AERIAL WARFARE

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20077, 25 October 1939, Page 8

AERIAL WARFARE

RESTRICTION AIM

MILITARY OBJECTIONS

ANGLO-FRENCH ACCORD

| ASSURANCES RECALLED 1 (Eire. Tel. Copyright—United Press Assn.) (Bfitish Oflicinl Wireless.) Reed. 1 p.m. RUGBY. Ocl. 24. Asked in the House of Commons today whether, in view of the declared policy of restricting aerial warfare to military objectives, the Government considered approaching neutral Powers, including the United States of America, with a view to their proposing. both to belligerents and nonbelligerents, a code of aerial, warfare. | together with means of reports on | observations of violation, the Foreign I Under-Secretary, Mr. R. A. Butler, j said that the British Government did i not consider that further action i beyond the already declared policy i would be of assistance m the matter. ! especially when the extreme difficulty j of reporting the observance of violaI tion of the rules was considered.

.Joint Dictation It will be remembered that the ■ British and French Governments ; published a joint declaration on Sep- • tember 3 in response to President ' Roosevelt’s appeal, which set forth ' the intention to spare civilian populations as well as historic buildings, provided the enemy observed like , rules, and stated that they had “some , time ago sent explicit instructions to 1 the commanders of the armed forces , prohibiting bombing, whether from • air, or sea, or by artillery on land, of t any except strictly military objectives i : in the narrowest sense of the word.

In the House of Commons on September 14. the Prime Minister, Mr. Neville Chamberlain, stated: “The restrictions which we, like the French, imposed upon the operations of our. own forces were based upon a condition of similar' restraint being observed by our opponents and His Majesty's Government must, of course, hold itself free, if such restraint, is not in fact observed, to take such action as it might deem appropriate. But I wish to add that whatever may be the lengths to which others may go. this Government will never resort to deliberate attacks on women and children and other civilians for the purposes of mere terrorism."