PEACE & SECURITY

Wairarapa Times-Age, 22 October 1938, Page 5

PEACE & SECURITY

GREAT BRITAIN’S DEFENCE PREPARATIONS SIR S. HOARE’S SURVEY WARM PRAISE ACCORDED MR CHAMBERLAIN. REJOINDER TO HERR HITLER. (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY. October 20. Speaking at Clacton today. Sir Samuel Hoare, Home Secretary, said that, under the present conditions, air-raid precautions covered the whole field of home security and meant a comprehensive oi'ganisation of the people for the purpose of maintaining the nation in face of an air attack. He had vividly in mind the need of organised home security in which willing citizens would have a full part to play as trained helpers rather than newly-joined amateurs. The first part of Sir Samuel Hoare’s speech contained an eloquent tribute to Mr Chamberlain's achievement, which saved the world from chaos and catas-trophe-such as it had never suffered in all the centuries. “Looking back through the chapters of modern history,” said Sir Samuel, T can find no similar case in which a single man by his own efforts, physical, mental and moral, so completely changed the course of events. The world, rightly rang with his praises. Parliament acclaimed him. The peonies of England ard Germany gave him a triumphant welcome. They know that his air-borne peace saved them from death and devastation.”

The Minister complained bitterly of the criticism of Mr Chamberlain which was now raising its head, and denied that it was possible to obtain better terms for Czechoslovakia because, if better terms could have been obtained, Mr Chamberlain would have secured them. PLEDGES & GOOD FAITH. Sir Samuel Hoare read the Munich declaration and said that he refused to accept the view that you could not believe in Hitler’s pledges. He must admit that the occasions when, having disclaimed the use of force, Hitler had yet had recourse to it, inevitably gave cause for anxiety, but he recalled the Anglo-German naval agreement, by which Germany had stood faithfully, as a powerful reassurance of Hitler’s desire for friendship with Britain.

Sir Samuel next dealt with the question of why, if the Government had faith in a peaceful future, it felt the necessity of pushing on with rearmament, and mentioned the doubts expressed in the German Press on that point. The answer —surely convincing to Germans —was to be found in the Saarbruecken speech in which Hitler said that the German motto must be “always willing for peace and at any hour ready for defence.” “Hitler believes in Mr Chamberlain’s peaceful aspirations,” went on Sir Samuel Hoare, “but fears some possible successor. I believe in Hitler’s peaceful aspiration but, like him, I must be prepared for some successor who may not hold his views. “And so I adopt as my own motto, ‘Always willing for peace and at any hour ready for defence.’ That is the reason why, in the interests of peace, I attach such a vital importance to national strength.” That was exactly the British position. A very important, condition of future peace was British strength, for the great British interest was peace and British strength was certain to be thrown into the scales for peace.

ORGANISATION NEEDED

Going on to consider the lessons of the crisis in relation to defence, he thought that the spirit of public service in the country was greater than ever before in its history and he declared that one of the first duties of the Government was to organise it. The problem was very different from that of 1914 when national service meant the conscription of a continental army for foreign service. Today the need was different. It was for the organisation of a great industrial community to protect itself against a knockout blow from the air. Willing helpers were there, but the problem of training remained.

While reserving fuller details for the House of Commons, Sir Samuel Hoare gave an assurance that the Government was taking every possible step to improve the air raid precautions organisation. He and his under-secretary had been engaged this week in conferences with their advisers on reports collected from local authorities and at a series of meetings between officials of the Home Office and air raid precaution workers, and he would soon be in a position to announce new measures which they considered necessary. Among items which must be put on the credit side in examining the air raid precautions organisation created in the few days of the crisis, Sir Samuel Hoare expressed particular satisfaction at the immediate and spontaneous emergence of local leadership — of men and women ready to undertake great responsibilities at a moment’s notice. He paid a tribute to this characteristic spirit of democracy.