NEGOTIATIONS OPENED

Wairarapa Times-Age, 23 September 1938, Page 5

NEGOTIATIONS OPENED

MR CHAMBERLAIN REACHES GODESBERG RAPID JOURNEY BY AIR. TALKS TO CONTINUE TODAY. (Received This Day, 9.30 a.m.) GODESBERG, September 22. About five thousand people assem- . bled at the aerodrome at Cologne and . cheered Mr Neville Chamberlain (Brit- . ish Prime Minister) as he emerged from his plane. He was welcomed by 5 Herr von Ribbentrop, Sir Neville Henj derson, and the Secretary of State, Herr von Weizsaecker. The Black Guards’ Band played “God Save the King.” The commander, stepping smartly forward, announced the presence of the i guard of honour, and Mr. Chamberlain • thanked him. The flight was one of the fastest on record. The 300-mile journey took one . hour 49 minutes, compared with the , normal passenger schedule of 2 hours 50 minutes. While Mr. Chamberlain was motor- . ing from Cologne, the Black Guards ’ drew a cordon of silence around Herr Hitler’s hotel to enable him to sleep. ' Mr Chamberlain went straight to his hotel, where a guard of honour was lined up. A decorated ferry-boat carried Mr Chamberlain across the river. ’ Thousands lined the banks and hundreds of canoes clustered around the ferry. Mr Chamberlain drove to the Hotel Dresden and found Herr Hitler . waiting. Negotiations began at 4 p.m., Herr Hitler and Mr Chamberlain conferring alone, except for the presence of an interpreter, Herr Schmidt. Mr Chamberlain left Herr Hitler's hotel at 6.45 p.m. The talks will be continued tomorrow. An official communique is not expected on the Hitler-Chamberlain talks. It is understood that one will not be isstied until the end of the conversations. DEMANDS & PROPOSALS' CREATION OF COMMISSION SUGGESTED. APPEAL FOR PEACE & ORDER MEANTIME. LONDON, September 22. A strangely silent crowd of about 150 persons mustered in Downing Street to see Mr Chamberlain depart. One man booed as he paused smilingly on the steps; others clapped. The German Charge d’Affairs was the first to shake Mr Chamberlain by the hand earnestly. Mr Chamberlain was farewelled by a burst of cheering from the crowd of journalists and cameramen. Messages from Godesberg reveal that the stage is set for the meeting between Mr Chamberlain and Herr Hitler. Crowds gathered at the station at sunrise for Herr Hitler’s arrival. One thousand Black Guards cordoned the streets. Organised groups of singing girls are preparing to welcome Mr Chamberlain. A message from Paris states that the “Petit Parisien” declares that the Anglo-French proposals conform to Herr Hitler’s Berchtesgaden desires. “If Hitler wants peace,” says the paper, “then the negotiations should be favourable. If he makes new demands, then everything is lost and he should be stopped. It is a game of blackmail.” “The Times” says it is understood t that Mr Chamberlain is taking the fol- 1 lowing proposals to Godesberg:— ( (1) An international commission to 1 be set up for demarcation of the new I frontiers of Czechoslovakia and for t the exchange and transfer of popula- £ tions. (2) Immediate demobilisation to 0 start. ' (3) a joint appeal to be made by c Herr Hitler and all parties concerned £ for peace and order in the interval c necessary to give effect to any agreement reached. * (4) The giving of certain guaran- r tees, including economic ones, for the a maintnance of the integrity of the a new Czechoslovak State. The “Daily Telegraph’s” Berlin correspondent learns that the Godesberg t meeting is to be divided into two parts, f September 22 will be devoted to the £ German claim to recover’ the Sudeten v Germans and September 23 to the t question of satisfying the Polish and t Hungarian demands and the disposal v of what is left of Czechoslovakia. S c h OFFICIAL STATEMENT ! t n MR CHAMBERLAIN’S PLEA 1 FOR ORDER f AVOIDANCE OF INCIDENTS G r (Received This Day, 11.20 a.m.) S GODESBERG, September 22. ® Sir Horace Wilson has issued the fol- ? lowing statement from the Prime Min- 1: ister. “The Prime Minister had a con- r versation with Herr Hitler, beginning *■ at .4 p.m., and continuing until shortly ■after seven p ; m.. It is. intended tb re- 1 siime ' the’’ conversations in the rriorn- I ing. Meantime, the first essential, in l the opinion of the Prime Minister, is 8 that there should be determination on the part of all parties concerned to en- r sure that local conditions in Czecho- e Slovakia are such as not to interfere < with the progress of the- conversations. 1 The Prime Minister appeals most earn- i estly to everybody to assist in main- £ taining a state of orderliness, and to f refrain from action likely to lead to in- } cidents.” £ t COURAGEOUS i — i STATEMENT BY VISCOUNT HALIFAX. AVOIDANCE OF PREMATURE 1 CONCLUSIONS. < (Received This Dav, 10 a.m.) 1 LONDON. September 22. 1 Viscount Halifax has issued the fol- ( lowing statement: —“I am sure all wish L Mr Chamberlain well in his courageous mission of peace. In the mean- ‘ while I urge the public to refrain from < forming premature conclusions and to wait for the time when Mr Chamber- <■ lain will be in a position to place the < country in full possession of the facts." I