NAZIS & NEUTRALS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 21 September 1939, Page 7

NAZIS & NEUTRALS

SUPPLY OF WAR MATERIALS ALLEGATION OF THREATS BY BRITAIN. DENIED DY THE STATES CONCERNED. (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY. September 19. A recent German communique -asserts that the British Government had addressed Notes to neutral Governments, specially to those of the Oslo Group, showing determination to ride roughshod over the latter s vital interests and rights as neutrals. It was alleged that the British Note put forward a number of demands and stated that non-compliance on the part of the neutral Governments would be regarded as a breach of neutrality. These allegations are now categorically denied by the Danish, Swedish. Norwegian and Finnish Governments, who have issued a statement that no such Note was received by any of. these Governments.

The Belgian Press reproduced the following bulletin by the Deutsche Nachrichten Buro:— "Great Britain is mistaken if she thinks Germany is disposed to allow her communications with neutral Slates to be cut by British guns. We must warn these States not to submit to' Britain. This warning is specially addressed to the Oslo States, which met at Copenhagen on September 18. Germany desires to leave neutrals outside the present conflict. This desire must not, however, be considered as weakness. Germany not. being disposed to allow the least deviation from neutrality, even if it 'is a question of yielding to force.” This will be seen to contain a direct threat to neutral States to force them to conform to Germany’s own ideas of neutral conduct. The British Government’s attitude toward the question of trade with neutrals has been made clear in the statement issued by the Ministry of Information on September 19.

If that attitude has produced this violent reaction in Germany it is clearly because she notoriously depends to a large extent on the Scandinavian States for war materials and wishes to force them to continue to supply her with these, though in international law no neutral State is under any obligation to supply anything to belligerents unless she feels so disposed.

Such threats are the more remarkable in view of the German Government’s declared intention to ’impose contraband control of its own on neutral shipping.