ALLIED POLICY

Wairarapa Times-Age, 3 April 1940, Page 5

ALLIED POLICY

MR CHAMBERLAIN REVIEWS DEVELOPMENTS THE PROBLEM OF NEUTRAL STANDARDS. NEW MEASURES AGAINST GERMANY. (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, April 2. In Hip House of Commons, the Prime .Minister (All* N. Chamberlain) said the Supreme War Council, at. its London meeting, reviewed developments in the strategic situation and took various important decisions. Referring to the solemn declaration that emerged and to the fact that collaboration and unity of purpose between Britain and France had. been growing ever closer, he added that the declaration “goes far beyond an expression of British and French co-opera-tion in the establishment of peace and in the reconstruction of an international, order designed to ensure the liberty of peoples, respect for law and the maintenance of peace in Europe.” Proceeding, Mr Chamberlain said the problem which Germany had raised of a double standard of neutrality was one we and neutrals now had to face. The Allies were determined to prosecute economic war to the utmost of their power. “If we are to bring this war to a close with the least possible destruction and dislocation of our common spiritual and material civilisation,” he declared, “we must deprive Germany of the materials most essential for the prosecution of her aggressive policy. Negotiations for war trade agreements have been successfully concluded with Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Belgium, and Holland, and as I speak an agreement with Denmark is being signed. Discussions are also proceeding in Paris for a similar agreement with Switzerland-, and commercial agreements of importance have been reached with Spain, Greece, and Turkey. The Vice-Governor of the National Bank of Yugoslavia is in London for economic and financial discussions and a mission is expected shortly from Rumania to discuss a revision of the existing payments agreement. All the war trade agreements contain stipulations regulating exports of the neutral countries’ own domestic produce to Germany.” Another weapon in our armoury was that the purchase and concentration of certain selected commodities, such as minerals, fats and oil, was to an everincreasing extent reducing the supply of these available for Germany. He looked forward to an intensification of British trade and exchange with a number of Germany’s neutral neighbours,” who must realise that we cannot agree to make available to them Empire products unless they are prepared to guarantee a limitation of future trade with' Germany.” Most important of all weapons in our economic warfare was the employment of our sea power and the Allies were determined to continue and intensify the blockade in every possible way. It was hoped that meetings of the Supreme War Council might be more frequent and at more regular intervals, not only to forward the prosecution of the war, but to perfect the machinery required for consolidating European peace at the end of the war.