EMPIRE UNITY

Waikato Times, Volume 126, Issue 21038, 14 February 1940, Page 7

EMPIRE UNITY

GRATITUDE TO DOMINIONS SOLIDLY BEHIND ALLIES DEFENCE OF MIDDLE EAST (Official Wireless) (Received Feb. 14, 11 a.m.) RUGBY, Feb. 13 The Times, referring editorially to Mr Anthony Eden’s expression of appreciation of Egypt’s hospitable reception to the New Zealand and Australian troops, says: “What Egypt has done since the outbreak of the war to co-operate i with the Allies in making impreg- I nable the position in the Near and Middle East, deserves indeed the warmest recognition. All the peoples, Arab and non-Arab, of that strategically important area are solidly behind the Allies and are giving them every assitance within their power, but it is the French Army in Syria and the British and Egyptian families in Egypt who are the core of the de- . fence of the Middle East. The i forces in Egypt have been expanded ' by the enrolment of volunteers from, Malta, Cyprus and Palestine. “Germany's new subjects, Poles, Czechs and Slovaks, who have been ‘liberated’ by the Fuehrer are being dragged to work for the Reich. Wherever the British flag flies, whether in the Dominions, Crown colonies or dependencies, free men are volunteering to defend the ideals for which the Empire stands.” Empire’s Power The Manchester Guardian says: “It is not at once that the Empire’s full power can be marshalled. Germany has but to mobilise and march to the frontier which she intends to violate. A few days after France has given the order her colonial froops can begin to cross the Mediterranean, but our connections span hemispheres and reach the Antipodes. Not only is the distance great and the seas dangerous but we here can give no orders and make no plan. We can appeal to the equal members of our commonwealth, but the decision and the speed of the answer rests with them.” A Common Heritage The Daily Telegraph says: “With the sure instinct of people bom and bred in freedom the King’s subjects of the Antipodes, not less than those here at home, have realised how clear and simple the issue is. Here in the heart of the Empire we honour and are grateful for the ungrudging allegiance which our brethen from the other side of the world are rendering to the fundamental ideal and tradition of our common heritage.” The Daily Herald says: “If mass 7 cruelty in Europe appals, remember the free British nations, and remember socialist New Zealand turning from a great social experiment to the grimmer job defending the right ot free nations to exist at all. When you remember that, remember the heroic Anzacs of the last war, and you will not doubt the issue.” History Repeats Itself The Times says: “Not accidentally does military history repeat itself, but because geography is strategy’s foundation, thus the Suez Canal is still the half-way house for the New Zealand and Australian troops, and an admirable place for the Near East reserve. The more so because it is linked with a similar great French force in Syria and because Turkey has resumed her traditional friendship with Britain. “The Dominion forces could not be better placed. Their arrival reinforces our cause, morally and materially.” The Times recalls that Egypt was the training ground for the winners of undying renown at Gallipoli, and declares that these troops will live up to their predecessors’ great fighting reputation. * Mr Savage and Mr Menzies,” it continues, “clearly defined the issues for which we are fighting. In all the Dominions public opinion has insisted that the great traditions built up at Gsiiipoli and Flanders must be maintained.” Imperial Unity The Daily Telegraph, singing out y New Zealand for a special compliment with “Haeremai” as a heading, interprets the landing after a prosperous voyage as a demonstration of Imperial unity, Britain’s command of the seas, and the efficiency cf the

army, navy and mercantile marine It was appropriate that when the first New Zealand transport reached Suez the greeting ’Haeremai’ should be vociferously raised, suggesting the obvious English interpretation: ‘Here am I.’ “Three cheers for the Anzacs. tile boys are mi their way,” exults the Daily Mail, in paying tribute to the immortality of the name, unforgettable here or in It adds: “They come to fight Hitlerism now as they fought Kaiserism in the last war.” The Daily Chronicle cites the arrival as the Dominion's answer to Germany's false prophets, who foretold the Empire’s disintegration. “Once more New Zealanders and Australians have taken up their war stations now and await their task, with Turkey no longer a foe but a friend.”