BRITAIN’S OBJECTIVE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 2 August 1940, Page 5

BRITAIN’S OBJECTIVE

TRUE & LASTING PEACE BASED ON JUSTICE DETERMINATION TO SMASH HITLER’S POWER. FIGHT FOR ALL FREE NATIONS. (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, July 31. Answering' suggest ions in Hitler’s recent speech that Britain had insisted on prolonging an unnecessary struggle. the Secretary for India, Mi' L. S. Amery, in a speech said Hiller’s own nature, the system arid spirit which he had created, had known no other aim or purpose than war for the sake of power and power for the sake of more rvar. “Like Napoleon before him he is driven on from aggression to aggression. from conquest to conquest, till the irrestible and stubborn will of a free people bring him to an inevitable crash," said Mr Amery. “Till his power is broken there can be no true peace for us, no security for all we prize, for our freedom, and for our very lives.

"In that sense we are fighting for ourselves. But we are not fighting for ourselves alone. Our cause is that of all nations great or small that are threatened or have already been overwhelmed by brute force and lawless aggression Wc are fighting for peace, not an ignominious peace which allows the aggressor to have his way unhindered till he is ready for the next attack, but a true and lasting peace based on justice and fair dealing between nations. AN UNCHANGING PURPOSE. “That has been our aim from first to last. It was the honest aim of every British Government in the years before the war. It was the aim that made us take up arms against Germany’s wanton attack on Poland. It is the aim which we shall keep in sight to the end of the struggle and it is no less important after victory has been won. “We are fighting to secure a true peace for Europe as well as for ourselves. The peace that Hitler would give Europe is the peace of the desert. Where the Nazis rule free political and religious activity is ruthlessly cut down. The living springs of free human thought are choked. The peace we seek for Europe is the peace not of the desert and death but of life with its right and infinite diversity. “To make detailed plans today for the future of Europe is a waste of time. Victory must' come first. But we can at any rate keep in our own hands and convey to the world outside the spirit that sustains us in the fight and the watchwords that embody our purpose. TRAGEDY OF FRANCE.

“Till the other day there were three words set like jewels in the coronet of France whose rays had sent forth their message to the world for over 150 years: ‘Liberty, equality, fraternity.’ They have been dropped in the gutter by the nerveless hands into which for a tragic interlude, have fallen the destinies of the nation which has been for so long and will I trust be again the soul and inspiration of Europe. It is for us to hold up those words once again as a torch not for France alone but for all Europe and for the world.

“Let us revive them, but in a wider sense than that of the relations of individuals within a community. They apply no less to the rights of minorities, the rights of language and culture, and of religious or political faith. They apply to the rights of nations great or small, in their relation to each other.

“We, too, aim at a united Europe as the solution of the rivalries and conflicts of the past. But it is a Europe united not by terror, but in a free and equal partnership, not a Europe exploited and slave-driven by a barbarian conqueror as an instrument tor fresh conquests beyond, but a Europe prosperous in mutual co-operation—a free commonwealth held together like our own by common interests and by the common aim of peace and happiness for all members. SECURITY FOR ALL. “Within its borders, too, as also here at home, we look to something more than the cessation of international conflict. We look to true social peace, to a better world at home and abroad where there may be more real economic freedom, more opportunity and more scecurity for all.” Mr Amery continued that the criticism might be voiced that it was asking too much of Britain single-handed to restore the freedom of Europe. “But are we standing alone today?” he asked. “Canada is with us. Australia is with us. South Africa and New Zealand are with us. India, too, is with us. Despite their political differences, her people are united in their detestation of the Nazi creed and from every quarter and from every community in India there come most generous offers of help, while her forces are being increased as rapidly as the necessary provision of modern equipment will allow. There is not a corner of the Empire, however remote, not a community or tribe, however small or poor, which has not made a contribution in money or effort to the common cause. RALLY OF THE EMPIRE. “Men from the outer Empire have already played their part in every theatre of war. It was the New Zealand cruiser Achilles that took so memorable a share in that glorious encounter of the River Plate. It was the Australian cruiser. Sydney, whose accurate gunnery knocked out a more powerful and faster Italian cruiser. South African airmen are harassing the Italians day in and day out in Abyssinia. In all the fighting over Norway and Flanders and over our own shores Canadian. Australian, New Zealand and South African airmen have played a conspicuous part, and there are thousands more to come. At this moment contingents from every Dominion and from India are here ready to do their bit guarding the heart of the Empire. “In the background, with us in thought and feeling, though not directly engaged in the conflict, stands America. We do not ask her to fight our battle, even if we may think that in a sense it is her battle, too. If blood be the price of liberty, we are prepared to pay in our own way. But. we know that America, if not belligerent, is

something more than a cold, disinteiested spectator. We look to her to allow us to draw upon her amazing resources of skill and energy to supplement our material deficiencies, and wc shall not look in vain. THE PIRATE CABIN BOY. “I have spoken as if we had only one enemy. Hitler, but 1 must not forget his accomplice and henchman, the cabin boy in the pirate ship. Mussolini. He took care only to join in the battle when he thought all was over bar the shout and the shareout. But. it is not all over, it is only just beginning, and I venture to think that if he was the last Io join in he will be the first to wish to got out —if Hitler allows it -—and that when it comes to sharing out he may find himself in the position not of a recipient, but of a contributor. He has offered great hostages to fortune in Abyssinia, in Libya, and elsewhere. Whatever initial advantages he may gain, whatever prizes he may get into his hand for a while, in the end he will have to forfeit all his stakes."