the opotiki News Wednesday, November 8, 1939. THE EMPIRE AND THE WAR

Opotiki News, Volume II, Issue 256, 8 November 1939, Page 2

the opotiki News Wednesday, November 8, 1939. THE EMPIRE AND THE WAR

One of the'greatest disappointments of. the chequered career of Herr Adolf Hitler lias been the stand taken by Britain against the menace of Nazism. It is non- perfectly dear that Hitler certain that England would again “back down” when Germany decided to overrun Poland. Herr Itibbentrop obviously advised Hitler that England woujkl not go to war against Germany, and opinions were also expressed that England would have trouble -with her Dominions in the event of war involving Britain. The British Empire has once again demonstrated its solidarity in no uncertain way, despite the opposition of a minority in . some of the Dominons. New Zealand, in particular. has not been backward in offering her resources to help light agaiisl the wave* of aggression which has hecn causing trouble and untold misery in Europe. The weight of the help of the Dominions will commence to be felt in a few months and from then on an ever-increasing source of strength will he available to England to help wage a war which has for its aim the restoration of peace and confidence of the peoples of the world. That, the unity of the mem hers making up * the great British Empire, has caused satisfaction amongst nations not involved in the conflict is shown by the following leading article in the Swedish newspaper, “Uppsala Nga Tidning, writes under the heading “The Empire lines Up” : “The whole Brit : sh Empire has now lined up on the side ol the mother country in the war against Germany. This will hardly conic as g surprise, but that this gathering should have been so spontaneous and complete, and should have shown no hesitation, was. however, hardly expected. Above all Germany herself will hardly have anticipated this, because it ha.s oitoii been preached in the third lleich that the British work! empire would prove at length to Ik' an untenable entity, and the difficulties which the British have had to fight have been made use of in an unseruplous' way by Nazi propaganda. There is, however, no indication that the British Empire is built upon loose foundations. On the contrary, there is every reason to believe that it possesses to a very high degree the elements ot vitality. r .l he cause ol the united gathering seems to he that there is unlimited confidence everywhere in the Englishmen's will for peace and a united opinion that the Empire dually has taken lip arms because there was no other way out.