nations for mutual regard as a belie' r j ia the br ►therho d and neighbourship ' of nations. France and Germany must be on an absolutely equal footing, and as * a first essential there must be under- , standing uud recuuviliatiuu. lie I WOUld rathe: build a wuikiuiu' t bOlne liuUl pimvide the CoSt uf a gUii I If uttieis thought th a t they Cuulii ■ htoidei Germany’s progress, they would find Germany ready to resist. They had once solemnly signed a pact in evil times binding them to leave one frontier defenceless. So long as the other side respected the ; pact Germany was ready to abide by ,< 11, but the pact had been betrayed. Germany had no intention attacking France or Poland. f*orr>|*ir*d with th* rest nf th* world

Germany was a haven of peaee. No one more desired peace. She wanted nothing from the other nations and wished for nothing better than to take out a patent for National Socialism. She did not desire to export it. After a tirade against Communism, Herr Hitler proceeded:— “I have drawn the only possible ■ conclusion from the Franco-Soviet ■ Pact by re-establishing our sover- ; eignty. My offer of peace is the ' greatest that could have been made by a German. There will not always be a man able to offer peace at such a period. I hope the world has now realised that I am no superficial nonsense talker. I have made no offer that cannot be combined with my honour. I have not usurped my effice. but hold it in trust from the German people, to whom I now appeal. hoping that the hour has come when the Germans will be accepted into a brotherhood of nations as equals We shall die. but Germany must live. I assure you that nothing, absolutely nothing, will induce us to retard this regained sovereignty over Rhineland. ’ ’ The tornado of cheering ended with the “Horst Wessel” song aril ” Drulsrlthnd über Alles.” iwtied markets tiri'ROT OF THE L'KlblS. LONDON, March 12. The markets are further unsettled as the result of the international crisis and' everything is marked down. The Continental uneasiness has resulted in a continuance of the flight of <apital tn London, affecting the exchange* s and necessitating the intervention nf the authorities