LEAGUE PRINCIPLES

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 264, 7 November 1936, Page 9

LEAGUE PRINCIPLES

British Government Support SPEECH BY MR. EDEN RELATIONS WITH EUROPE ( British Official Wireless 1 RUGBY. Nov. 5. In a crowded House, the lorcipn Sccretiiry (.Mr Anthonj Eden) opened the House of Commons’ debate on the international situation. There were certain guiding principles determining British foreign policy, he said, and the first and more important of these was in relation to the League of Nations. It was fashionable in some quarters to sneer at the League. The British did not join in that, practice, but they must recognise the fundamental realities of the situation, and. while it was real to believe that the League principles were the best yet devised for the regulation of international affairs, it was real to note that some nations did not at present share that view’. It was real to recognise that until those nations did share that view the authority of the League could not be complete, though it could still be important, and it was their duty to make it as important as possible. Finally, it was real to make it plain to the world that Britain would be second to none in defence of its legitimate interests. Mr Eden said that the British Government favoured action at the earliest possible moment in any dispute, and for any necessary modification of Article li to remove the need for unanimity. They had also pointed out the impracticability of the rigid maintenance of the status quo through all time. Mr Eden then spoke of the prospects of the five-Power meeting. He gave an assurance that the British Government would do what lay in their power to bring about success of the negotiations. Relations with Others Mr E len said that his main purpose that afternoon was to contribute something to the appeasement of international relations, and he proceeded to review the relations of Britain with other countries. With France it would be difficult to recall a time when they were better. The same applied to Belgium, and Mr Eden added, regarding King Leopold’s declaration, that he had received assurances that Belgium stood by her existing obligations. The desire for closer Anglo-German friendship was often expressed in Germany and was generally reciprocated by Britain. There were, however, two conditions attaching inevitably to any friendship which Britain could proffer to any other country. These are that such friendship cannot be exclusive and cannot be directed against anyone else.” Speaking of Germany, Mr Eden found it necessary to comment on the ’noticeable tendency in that country to put. on Britain the blame for her present economic difficulties. That was not in accord with fact, and he could not accept it for a minute. He mentioned the basis erf the 1934 Anglo-German payments agreement, which left £45 out of every £lOO spent by the British on Gorman goods at Germany’s own disposal for purposes of buying raw materials and foodstuffs and meeting her financial obligations. He made bold to say there was no other country with whom Germany had so favourable an agreement, but much more important in relation to the solution of Germany’s difficulties was the hopeful movement for greater freedom in trade, resulting from the threo-Power monetary declaration, in which the co-opera-tion other Powers, including Germany, was invited. Britain and Italy Coming to Italy, with which British relations suffered deterioration owing to Britain's faithful fulfilment of her Covenant obligations, Mr Eden reaffirmed that there had never been so far as the British were concerned an Anglo-Italian quarrel. Until that was recognised as true in Italy, Anglo-Italian relations would continue to suffer by misunderstanding. Alluding to Signor Mussolini’s recent description of the Mediterranean as a “short cut,” Mr Eden declared, amid cheers. “For us the Mediterranean is not a short cut. but a main arterial road. We do not challenge Signor Mussolini's word that for Italy the Mediterranean is her very life, but we affirm that freedom of communication in these walers is also of vital interest, in the full sense of the word, to the British Commonwealth of Nations.’ In the past the interests of the two countries have been complementary rather than divergent, and the Government has every desire that these relations bo preserved. They welcomed the assurance that Signor Mussolini had given that Italy did not mean to threaten this route nor propose to interrupt it. “Nor did Ue; our position is the same.” Speech Commended Mr H. Dalton (Labour) paid a tribute to Mr Edens speech, but said that the Labour Party was not yet confident that the Government had found a foreign policy. Mr Dalton described Fascism as the outstanding menace, and he hoped that the Government would tell all it knew about the sources of supply of “this man Mosley.” was rich, but not rich enough to pay for all the special trains and Black Shirts’ laundry bills. (Laughter). Mr Winston Churchill (Con.) commended Mr Eden's statement. “We must stand by the League, gathering Ihe largest number of peace-seeking, but well-armed nations, in order to overawe the potential aggressor. If we fail, there will still remain the two great Parliamentary democracies of the Western World, France and Britain, who would be possessed of considerable means of common defence. Together, they would be dangerous to attack and hard to destroy. If Germany’s trouble is a Bolshevist invasion. it could easily be . handled. Let Germany join the systern, and if Russia is the aggressor, all Europe will see that Germany did not go down unaided.” Mr Churchill added that it was surprising that Russia should act with such insensate folly in Spain and else- ; where, considering that she herself