BRITAIN CRITICISED

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 122, 25 May 1937, Page 9

BRITAIN CRITICISED

WEAKNESS ALLEGED;1 , ;*

MR. LYONS'S DEFENCE

APPEAL FOR UNITY

(Received May 25,. 11.30 a.m.) ; '. !. ..■■. .LONDON, May 21. In the absence of Mr. Neville Chamberlain and Mr. W. L. Mackenzie King, Mr. J. A. Lyons, Prime Minister of Australia, was invited to: preside at this1 afternoon's session of the Imperial Conference,;, when defence was. dis- ? It is now possible, to reveal points from a speech by Mr. .Lyons during discussions -behind closed doors on foreign affairs. The Australian Associated/Press agency has reason-to believe that Mr. Mackenzie King and a couple of other Dominions' representatives, were(somewhat critical of Britain's foreign policy in the- past, and it is believed' that Mr. Savage, Prime .Minister,'of (New Zealand, considered sanctions should have been pursued and ,that Britain had .displayed /weakness concerning their application in Abyssinia. It is gathered that Mr. Lyons, turned on critics of Britain, emphasising the difficulties and complexities with which Britain is faced, and vigorously defended th 6 calm and balanced handling of affairs; which, he-averred,'if they hadbeen handled otherwise,- might have ended tragically. Mr. Lyons appealed to the Dominions to stick together in the'future, as'it-was imperative for their own safety to discard any isolationist inclinations. When the League of Nations Sane tions Regulations Confirmation Bill was before the House of Representatives oa May 27 last, Mr. Savage'said that while there was any amount of room for differences of opinion: as to the League of Nations itself, it did seem that unless the nations took some concerted action towards the enforcement of peace they would not get very far. ■• : . , On June 25, after the Italians had occupied Addis Ababa, and when the fate of sanctions was being discussed, Mr. Savage stated that "we had. supported sanctions from the beginning" and "had nothing to hide." On July 4 Mr. Savage announced that the Government attached great importance to the September meeting of the League of Nations, and that it was, desirable that New Zealand should be as strongly represented as possible. ; The Government maintained its faith in collective security, and believed that it offered the best, if not the only, method of preventing war. The Government was also determined to continue its firm support of the principles accepted by New Zealand when the' Covenant of the League was accepted until such time as that Covenant was effectively replaced. Applying, this policy he declared that it was wrong in principle and unwise in fact to abandon sanctions and that, in fact, sanctions should be strengthened. New Zealand was prepared to agree to this course at the Assembly if such a policy was accepted by a majority of the members of the League, and the New Zealand representatives had been advised accord* ingly. This policy was based on n» animosity towards Italy, with which country. New Zealand wished to see a resumption of friendly relations at the earliest possible moment, but was due to the fact that the Government was convinced that international relations must be based on the primary principle of the sanctity of undertakings voliuw. tarily accepted. The Government realised, howeve% Mr. Savage said, that because of Ne\# Zealand's remoteness she was unlikely to share either the dangers or the losJ of trade which maintenance of sanctions would involve,-and that she could not properly, complain if other members' of the. League, more directly affected, were unable or unwilling to do so. The members of the. League proving opposed to sanctions; New Zealand thought it futile and improper .to vote against their removal or to abstain from voting. At the same time New Zealand concurrence was condi* tional upon a full and careful reconsideration by the Assembly of th« whole Geneva peace structure.