Britain Must Use Influence

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 10, 5 October 1937, Page 7

Britain Must Use Influence

-Press Assn. •

ARMS & THE LEAGUE "World Rattling Back to Barbarism" LAB0UR DECLARATION

(By Telegraplv

-O-ODjritlJt.l

^Reeeived 5, 8.45 a.ra.i LONDON. Oct. 4. "The world during the past six years has rattled back to barbarism at a breakncck pace. Everywhere it is at the mercy of sniall incidents and the monieiitary moods of niegalonianiacs." This statement was inado to-flay by Mr H. Dalton in his presideptial pddregs at the Labour I'arty Confe'ence at Bournemouth, Uuless Britaip speedily reasserts her mfluence, the abominaDle massacre of civilian populations and tho systcmatio destfuction of whole cities may soon be repoated on an evep greater scale in othef countries," he added. "The Brltish Govornment, by stie* cessive surrenders, haa incurred a terrible responsibility. U must be swept out of office, or the whole spirit and^ direction of its foreign policy must be changed. * ' Tremendous dangers overshadow us. Nothing can be gained by playing the ostrich. "i'eace to-day is not merely in porilj it is being brutally broken," Mr Dalton doclared. "In this grim situatjon Britain must be powerfully arrned, otherwise a Labour Barty coming into power to-morrow would be in danger of humiliations and intimidations. "Armament8 must be linked with a foreign policy which will breathe new life into the League of Natious and recreate respect tor iuternatiOnal law. They must be a contribution to an organised system of collective security, and must be linked also with an offor to all nations to taks Btock of the world 's woalth and sharo in its abundance, conditional o» peaceful procedures for settling intcrnational di:sputes and a progressive reduction of aw'ainer^s. " The Parliamentary Leader of the Labour Party, MajOr Attlee, said that it would be a terrible precedont if the Japanese attempt to break the will of the Chinese by i'riglitfulness were allowed to continue without protest. Labour hoped that the Empire would boycott Japanese goods. Japan was in a vulnerable position, and he believed that economic pressufe wotild be successful.