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THE CHINA MAIL, NOVEMBER 27, 1939
Britain's War Aims And Britain's Peace Aims
THE PRIME MINISTER'S BROADCAST ON THE ALLIED WAR STRATEGY
London, To-day.
THE PRIME MINISTER, Mr. Chamberlain, broad- casting last night, after referring to his broad- cast of September 3, said that after 12 weeks of war he was speaking again, happily with health and strength unimpaired, and with full con- fidence of our ultimate victory.
He assured his hearers that we should not follow Germany's example in concealing our own losses and inventing non-existent enemy losses. He added: We shall tell you frankly what is happen- ing even when the truth is unpleasant, and shall never refrain from publishing news except when it would be helpful to the enemy.
Hitherto the war has been carried many, which was slowly but surely on in a way very different from what depriving her of the materials so es- was expected and we need not attri-sential to the successful prosecution of bute the reluctance of the Germans modern war, which she could not pro- to begin their great land offensive duce within her own border, while the or attempt a series of mass aerial at- Allies had at their disposal unlimited tacks on Britain to their humanity.
resources in men and materials. We have had plenty of evidence. that no considerations of humanity have deterred them from any form of warfare they thought advantageous and they must, therefore, have come to the conclusion that at present they would lose more than they would gain by such attacks and preferred to use methods which they thought could be employed without serious loss to themselves.
NEW KIND OF MINE The latest of these methods was the sowing of a new kind of mine indis- criminately in our home waters, re- gardless of international agreements to which the Germans have subscrib- ed, or of the fact that they are daily blowing up neutral ships as well as British, and thereby drowning and mutilating citizens of countries with which they are not at war.
They hoped by these barbarous weapons to cut off our supplies from overseas and to squeeze or starve us into submission.
NO FEARS "You need have no fear that this attempt will succeed. We already know the secrets of the magnetic mine and we shall soon mas- ter the magnetic mine as we have already mastered-the U-boat. Mean- time, despite some losses our convoys are still moving steadily in and out our ports and will continue to do so thanks to the courage and skill of the men of our merchant navy and the warships escorting them."
Mr. Chamberlain thanked the Em- pire peoples for the support so swift- ly given and said that we had entered the war to defend freedom and esta- blish peace, two vital principles our Empire and the Empire's unity to- day which gave us a moral as well as a material strength to win them.
AIR ATTACKS
of
Referring to the hardships and in- conveniences due to the necessity of providing against aerial attacks, the Prime Minister emphasised that we could not rashly dispense with safe- guards but the Government would cer- tainly relax them whenever it felt that it could be done, without due risk to mublic safety,
Some of them might sometimes wonder why we were not attsok- ing the enemy -- morn "vigorously; the art of war consisted In bring- Ing the greatest pomible force to force to bear at the right time and the right place to be deelded by those responsible for the strategy of the Allies.
MUST WIN FINALLY With such advantages they must win finally and the only question was how long it would take them to achieve their object.
The Prime Minister said that our
which
war aim was to defeat the enemy. not merely the enemy's military forces, but the aggressive bullying mentality which sought continually to domin- ate other peoples by force, found brutal satisfaction in persecution and torture of inoffensive citizens, and in the name of the interests of the State justified the repudiation of their own pledges of word whenever it was found convenient.
If the German people could be convinced that the spirit was as bad for themselves as for the rest of the world they would abandon It.
If we could secure that they
did
abandon it without bloodshed, so much
T.V. SOONG
AS FINANCE MINISTER?
Shanghai, To-day, Reuter is authoritatively in- formed that Mr. T. V. Soong, former Finance Minister, is being appointed Minister of Finance, replacing Dr. H. H. Kung.
Official quarters, however, state that the matter has not been de- finitely settled but admit that Mr. Soong's appointment is "highly
possible."-Reuter.
SWEDES INDIGNANT
Stockholm, To-day. The Swedish newspaper "Dagens Nyheter" expresses the general indignation felt in the country at Germany's illegal mine-laying.
BRITAIN'S LARGE GOLD RESOURCES
London, To-day.
In the Bank of England return of November 22, the gold coin and bul- lion in the Issue Department was valued at 168 shillings per fine oz. at £219,561,000.
con-
As a result of the policy of massing gold reserve behind exchange trol, this was a decrease of £326,000,- 000 compared with a year ago.
This drop in the gold held by the Bank of England is capable of mis- representation, and Nazi propagan- dists have not failed to exploit op- portunity. It is suggested that
£220,000,000 in the Issue ment constitutes the entire gold reserve.
the Depart- British
The gold reserve is now held, how- ever, in the exchange Equalisation Account which, in addition to the large amount of gold already in its possession, received £260,000,000 at the outbreak of war, transferred from the Bank.
The gold massed in the Exchange Account, moreover, is only a part of the financial reserves of Britain,. which has foreign investments to an estimated value of more than
£1,000,000,000.-British Wireless.
London, To-day. The Lord Mayor's Red Cross fund is now
£706,000-British Wireless.
the economic relations of the two
countries.
Indignation is also expressed at the
fact that a total of 38 Swedish ships have been
captured and are being held in German ports. Many of these ships were on their way to the Unit- ed States and eight were in ballast.-
This form of operation, the paper warns, will not pass without affecting Reuter.
SHIRATORI WOULD NAZIFY TOKYO POLICY
Tokyo, To-day.
the better, but abandoned it must be. "THE MOST URGENT question facing Japan is how
I
THAT IS OUR AIM That is our war aim and we shall persevere with this struggle until wo have attained It.
new
Dealing with peace aims, Mr. Chamberlain said that our desire must be to -establish а Europe; not in the sense of re- drawing the map according to the Ideas of the victors, but a Europe with a new spirit In which the nations of Europe would approach difficulties with goodwill and mutual tolerance.
In such a Europe, fear of aggres- sion would have ceased to exist and such adjustments of boundaries as would be necessary would be thrash- ed out between neighbours sitting on equal, terms at a round table with the help of disinterested third par- ties if so desired.
FLOW OF TRADE
In such a Europe it would be re-
to adjust relations with the Soviet Union and how to make the Soviet Union end their aid to the Chiang Kai-shek regime," declared pro-Axis Toshio Shiratori · who recently returned to Tokyo from Rome where he was Japanese Am- bassador in an article given prominence in 3. the "Hochi Shimbun” yesterday. Shiratori continues:-"The fact that Britain and the United States would dislike to see any Jap- anese-Soviet rapprochement is the very reason why Japan should hurry to conclude an agree- ment with Moscow:
every
"What is not approved by the people (ing to accept Communism.
The conditions of a Japanese-Soviet who have opposed Japan at turn since the outbreak of the China agreement must provide that the So.. Incident is in the interests of Japan." viet Union would bind itself against: Japan, says Shiratori,, should reject promoting Communism in the Far the opinion of those who contend that East and. would agree to abandon its the conclusion of an agreement with policy of assisting the "Chiang Kai- the Soviet Union would preclude shek regime." friendship with Britain and the Unit- “EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES” Commenting · on: the "radical change" in Japan's attitude towards Germany, Shiratori says there are extenuating circumstances. for. Ger- many's action in concluding an agree- ment with the Soviet Union while negotiations were in' progress for "an alliance among Japan, Germany and Italy Reuters enak bagi years
cognised that there could no longer be lasting peace unless there was a full and constant flow of trade be- tween the nations concerned and each country would have the right to choose its own form of internal gov... ernment, as long as it did not pursue an external policy injurious to its neighbours, and armaments would be gradually dropped as a useless ex- pense, except so far as was. needed for the preservation of internal · law and“ order.
"Thla would take many and some pachinery would be needed "caps" of guiding the
* development of the new Europe
In the right direction.
He hoped that Germany, animated Meanwhile, we had time on our side, by a new spirit,might be among and over weer Intensired the pres the nations which participated in its sure of the Allies' blockade on Ger-operations —ReuterTM
ed States.
Britain and the United States are not in a position to use force to provent Japan proceeding with the construction of the "Now Order."
SORT OF BLUFF®? "America's gesture of breaking off trade relations, with this country is a sort. of bluf.
Shiratori also coñaldors that 14Naro le not the slightest Justification "for "It is my belief that Amorica, which
the anti-German attitude adopted by must make up its mind about going
à section of the Japaness public,”! to war against. Germany, is left with-
The Japanese should repay Ger- out real power against this country."
A rapprochement with the Soviet many and Italy for their assistance to Union, the ex-Ambassador argues, Japan at the time of the outbreak of would not mean that Japan was go-- the China: Incidènti-Reuter any