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International Situation HOUSE OF COMMONS [Mr. Attlee.]
become Stateless, in Germany, Poland and Rumania, and the more German influence spreads in Eastern Europe, the greater will be the problem of the dis- placed Jews.
It is not only Jews who are displaced; there are all those who stand up against authoritarian views, and this refugee problem is an open sore in Europe. It all those puts the Governments in countries in great difficulties, and it puts the Governments of all other countries In our crowded in great difficulties.
of island we cannot absorb masses refugees, and Palestine cannot take more than a fraction of the Jews in Europe. I should like to know from the Prime Minister what is being done by the bodies which were set up at Evian, and whether A something greater cannot be done. hundred years ago there were numbers of refugees who fled from despotic countries. They went across the seas and took up residence in the United States of America, and we had a great democracy rising up and redressing the balance in the old world. You have here masses of good citizens, and they ought to be absorbed somewhere in the world, so that they can continue to live the life they want. It seems to me that it is up to us, the British peoples, con- trolling so large a portion of the earth's surface, to take the lead in trying to find out where these people can go; and I would ask the Prime Minister, if we could get really active steps taken to find places in the world to settle these people, whether we might not get something like a standstill arrangement and prevent the cruelty that is going on now, of people who are driven from one country and not received in another.
I turn to the international outlook, and I would like to say just a word on the question of what is likely to come next. The indications are not very hopeful in the kind of line that is being taken in the German Press. It looks as if there were a good deal of rejoicing over victory rather than anything leading to appease- ment, and there is a wide disturbance in the minds of many people over what is known as the Colonial problem, the ques- tion of these territories which we hold under Mandate from the League of Nations. They are not our territories. We, on these Benches, have for many
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years put forward what we believe is the only possible solution of the Colonial problem, and that is the abandonment of the Imperialistic attitude towards Colonies and the holding of all of these territories that cannot have self-government on the principles of a Mandate for the benefit of
the inhabitants of these territories first and then for the benefit of the whole world. It is one of the tragedies that that prob- lem was not faced earlier. It is a fatal thing to wait until things become critical. We on this side have again and again put forward proposals for conferences and discussions for dealing with these pos- sible causes of war before they became acute the question of the Colonies, the question of raw materials and year after year we have always been put off by the Government saying that the time is not ripe. Is the time ripe only when war is threatened? I suggest that it is not too late now for a reconsideration of these Colonial problems and that we ought not to wait until the demand is made by force.
Politically, we have to face the fact that Germany is now dominant on the Continent of Europe. We have a com- plete overturning of the balance of trade. But she is not only predominant politic- ally, she is predominant economically, and we ought to consider very carefully what is the meaning of this new German system of closed economy and what is going to be the result of the activities of Herr Funk. We on this side have never suggested that Germany should not have a rightful share in the development of Central Europe that is the natural sphere for German industry-but we have to consider very carefully what is the purpose behind this penetration eastward and south-eastward throughout Europe. Many people think that Czechoslovakia was a front trench and that Herr Funk is now occupying all the territory behind the line. What will be the effect on this country? It looks as if Central and South-Eastern Europe will become closed markets, and I should like to ask whether the Government acquiesce in this or whether we are going to take any steps to counter it.
With this economic penetration goes also political penetration.
It has gone very far now, and it does not stop at the immediate neighbourhood of Germany. It goes right down to Bulgaria, right down
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lot of talk of a national register. There is the national register, a national register of people wanting work, and we have to find work for them. We are not utilising our resources either in human beings, material, or finance; our immense poten- tial strength is not being brought into play, and we have no economic General Staff whatever.
International Situation I NOVEMBER 1938 to Turkey. One gathers that steps are being taken to stem the tide. I do not know how much is being done, but I would remind the Government that the lesson in 1914-15 was that if you wanted to deal with the Balkan States, you had to give enough and you had to give it in time. I do not know at present whether there is a contest going on for giving various advantages to these States and whether there is anything like a state of economic warfare. But the fact is that you have to-day a Germany very highly organised as a single economic unit or autarchy.
She can attack our markets
all over the world, and she has now the resources of the Sudetenland, and we may see grave inroads into our trade. The coal trade is likely to suffer, and the textile trades are likely to suffer. If throughout this great area of Central Europe you are going to have this kind of closed trade agreements, you may be certain that German goods and German products will oust our goods, and as armament building reaches satiety in Germany the pressure will come outwards into other markets. The position is not confined to Europe. You have the same thing going on in the Far East, and I should like the Prime Minister to say something to us with regard to the situa- tion in the Far East. If Japan is success- ful in her drive, another market, and potentially the biggest market in the world, will become closed to any other Power, and I suggest that we shall have there a very serious position for our export trade.
enormous
If we turn now to our own position, our trade returns are none too good. There was a reduction last September in our imports of 14.6 per cent. below the figures for the previous September, and there is a reduction of 12.8 per cent. below our 1937 figures. We have in this country inevit- ably at the present time, in spite of Munich, a very widespread lack of con- fidence. We have a very high unemploy- ment, and this country is practising what might be called a qualified system of free competition, but it is in a world of highly organised totalitarian economic units. The question is as to how that threat to our trade is to be met. say that this country is quite unorganised to meet a drive of the kind that may very well come along. We have no economic plan whatever. We have 1,800,000 unemployed, an increase of 459,000 in the last year. We hear a
The thing that strikes one most about the Government's policy during the last few years is that there is no coherence in it at all. We have urged on our side that there should be national planning. We heard at Question Time to-day that a committee is still considering the location of industry. While that goes on things are changing all the time. The kinds of control that are vitally necessary in peace time are certainly absolutely necessary if there is a threat of war. That there is a danger of war is shown by the demand of the Government for vastly increased armaments. I am going to suggest that the fundamental failure of the Govern- ment in providing for defence, as in pro- viding for the economic strength of this country, is a failure to decide upon priorities. In the defence of this country the crying need was defence against air attack, but actually air attack defence was not considered a priority. It was subordinated to the old traditions of the three fighting Services, and A.R.P. re- mained for a long time very much a Cinderella. As we know, the provision of anti-aircraft guns was left right behind when it ought to have been in the front rank of priorities. We believe that this is due to the fact that there is no proper organisation. For many years now in this House, not only from this side, but from other sides, a ministry of defence has been demanded. We have demanded a ministry of supply the mobilisation of our resources with due regard to priorities.
I want to turn, not to those Defence questions which we will discuss on Thurs- day, but to the gravest deficiency of all in the Government's Defence organisation. That is on the economic side. If you take any study of the late War you find that the important factor, after all, was econo- mic.
[f
We find German authorities say, We were not beaten by the sword; we were beaten by hunger.' I say that the foundation of all defence is a sound and healthy condition of the people, but that is the priority which this Government
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