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7.50 p.m.
International Situation HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Ede: The hon. Member for East Aberdeen (Mr. Boothby) has delivered a characteristic speech in which he has proved that everybody in the world is wrong except himself, and I could almost hope that he had had a little more time to consider some parts of his speech before he delivered them, because I think his condemnation of the speech of the hon. Member for Bridgeton (Mr. Maxton) might very well be applied to some of his own remarks. I was astonished this afternoon at the line taken by the Prime Minister on one or two matters, and in particular surprised to find that he re- sented the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Leader of the Opposition that Munich was a defeat, because I well recall that after Berchtesgaden, which we were given to understand represented something worse than Munich-[Interrup- tion.] There were three pilgrimages to Germany, and they have been repre- sented as a succession of victories for the Government, but my own view is that they represent a series of defeats, each greater than the one before. But after Berchtesgaden Mr. Garvin who, let us admit, did not know very much about what had happened, because nothing had been disclosed, said that the terms there demanded from the Prime Minister would have given the Germans more than 20 raging battles would have given them as regards access to Czechoslovakia, and can there be any doubt that in the eyes of the world, in the eyes of the subject races of the British Empire, and in the eyes of small nations, Godesberg and Munich were,
described in the American Press, the greatest diplomatic defeats that great nations have ever suffered in the history of the world?
as
I believe that throughout this country there is the most profound misgiving as to the effect that the negotiations will have upon our prestige as a nation, and I see nothing in anything that has passed since to cause me to revise the verdict that Mr. Garvin gave. I was not sur- prised to see that the Times this morning, in commenting upon the changes made in the Government, referred to this
"
Not too strong Government." After all, that is rather praise for them, because one of the extraordinary things that they have done is that, having reduced the number of their friends in the world, they have endeavoured to lose one of the few
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which we had left. I am very glad to see that the Noble Lord the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is present. At Shore- ham, in his constituency, he made a speech in which he referred to a country which is generally mentioned with bated breath in this House by Members oppo- site. When they expect to get a little out of it they are not quite sure whether they are in good company or not, but there were occasions duting the three critical weeks in which we appeared likely to get into serious trouble when Russia was always quoted as one of the sources of strength to which we could look. How- ever, when things appeared to take a turn for the better Russia was again dropped, and the Noble Lord is reported in the Times to have said that Russia did not offer help in the Czechoslovakian crisis but only made vague promises owing to her military weakness.
C
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My right hon. Friend the Leader of the Opposition raised this point in his speech this afternoon and asked the Prime Minister whether the speech of the Noble Lord represented the views of the Gov- ernment or whether he was speaking for himself. In the latter case it does not matter very much. When he is speaking to the people who return him one can understand that they will have become used to hearing very strange statements in the past, and that something a little more strange in the present only adds a little variety, and may even arouse hopes of something still more exciting in the future; but if the Noble Lord was speaking as a Member of His Majesty's Government -so important a Member that he is given one of the sinecures, so that he can be there to help with his wise advice those right hon. Gentlemen who have to dis- charge serious office duties-it is indeed a matter of the gravest concern that the military preparedness of a nation which was likely to have been an ally in the event of matters coming to a crisis should be referred to so lightly. The Soviet Embassy issued a categorical statement on the subject the Noble Lord appears to be amused-detailing the steps which they alleged were taken by M. Litvinoff in relation to France and Czechoslovakia and at the League of Nations, the assur- ances they gave and the consultations they offered to have between their General Staff and the General Staffs of France and Czechoslovakia.
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statement.
I NOVEMBER 1938
International Situation
In reply to that the Noble Lord, speak- ing at Horsham, repeated his previous I thought the only fitting reply to that way of conducting an inter- national discussion was made by the Soviet Embassy. I hope sincerely that the President of the Board of Trade, when he replies to-night, will be able to tell us whether the speeches of the Noble Lord represent the Government's attitude to- wards Russia or whether they are the kind of irresponsible talk that was wel- come from the Noble Lord when he sat on the back benches but ought not to be repeated now that he is one of the orna- ments of the Front Bench. I rather think
he holds the view which was satirised in the News-Chronicle " during the crisis:
+
"Better to lose the Empire shred by shred, Better by blackmail to be slowly bled, Than have the slightest truck with any
Red,
Or save the Empire with, as one's ally, Some bloke who doesn't wear the old
school tie."
FJ
I see in the Times this morning a letter from somebody at Mapledurham, one of the choicest resorts on the River Thames, complaining about the possible evacuation in time of war of mere pro- letarians into his aristocratic house, and suggesting that if there is to be an evacuation he should choose his own friends and relatives. We are now getting the aftermath of that kind of thing. A recent issue of the "Eastbourne Herald said:
"
Among the many distracting features of the recent international crisis, none caused greater consternation among a large number of Eastbourne people than the prospect of adults-from 30,000 refugees-children and
It is
the congested areas of London being billeted upon the householders of the town. East- bourne is a high class residential and health resort.
It is a town which a very large number of successful professional and business people have chosen as an ideal place for their retirement, in which they can spend the evening of their lives in the comparative quiet of a refined and well-ordered borough. also a town in which an unusually large number of children of the well-to-do are sent for their early education. Reference has already been made to the consternation caused in hundreds of Eastbourne homes occupied by elderly retired people who were rather tact- lessly threatened with the prospect of having six or seven strangers billeted upon them. And it need scarcely be added that unless some steps are taken to prevent the recurrence of such a disturbing state of affairs they will assuredly leave the town and take up residence in a less favoured place."
If that represents the feeling of any sub- stantial number of the people who
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normally support hon. Gentlemen oppo- site let us not have quite so much talk of the need for national unity. Such statements are disgraceful. If we had been in trouble together it would not have been the spirit of the working class that would have let this country down. In the long run it is upon the spirit of those people, in the armament factories, on the field of battle or in the home, that the maintenance of our standards will have to be depend. The kind of thing that was written from Mapledurham and that, apparently, passes muster in Eastbourne, is doing the greatest possible disservice to the nation, irrespective of what party may happen to be in power.
We are now supposed to be living in peace. The Prime Minister made a great point of that. It seems to me that we have the kind of peace that reigns in a saloon in the Wild West when men sit there playing poker, each with a couple of six guns at his hips, with the know- ledge that the jackpot will eventually go to the man who is quickest on the draw, unless one of his opponents happens to be able to slip an ace off the bottom of the pack without being seen. If this is peace, there have been few periods in the history of the world that ought to have been called periods of war, when we con- sider Spain, China and recent events in Abyssinia and Czechoslovakia. There
was no victory of peace in Czecho- slovakia. The threat of armed force settled the issue. Germany openly boasts that it was another bloodless victory, and, as Mr. Garvin said, without firing a shot Herr Hitler has made himself the greatest ruler in the history of the world since Charlemagne. I doubt whether history will seriously dispute that verdict.
The world being in this serious position I can imagine nothing less helpful to a solution of our difficulties than the speech which was made by the Prime Minister this evening. There was no leadership in that speech. He passed from subject to subject and we were at last left with this, that we must pin our faith on the new Lord Privy Seal. What is to happen to the Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department? I regret very much that he is not here, because I would prefer to make my remarks to his face. In the difficult circumstances of the past 12 months the hon. Gentleman has been courteous and, within the limits imposed upon him, helpful to local authorities and
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