WORSHIP OF FORCE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 20 March 1940, Page 5

WORSHIP OF FORCE

DENOUNCED BY LORD CECH

PLEA FOR CONTINUED EFFORT.

rtEED for united states

OF EUROPE.

(British Official Wireless.)

RUGBY", March 18

In a broadcast today, Lord Cecil, president of the League of Nations Union, recalled that for that last 25 years his sole interest in public affairs had been work for peace. After reviewing the Nazi history of aggression in Europe, which had brought about the present conflict. Lord Cecil said that for many years past the Prussian rulers had been guided by the doctrine that whatever Germany did was right, and they had maintained that obedience to the German State took the place of all morality.

•Tn the end,” he continued, “worship of the State means the worship of force. The question thus raised is vital for the future of us all. Is force and nothing' else to govern relations between States? If it is so, that means complete international anarchy. “Surely,” he added, “we must carry on and complete the attempt begun at the end of the last war to create a more reasonable system of international life. There is no overwhelming difficulty in providing machinery which will secure the supremacy of law among nations as among men, if we really mean to do it. It is not a simple matter, but certainly with faith and a single-minded effort it can be done. Indeed, it has already been done in several parts of the world." He instanced how a few centuries ago Britain. France, Germany, Italy and Spain were split up into a number of warring States, but now were united into larger unities.

“Step by step we must do the same for Europe," he said. "The League of Nations was the fust attempt, and it very nearly succeeded. The causes for its non-success must be sought out and remedied, and a start should be made to build again a European United States.

"That is our goal, which we can reach if we are really in earnest for peace. The first slop is Io slop aggressive war. Thai is why we are now at war, and never had a nation a nobler cause for which to light. "When il is over, we must reconstruct an international organisation for peace on the basis of the principle that aggressive war is an international crime which it is alike the interest and duty of decent nations to extirpate with all their strength."