1939-09-02 — Page 7

THE CHINA MAIL, SEPTEMBER 2, 1939.

Page

'The Time Has Come For Action.'--Mr. Chamberlain BRITISH ULTIMATUM

TO GERMANY

FULL TEXT OF BRITAIN'S NOTE TO HERR HITLER

LONDON, TO-DAY. A BRITISH ULTIMATUM TO GERMANY, TO CEASE AGGRESSIVE AC- TION AT ONCE AND WITHDRAW ITS TROOPS FROM POLAND, OR FACE WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN, WAS ANNOUNCED BY MR. NEVILLE CHAMBERLAIN IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS LAST EVENING.·

The House and Galleries were crowded when the ses- sion began at 6 o'clock last evening, and the Prime Minister was loudly cheered on entering. The Prime Minister's first words as he rose in the hushed House were: "I do not propose to say many words to-night. The time has come for action rather than speech.

"Eighteen months ago I prayed that the responsibility might not fall upon me to ask this country to accept the awful arbitrament of war.

"I fear I may not be able to avoid that responsibility. But I would not wish for conditions clearer than they are to-day as to where my duty lies. (Cheers).

"We have not neglected any means

An

POLAND ACCEPTED

"On Wednesday night, Horr von. Ribbentrop produced а lengthy document and read it aloud in German at top speed.

"Naturally our Ambassador 'asked for a copy. The reply was that

it

was now too late as the Polish_re- presentative had not arrived in Ber-

lin by midnight.

"We never got a copy of these proposals. The first time we heard them was on the broadcast last. night.

18 IT NOT CLEAR "Is it not clear that the German

conception of negotiation was that at almost instaneous demand

a Po-

lish plenipotentiary should

go to Berlin, where others had been before (cheers), and there receive a docu- ment of demands to be accepted in

of making it crystal clear to the Ger- "That telegram brought, an instan- man Government that if they insist-taneous reply from the Polish Gov- their entirety. ed on using force again in the man-ernment on August 31, in which the ner in which they have used it in the Polish Government said they were past, we were resolved to oppose them prepared on a reciprocal basis to give by force.

a guarantee that in the event of nego- "Now that all the relevant docu-tiations taking place, Polish troops ments are being made public we shall stand at the bar of history knowing that the responsibility for this terri- ble catastrophe Hes on the shoulders of one man (loud cheers).

"The German Chancellor has not hesitated to plunge the world into misory to serve his own senseless. ambitions." (Loud

cheers).

THE CORRESPONDENCE After thanking the House for the forbearance they had shown in not demanding from him information while negotiations were still in pro- gress, Mr. Chamberlain referred to the publication of the correspondence with the German Government, which, | he said, made it perfectly clear that our object had been to try and bring about discussions about the Polish- German dispute between the two countries themselves оп terms of equality, (cheers) the settlement to be one which safeguarded the inde- pendence of Poland and secured

its due observance by international guar- antee.

"There is just one passage in the communication dated August 30 which I would like to quote, because it shows how easily a final clash might have been avoid- ed If there had been the least de- sire on the

German part of the Government to arrive at a peace- ful settlement.

BID FOR PEACE "In this document we said: 'His Majesty's Government fully recognise the need for speed in inflating dis- cussion and they share the apprehen- sion of the Chancellor from the pro-

ing face to face, and they would ac-

would not violate the frontier of the German Reich, providing a corres- ponding guarantee was given by the Germans.

"We have never had a reply from the German Government to the suggestion which, if it had been followed, `might have saved the catastrophe which took place this morning."

PROPOSALS NEVER SENTI

www

Mr. Chamberlain then referred to the German broadcast on Thursday night and a sentence therein "in these circumstances the Reich Gov- ernment considers its proposals re- jected."

Mr. Chamberlain said that these proposals had never been communi- cated by Germany to Poland.

Mr. Chamberlain added that on August 29 the German Govern- ment said they would draw up proposals for a solution accept- able to themselves, and would it possible place these proposals In the hands of the British Govern- ment before the arrival of the Polish negotiator.

VIOLENT TERMS "We were awaiting these proposals and our Ambassador urged Herr von Ribbentrop to invite the Polish Am-

Herr bassador to call so that Ribbentrop could hand him the pro- posals for communication to his Gov- ernment,

most

von

"Thereupon in

violent terms, Herr von Ribbentrop sald he would never ask the Ambas- sador to visit him, and he hinted that if the Polish Ambassador ask- ed him for an interview It might be different."

In a sentence which was ximity of two mobilised armies stand-not clearly audible, the cordingly most strongly urge that Prime Minister appeared to both parties should undertake during say that the position seemed. the negotiations that no aggressive to be that Germany claimed military movement will take place.

'His Majesty's Government fool to treat Poland as in the wrong for not entering into negotiations with Germany about proposals which Po- land had never heard of !

confident that they can obtain such an undertaking from

the

Polish Government If the 'Gorman Government will give a similar undertaking."

LIGHTS OUT

ORDER IN ENGLAND

London, To-day.

-A "Lights Out" Order comes Into affect throughout Britain ag from sunset to-night.

All lights inside buildings must be obscured and all outside Fights extinguished, except where essential for the conduct of work of vital national Importance.- Router.

"The proper course in our view was that these proposals should have been put before Poland, who should have been given time to consider them and say whether they Infringed her vital Interests, which Germany had assured previously she intended to spect.

US

re.

EQUAL BASIS "The Polish Ambassador saw Herr von Ribbentrop last night and told him that Poland would negotiate on an equal basis.

"Germany's reply to that was that German troops had crossed the Polish frontler this morning at dawn and were since reported to be bombing open towns.

"In these circumstances there is only one course open to us. (Loud cheers).

(Continued on Page 9.)

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