Wairarapa Times-Age WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1938. WAR THREATS AND PEACE.

Wairarapa Times-Age, 5 October 1938, Page 6

Wairarapa Times-Age WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1938. WAR THREATS AND PEACE.

» the rather extreme standpoint adopted by some of Mr Chamberlain’s critics in the House of Commons and elsewhere, it is still not easy to share the satisfaction with which the Munich agreement is regarded by the British Prime Minister and those who support his policy unreservedly. There is a rather striking commentary on the agreement in the reported utterances of Herr Hitler on the occasion of his triumphal entry into Sudetenland —notably his declarations that he thanks the Almighty for past blessings and prays for similar blessings in future, and that: “Thus we begin our march into a greater German future.” Whether they are interpreted as idle vapourings or as the announcement of an aggressive purpose, these sayings are not calculated to inspire confidence in the value and stability of the Munich agreement. That the position reached is far from being one of stable security is recognised and insisted upon by Mr Chamberlain himself in his emphatic affirmation that Britain cannot afford to call a halt in her great programme of rearmament. He thinks the prospects are better than at any previous time of approaching the subject of disarmament, but that any progress in that direction must be by stages and by the agreement and active co-operation of other countries. Nearly everyone will agree with Mr Chamberlain that unilateral disarmament has been sufficiently tried and found wanting, but it rather defeats the imagination to suppose that even a tentative approach to disarmament has been made possible by an extreme concession,- at the expense of Czechoslovakia, to Herr Hitler’s aggressive militarism. The opinion expressed freely in some quarters that Britain and France have sustained a heavy defeat in their latest diplomatic encounter with the Fuehrer finds some support in visible facts. Much more than the fate of Czechoslovakia is in question. The larger outcome of the Munich composition may yet prove to have been a serious weakening of the combination of nations prepared to unite in resisting aggression. A conspicuous feature of the deliberations at Munich —it might almost be said the conspicuous feature —was the total exclusion of Russia. It has to be remembered here that Russia had not only declared herself ready to co-operate in protecting Czechoslovakia against aggression, but has for years past indicated her readiness to co-operate in strengthening the League of Nations- and so in contributing to the establishment of a reign of law in European and world affairs. At a more immediate view, Russia, as the close ally of France has counted as a very important element in the forces available to resist German aggression. Now Russia has been cold-shouldered and thrust aside in a fashion that must be very pleasing to Herr Hitler but less pleasing to Moscow. Already it is being said that the Franco-Soviet Pact has received its death-blow. According to a statement by the British Foreign Secretary, Lord Halifax, in the House of Lords, Russia was not invited to take part in the discussions at Munich “because it was recognised that under the present circumstances Germany and Italy would almost certainly be reluctant to sit with a Soviet representative.” As a. statement of eager readiness to anticipate'and meet the wishes of the dictatorships, this could not well be surpassed. An understanding with Russia and the reasonable assurance of her co-operation appear to have been tossed aside as of no account while the fate of the Munich parleys was still an open question. Events may yet show that in driving a wedge between Russia and the Western democracies, Herr Hitler has scored a greater triumph than in gaining possession of Sudetenland. Much of what was said in the House of Commons on Monday by Mr Duff Cooper, Mr Attlee and other critics of the present conduct of British foreign policy is debatable. It is only fair to recognise that Mr Chamberlain and his colleagues, have been grappling with exceedingly difficult and complex problems of which no completely satisfactory solution was possible. These very facts, however, should sufficiently discourage any inclination to overvalue what has been accomplished. War has been averted for the time being, but the new European situation plainly is in some respects less stable than it was. Against the actual developments of that situation, the value of Herr Hitler’s signature to a vaguely worded peace agreement seems very slight indeed.