BURDENS OF NEUTRALS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 83, Issue 290, 8 December 1939, Page 7

BURDENS OF NEUTRALS

REPLY TO GERMANY BISMARCK’S EXPERIENCE RECALLED Received Dee. 7, 11.45 p.m. THE HAGUE, Dec. 7. A semi-official statement replying to Germany's demand that neutrals should resist the Allies’ blockade, declares that compliance with German wishes would mean war with Britain and France. It emphasises that neutrality imposes no obligations on neutrals to reply with force. "Nor does any obligation exist to answer with force the German submarine action or Germany's unreasonably long detention of Dutch timber ships coming from the Baltic,” the statement adds. "Germany must know that no neutral land willingly submits to a superior force. Bismarck found it so in 1870 when neutral Britain delivered war material to France, but the Iron ChanceHor did not answer with force what he considered unneutral conduct. On the contrary, he confined himself . to making representations to the BriI tish Government, because he was not in a position to oppose British sea superiority with any chance of success. That is the case of neutrals today, at any rate, of the smaller of them, but they do not thereby in any way lose their neutrality."