TWIN PILLARS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 11 April 1938, Page 7

TWIN PILLARS

REARMAMENT AND EFFORTS FOR PEACE CONDITIONS OF COLLECTIVE SECURITY. IDEA OF STRONG LEAGUE NOT ABANDONED. ‘‘The twin pillars of our foreign policy are to seek peace by friendly discussion and to build up our forces proportionately to our responsibilities, while seizing every opportunity to strengthen the League and recreate it as an effective instrument to peace,” Mr Chamberlain declared. “But we must realise that collective security can be attained only by the willingness of members of the League to act collectively and effectively in order to prevent agression. “Is the League in such a state as to do that today? Actual disloyalty to the League lies in pretending it—is . capable of functioning beyond its power. But let us not abandon the idea of a bigger and better League in the future. “British people would not want to interfere in a case such as that of Germany and Austria, where two States desired to join, but the methods of union were most distasteful to the British Government and profoundly shocked public opinion. “I welcome the spirit behind the suggestion to create a voluntary register of British people for public service, but do not think it would give satis- ' factory results in peace time. We have already prepared a scheme of compulsory registration, . which, in emergency; could immediately become operative.” Mr Chamberlain scouted the idea that the Government expected early war, and added that the exact contrary was the case.