NEW MAGNA CARTA

Wairarapa Times-Age, 13 March 1941, Page 6

NEW MAGNA CARTA

WRITTEN BY UNITED STATES PASSAGE OF LEASE & LEND BILL. MR CHURCHILL'S TRIBUTE. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 12.5 p.m.) RUGBY, March 12. A remarkable demonstration of cheering followed a statement by Mr Churchill in the House of Commons, regarding President’s signing of the Lease and Lend Bill. Mr Churchill said: “The Lease and Lend Bill became law yesterday, when it received immediately the signature of the President. "I am sure,” Mr Churchill added, “that the House will wish me to express on its behalf and on behalf of the -nation a deep and respectful appreciation of this monument of generous and far-seeing statesmanship. The most powerful democracy has in effect declared in a solemn statute that it will devote its overwhelming industrial and financial strength to ensuring the defeat of Nazism, in'order that nations great and small may live in security, tolerance and freedom. By so doing, the Government and people of the United States have in fact written a new Magna Carta, which not only has regard to the rights and laws upon

which a healthy and advancing civilisation can alone be erected, but have also proclaimed, by precept and example. the duty of free men and free nations. wherever they may be, to share in the responsibility and burden of enforcing them. “In the name of the British Government, and speaking, I am sure, for Parliament and for the whole country, and indeed in the name of all freedomloving people, I offer to the United States our gratitude for an inspiring act of faith." INCREASING FLOW PROMISED BY PRESIDENT. HUGE APPROPRIATION SOUGHT. (By Telegraph—Press Association —Copyright) (Received This Dpy. 11.35 a.m.) WASHINGTON, March 12. In a letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Rayburn, which accompanied the Bill appropriating 7,000,000,000 dollars, President Roosevelt wrote: “This nation has felt it imperative to the security of America that we encourage the democracies, in itheir heroic resistance to aggression, by not only maintaining, but increasing the flow of material assistance from this country. “Therefore Congress has enacted and I have signed it. President Roosevelt added: "Through this legislation, our country is determined to do its full part in creating an adequate arsenal of democracy. This great arsenal will be here. It will be a bulwark of our own defence, it will be the source of the tools of defence for all the democracies who are fighting to preserve themselves- against aggression. While defence equipment produced under the law remains under the control of the United States until it is ready for disposition, it is the fixed policy pf this Government to make for the democracies every gun, plane, and munition of war we possible can. For the accomplishment of these objectives, I am transmitting an estimate of seven billion dollars and I strongly urge the immediate enactment of this appropriation.”

WEAPONS & MATERIALS DETAILS OF THE INTENDED EXPENDITURE. (Received This Day. 12.55 p.m.) WASHINGTON, March 12. Accompanying President Roosevelt's letter was the report of the Budget Director, Mr Smith, on how the seven billion dollar approprition asked for by the President is to be spent. Details are: Ordnance and Ordnance stores, 2.343 million; aircraft, 2.054 million; tanks and armoured cars, 362 million; ships, 629 million; miscellaneous equipment, 260 million; facilities and equipment for the manufacture of defence articles, 752 million; agricultural, industrial and other commodities, 350 million; testing, outfitting and repairing any defence articles, 200 million; services and expenses for carrying out unspecified portions of the programm, 40 million; administrative expenses, ten million. NAZI COMMENT ATTEMPT AT DICTATORSHIP DENIED. (Received This Day, 12.35 p.m.) BERLIN, March 12. Commenting on the Lease and Lend Bill a Wilhelmstrasse spokesman said neither Germany, Italy nor Japan had the slightest intention of submitting themselves in any way to an attempted world dictatorship or world policing, if such were intended. Mr Matsuoka's visit should serve to emphasise this. »