Wairarapa Times-Age TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 1939. MR CHAMBERLAIN’S CONFIDENCE.

Wairarapa Times-Age, 31 January 1939, Page 4

Wairarapa Times-Age TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 1939. MR CHAMBERLAIN’S CONFIDENCE.

admirable standpoint for the British Empire and for other democracies was defined by Mr Chamberlain in his speech at'Birmingham in which he dealt with the international situation. “Our motto is heither defiance nor deference,” he declared; “it is defence.” Provided it is lived up to, this motto meets all possible demands. The question at the moment for the democracies, however, is whether effective measures have been or are being taken to meet the defiance by aggressive dictatorships, of all forces of world order.

Mr Chamberlain said that only a challenge for the forcible domination of the world could endanger peace and that the democracies, as he and President Roosevelt had already said, ■would inevitably resist this. This in itself may be taken as an unqualified - endorsement of the stand taken by the French Premier (M. Daladier) and the French Foreign Minister (M. Bonnet) who have declared respectively, within the last day or two, that France will not tolerate any attempt against her home or colonial territory, or against her free communications; and that, in the event of war all the forces of France will be placed at the disposal of Britain and similarly all the forces of Britain will be placed at the disposal of France.

An element of doubt is raised, however, by Mr Chamberlain’s statement that he does not believe that a challenge for the forcible domination of the world is intended. To many reasonably dispassionate observers, it appears to be established beyond all question that Germany and Italy are deliberately intent on dominating the world by force, and that they have been allowed to make considerable headway towards that objective in their joint invasion of Spain, in Italy’s conquest of Abyssinia and in Germany’s seizure of Austria and bloodless conquest of Czechoslovakia, as well as in intrigues and conspiracies in many other parts of the world.

As to the last-mentioned country, the impression conveyed at the close of the Munich negotiations was that the Czechs, within 'their reduced territories, were to be protected and safeguarded. Developments culminating in the presentation of Nazi demands reported yesterday all go to show, however, that no better fate is in store for Czechoslovakia than that of being reduced Io helpless and humiliating political and economic servitude to Germany. Is that state of affairs in itself consistent with Mr Chamberlain’s refusal to believe that a challenge for the forcible domination of the world is intended?

Even more critical issues, where France anti Britain are concerned, are raised by the Italian and German invasion ot Spain, which has now been carried .far towards complete success. Is it possible to regard'that invasion as being anything else than an intended step towards forcible domination of the world —in other words precisely the challenge which Mr Chamberlain declares he does not believe to be intended? If the invasion of Spain by the totalitarian States is not intended to establish them in a favourable position to attack, or threaten to attack, French territory and French and British sea communications, what possible purpose is it inlended to serve ?

IE Air Chamberlain believes that, the stand now taken by France and Britain will.‘compel or induce the dictatorships to relinquish their designs of using Spain as a base of attack on the European democracies, it, must, be hoped that he is right. Meantime, however, Italian and German forces are taking an all-important part in beating down the last efforts of the Spanish Government, to uphold and maintain its authority. It has to be considered also that an ostensible withdrawal of Italian and German forces from Spain might be quite inconclusive if they left behind them a puppet government, prepared to be the instrument of totalitarian policy against the democracies. At the stage that has been reached there is no evidence whatever that the dictatorships are prepared to abandon, or even to abate the designs of aggression and conquest that have been declared blatantly by their leaders and by their controlled newspapers. One of yesterday’s cablegrams reported a speech in Munich by Signor Farinacci, Italian Minister without portfolio, in which “he defined Italy’s territorial claims as Tunis, Jibuti, Corsica and Nice.” Some doubt perhaps exists as to the authority with which Signor Farinacci spoke, but if his speech is to stand as an official utterance on behalf of Italy, it evidently implies that Mr Chamberlain’s speech was based upon an unduly hopeful and confident interpretation of the European situation.