Page
BELGIANS
SON
THE
THE CHINA MAIL, MAY 29, 1940.
DISAVOW
ALBERT
OF
Guilt Of One Man"Cannot Be Imputed To Nation
Prime Minister's Broadcast From Paris
Paris, To-day.
"THE GUILT OF ONE MAN cannot be imputed to the entire nation,” said M. Pierlot, Belgian Prime Minister, in a broadcast address yesterday after- noon to the Belgians.
He repudiated King Leopold's action and said that the King of the Belgians had broken the constitu- tion and exceeded his powers.
The Belgian Army does not deserve the fate that has befallen it. The King's action is without legal validity and does not bind the country.
and
The Belgian Constitution, which negotiations with the enemy was accepted by the King, he said, lays down that all powers come from the people, and these powers are carried out according to the terms of the constitution.
treated with him in complete disre- gard of the formal and unanimous advice of the Government.
The King has broken the constitu- tion and put himself into the power of the invader. Consequently, he is no longer able to govern.
No act of the King,
M. Pierlot continued, can be valid without the
** counter-signature of a Minister.
This is an absolute rule and a fun- damental one.
Broken Ties
The King, therefore, has broken off ties with the nation, and Ministers and all others under oaths of fidelity to him are absolved of those oaths, A new army will be organised in France and Britain.
Disregard Of Advice
M. Pierlot emphasised at the outset that the King entered into separate.
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"The act which we deplore 盾 without any legal validity and does not bind the country.”
M. Pierlot explained the terms of the Belgian Constitution under which the King swore to uphold the prin ciple that all powers come from the people and are carried out according to the stipulations laid down in the Constitution. ...
This Constitution, he went on, provides for the continuity of the powers of the Government and the only Government which is regular, ly constituted and invested with the confidence of the two Chambers who have approved its determination to fight on, will defend the indepen dence of Belgium and the Integrity of her territory to the utmost,
A New Army
...
LEOPOLD: AN ACT OF TREASON
Paris, To-day,
"King Leopold's act is a per- sonal treason for which he alone le responsible," Day.military quar- tors in Paris.
score
They add the development oc- curred just at the time when the Allies were beginning to looal successes as exemplified by the striking success on the upper reaches of the Lys on the flank of numerically superior forces.-- Reuter.
ITALY ADOPTS THE ATTITUDE EXPECTED
(SPECIAL TO "CHINA MAIL") Rome, To-day. Italy's attitude towards King Leo pold's capitulation was expressed yes- terday by an official Italian spokes- man.
"We fully approve of King Leo- we consider pold's decision, which perfectly realistic in view of the cer- tainty of the destruction of the mainder of his forces," the spokesman said...
re-
for
Expressing deep admiration the Belgian Army, the spokesman made sarcastic reference to the fact that the Belgian Government had left the country while the King remained to fight!
Meanwhile, the clamour for Italy "achieve her national aspirations"
"From among the courageous young-to er generation who have responded to has been revived. the appeal of the government, together with the Belgian soldiers who now, in France and Britain, army will be raised and will fight side by side with the Allied Armies.
are a new
It is necessary, he added, to stress at once In tangible manner the solidarity which still unites us to those nations which have given us their guarantees in conformity with the pledges.
Belgiau! We are going through the most ainful trial in our history. The hour has come to remember the example of courage and honour given to us by those who fought in 1914- 18. Come what may, we shall prove ourselves worthy of them."Reuter, Measures Being Taken (SPECIAL TO “CHINA MAIL") Paris, To-day.
An official announcement asserting the Belgian Government's determina- tion to continue the struggle was published yesterday by the Belgian news agency.”·
The announcement adds that all Bel- gian troops in France, including ele- ments now being frmed, will be thrown into the action and the strength of all the nation will partici pate in the battle and vanquish the invader.
On Monday night the Belgian Gov-- ernment took all measures to organise
resistance against the invader irres- pective of Leopold's decision, which was unconstitutional-Havas.
New anti-Allied manifestos have been plastered all over Rome, call- ing for, among other things, Dal. matia, Corsica, Malta and Tunis. On the whole, the general reaction over the is tinged with sympathy plight of the Belgian people, and it is generally felt that King Leopold's capitulation will shorten the con- flict. Havas.
BELGIANS IN POIGNANT PARIS SCENE
Paris, To-day.
M. Pierlot, the Belgian Pre- mier, and members of the Belgian Government parti- cipated in a big demonstra- tion before the statue of King Albert here last evening.
Black crepe was tied to the base of the statue and numerous wreaths were laid. Thousands of Belgians, includ- ing groups of Ex-Servicemen, present.
were
Amid scenes of great emotion the crowd sang the Belgian National Anthem and filed past for an hour and a half.
Some young Belgians fixed a notice to the statue reading "The venerated King who made our country great-give us strength to wash away the shame with which your unworthy successor has covered our unhappy Belgium.
"We swear to avenge this treason." -Reuter.
HALF MILLION SURRENDER
LONDON, TO-DAY. THE GERMAN WIRELESS, AN- NOUNCING THE CAPITULATION OF KING LEOPOLD, SAYS THE FUEHRER HAS ORDERED LEOPOLD
AND THE BELGIAN ARMY TO BE TREATED WITH THE RESPECT DUE TO SOLDIERS WHO FOUGHT GALLANTLY."
As Leopold has expressed no desire regarding his own person, a Belgian castle has been assigned to him as a temporary domicile.
It is estimated that approximately 500,000 troops are affected by the capi- tulation-Reuter.
EX-KING LEOPOLD AND GOVERNMENT
(SPECIAL TO "CHINA MAIL")
Paris, To-day. WHILE UNABLE TO STATE whether King Leopold had al- ready secretly contacted the Germans when the Min- isters left him on Saturday, well-informed quarters stress the fact that the Premier, M. Pierlot, and his col- leagues left Belgium before the King's capitulation. The Ministers left Leopold about six kilometres behind the front line extending in front of Bruges and Ostend, which was defended with extreme courage until the last moment. ⠀⠀
BELGIANS TO FIGHT ON WITH ALLIES
Paris, To-day. It is officially announced that the
Belgian Government has decided that Belgium shall continue to fight by the side of the Allies:
SNATCHING CASE Four months hard labour was im
on Chan Kam-fat, 40, by Mr. A. Macfadyen this morning for matching a handbag from Ma Po-ling,
spinster, in Saigon Street Vesterday, victory.
The Government will use the Bel- gian forces in France which have now been re-grouped and throw into the battle, all the strength of the, nation they can command in order to secure
Reuter.
M. Pierlot, and General Denis (De- fence Minister), M. Paul Spaak (For- eign Minister) and M. van der Poorten (Home Minister) left the King on Saturday morning and went to London
to meet colleagues who had con- tacted the British authorities,
The Ministers were accompanied by their staff of about ceeded to Dunkirk, where of civilian refuss, The Ministers emb
British ent by man bomber's started but missed.