BRITAIN AND PEACE

Waikato Times, Volume 125, Issue 20987, 14 December 1939, Page 9

BRITAIN AND PEACE

DEBATE IN HOUSE OF LORDS NEGOTIATE WITH RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT DOOR FOR DISCUSSION SLAMMED BY GERMANY (Official Wireless) (Received Dec. 14, 1 p.m.) RUGBY, Dec. 13 The offer made some time ago by the Queen of the Netherlands and the King of the Belgians of mediatory offices and subsequently rejected by the German Government was recalled to-day in the House of Lords in a debate initiated by the Earl of Darnley, with the support of Lord Arnold, who had consistently criticised the policy of resistance to aggression for several years on pacifist grounds. Viscount Balfour summed up the attitude of these two speakers as “war settles nothing—let’s try for compromise.” On this he commented that it was no use thinking of peace unless the enemy wanted peace. The Bishop of Chichester said he was not a pacifist or an advocate of peace at any price, but he opposed the conception of a so-called fight to a finish. The guarantees which the British people sought* for the future, he thought, would not be obtained by a continuance of the war, beyond the moment when they could he secured by negotiations. Lord Samuel considered that if Germany were willing to withdraw from Poland the way would be open to negotiation, but with the military position as it now was negotiations would clearly lead nowhere. The Opposition leader. Lord Snell, intervened to express anxiety lest the observations of the Earl of Darnley and Lord Arnold should create misapprehension abroad regarding British public opinion. No peace was of the slightest value unless it was negotiated with a Government which would keep the peace.

The British people, he believed, had no desire to destroy the German nation. Their sole desire was that Germany should resume her ancient and revered place in world history. .

Reply by Viscount Halifax Lord Snell’s anxieties were shown to be exaggerated when Viscount Halifax replied, for he was able to describe how the foreign representatives who came to him at the Foreign Office had told him how profoundly they were impressed by the Britisn national unity and by the evidence of the people’s resolution which they encountered in all quarters. Viscount Halifax also expressed his dislike of the phrase “fight to a finish,” which gave the impression of a people fighting for the mere sake of fighting. That definitely was not the position of the British Government or the British people. “We have always been prepared to negotiate,” said Viscount Halifax. “We were prepared to do so before the war, and we have never closed the door to negotiations in anything we have said or done since the wai began. Unfortunately, although Hitler asserted in his speeches that he was anxious for peace it was far from certain that he was anxious for peace on terms which would make for the peace of Europe.” Viscount Halifax said all members of the House of Lords were agreed on general principles. They all felt it a good plan to settle by negotiation. Nobody could feel more strongly than he did the horrors and agony of war. Nobody could feel more strongly how criminal it would be to miss any real opportunity for peace. But they came to a fundamental question. They stood for the causes that had led the country into war, and if they were right it would be wrong to cease until they had done their utmost to secure those causes. Viscount Halifax concluded by recalling the British and French answers to the mediatory offer, leaving the door open for negotiation, and the slamming of the door by von Ribbentrop in Berlin, and expressed his view that after the German action it was a very academic question whether the offer remained open on the side of its originators, the sovereigns of the low countries. BRITISH INDUSTRIES DEPUTATION TO MINISTER ADVISORY PANEL SUGGESTED (Untied Press Assn.—E.ec. Te!. Copyrlgbt) LONDON, Dec. 11 A deputation from the Federation of British Industries to-day waited upon the Prime Minister, Mr Chamberlain, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir John Simon, and the | President of the Board of Trade, Mr ! Oliver Stanley. Speakers expressed the federation’s views on improvements to the machinery relating to the export trade. In reply, Mr Chamberlain said he did not think that the appointment cf a separate Minister for economic questions would be advantageous in the circumstances. It was agreed that Mr Stanley would communicate immediately with the federation in order to dis- | cuss the possibility of improving the existing machinery by appointing an advisory panel. SUEZ CANAL ZONE A STATE OF EMERGENCY JOINT MANOEUVRES HELD ; United Press Assn.—Elec. TeJ. Copyright) CAIRO, Dec. 12 A state of emergency has been proclaimed in Lower Egypt and the Suez Canal Zone for 21 hours while the Anglo-Egyptian army, naval and air I forces hold joint manoeuvres. | The main feature is to be complete [ blackouts at Cairo, Alexandria, Port I Said and Suez.

MR CHAMBERLAIN RECEIVED BY THE KING itinlted press Assn.—Elec. Tel. Copyrignt) LONDON, Dec. 12 The Prime Minister, Mr Chamberlain, was received in audience by the King at Buckingham Palace thif evening. SAFE IN PORT GERMAN VERSION OF INCIDENT ATTEMPT TO ATTACK BREMEN , culled Press Assn.—Elec. TwL Copyright) LONDON D ec. 13 The Hamburg correspondent of the British United Press says he is reliably informed that the Bremen docked at Bremerhaven. A communique issued by the German High Command says: “ A British submarine tried to attack the Bremen in the North Sea. One of our aircraft was sent to protect the Bremen and forced the submarine to submerge. By that action an attack on tne Bremen was prevented.” This differs to an important degree from the Berlin news agency’s statement. A naval expert explains that international law prohibits the sinking of a merchant ship without warning and without making provision for those aboard reaching safety in open boats. The Bremen possibly was too far from land for those aboard thus to reach safety, and the submarine could not accommodate them. Moreover it could not take a ship of such a size as a prize owing to the speed of the liner. Finally, the Bremen was armed. The submarine’s action in not torpedoing the Bremen contrasts with German violations of international I law. The enemy does not hesitate I tc torpedo even neutral vessels and | leaving the passengers and crew to their fate. Admission by Germany

The German official news agency in Berlin announces that the Bremen arrived safely in German waters. It admits that a British submarine approached the Bremen within torpedo range in the North Sea, but was forced to submerge by a German aeroplane, which was convoying the liner. *‘lt was the submarine’s bad luck that the plane happened to see her,” adds the agency. SAFE IN GERMAN PORT REPORT BY SHIPPING LINE (United Press Assn.—Elec. Tel. Copyrlg-bt) (Received Dec. 14, 11 a.m.) NEW YORK, Dec. 13 The North German Lloyd Company said that the liner Bremen docked safely at Bremerhaven at noon, German time. SOWING OF MINES PRECAUTIONS IN BRITAIN MOBILE BALLOON BARRAGES <Lulled Pres, Assn.—Elec. Te;. Copyrignt) (Received Dec. 13, 12.35 p.m.) LONDON, Dec. 12 It is revealed that mobile waterborne balloon barrages have been established on the Thames Estuary and other coastal points over which mine-sowers have been flying.