THE HAGUE CALL

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20097, 17 November 1939, Page 7

THE HAGUE CALL

BRITISH REVIEW ATTITUDE OF BERLIN FAMILIAR PATTERN PROPAGANDA EFFORTS (Elec. Tel. Copyright—United Press Assn.) (British Official Wireless.) Reed. 11.15 a.m. RUGBY, Nov. 16. Sir John Simon, the Chancellor ol the Exchequer, on behalf of the Prime Minister, Mr. Neville Chamberlain, whose illness, though improving, kept him from the House of Commons this week, made a statement on tire progress of the war. “During the fortnight since Mr. Chamberlain made his last statement to the House the most notable development in international affairs lias been the communication addressed by the Queen of Holland and the King of the Belgians on November 7 to the King and the President of the French Republic and the German Chancelloi offering their good offices in the hope of avoiding a further extension of the war.

“On behalf of Mr. Chamberlain, on November 10 I said that past experience did not enable us to be very hopeful of a satisfactory response from the German Chancellor.” The House would since have seen the reply transmitted to the Queen of the Netherlands and the King of the Belgians by the King. M. Lebrun made a similar reply on the same day —well illustrating the unity of the two Allies. Misleading References

Misleading references to British policy in Herr Hitler’s address at Munich on November 9, coupled with misrepresentation by German propaganda of the British and French replies as a refusal of the Dutch and Belgian peace initiative, did not indicate that the German reply was likely to open the door to a peaceful and satisfactory settlement

“The official German news agency has now published a statement that Herr von Ribbentrop yesterday informed the Belgian Ambassador and the Netherlands Minister in Berlin, in the name of the Fuehrer, that after the blunt rejection of the peace move by Britain and France the German Government considered the matter closed.

“Members will have noticed press reports that no formal reply to Their Majesties is to be made by Germany. “The past week has also been marked by a recurrence of rumours of German aggressive intentions against the Netherlands or Belgium,” Sir John Simon continued. “The concentration of German troops on the Dutch and Belgian frontiers and the opening of a threatening campaign in the German press presented a pattern all too familiar to the world, which has grown accustomed to seeing in such signs immediate forerunners of German invasion.” General Reluctance There could, therefore, be no surprise at the general reluctance saown throughout the world to accept at face value pacifying statements of a purely general nature put out from Germany. On the other hand, there could be no desire anywhere, and least of all in this country, to exaggerate the significance of these reports. On November 13 the official German news agency broadcast a statement that Germany intended to continue to respect the neutrality of the Netherlands and Belgium so long as Britain and France did so and so long as Belgium and the Netherlands showed themselves capable of strictly preserving that neutrality. On the same day, the Netherlands Prime Minister broadcast a statement to the effect that his Government had no immediate reason to fear a breach of its neutrality and that precautionary measures recently taken by them had been necessary to keep pace with the increased tension in western Europe

“The relaxation in tension which has followed these statements is satisfactory to this Government, which I need hardly say has every intention, in accordance with the consistent policy of this country, of continued respect' for the neutrality of the Netherlands and Belgium,” Sir John added.