Mr, Attlee did service when he called upon the House of Commons to censure the Government for its Fecent statement of defence policy. He elioted from the chief Government' spokesmen emphatic fe-affrmations of Great Britain's compromise and ce-operation' loyalty" to the Leasue of Nations should provide the key to the solu-and to the eventual establishment tion of the factory inspection prob-of. that organization on a truly Jem. In the light of the pressing Universal basis. Mr. "Attlee ald importance of the proper regula~ more: he, was enabled to. receive tion of industry and its far-reach-a Tesson_ inthe real principles {ing effects on the life of the whole democratic. government from the community, further delay leader of the Conservative Party reaching an agreed settlement must Peace-construction is. the aim. of be regarded as highly discreditable every responsible citizen in" the to those entrusted by the public world to-day." Tt is gravely" Joo: with the conduct of Shanghai's af-Dardlzed by' fanatical disputants Who refuse" to take into account fairs. Stimulus should be found in the remarkable strides made in the actualities: those are the aps Ju the membership of the League developing ce-operation between and the rapid {nerease in. annas the Council and other bodies. Thus ments developed by various lead the report includes—for the first Ing Powers since the War. Great time in China—an analysis of in-Britain's hope for the success dustrial accidents, classified accord-the Disarmament Conference. was ing to causes and trades. It lacks emphasized by her protracted 'e-completeness because of the pres~ Sistance to well-founded "demands ent inability to enforce com-for the strengthening of her pulsory notification. Yet, with the fences which she. plainly allowed help of hospital authorities—even to fall far below minimum needs, at the cost of extra expense and She adhered to. that policy" unt Tabour to those organizations—the point was "reached that her these valuable statistics have been manifest weakness in physical obtained. "Go thou and do like-Capaciiy for defence definitely imwise" might be the gentle injunepaired the influence of her countion issued to the negotiators of els inthe cause of peace. political compacts, although Tndivectly this unilateral disannex must at once be observed that the ment policy might have been the Cause of a further increase in the difficulties confronting those ami-armaments of nations. who, able men on both sides are all too normally under recognized inter-sadly appreciated.
Rational' agreements, looked The analysis of accidents, indeed, British support in. time of emer cogently illustrates the need for gency. This. paradoxical situation effective regulation and should, in could not safely continue. Logiitself, spur even the most reluctant tally, permanent acquiescence in it diplomat to activity. Incomplete could only be justified by carrying, as the figures are they show that the process of unilateral disarma= poor electrical installations have ment to the extreme point more to do with fatalities than Bbandoning all. defences" of the would be tolerated in properly British Empire and trusting to the regulated industry. Accidents on Vain hope that the example of a buildings under construction re-Gemilitarized nation would at one quire special attention here and the same time still all human where architects are building ambitions and move others to, higher, it has been Tately. said, imitation. Ina world of dreamers than in any other part of the and mystics such an event might Government's defence proposals had. prejudiced the forthcoming discussions with Germany. easy to imagine what charges would have been levelled against British good faith, if Sir John Simon had reserved publication until after his visit to Berlin, Whether the reference in the White Paper to Germany's re-armament was couched in sufficiently tactful language, must be largely a matter of opinion and judgment after examining the specific words Used. It is alleged to have aroused some feeling "in Germany, but Mr. Baldwin's insistence on the value of absolute frankness is as per~ tinent to. international as to na-
Uonal relationships. There are those who, looking back on the Gebacle of 1914, hold the view that had the successive British Governments of the day been frank in their definition of Great Britals's defence needs both to. their own nation and to the world at large, the fatal breach for which the world is now paying 30 heavily might have been averted. "More over itis refreshing to Gnd that Great Britain can now command leadership which is not afraid to tell democracy the truth. Much of the trouble in the world to-day is due to the suppression of free institutions by which nations jean form accurate judgment on the factions of their Governments. In Great Britain this muzzling of opinions has fortunately not been adopted, although it has a perverted if United form of expression in the furious acrobatics of certain gramo-[phone press magnates. When Mr. Attlee and his friends concentrate criticism on the Government's [defence policy without admitting the plain facts of recent history in the world outside, they are implicity encouraging the very tech unique of "secret diplomacy" against which they profess to be ranged in the interests of peace. The Labour Party may "loathe militarism" but has not the monopoly of that generous emotion. Until the mafhinery for collective peace-construction is completely inclusive, militarism cannot be successfully met by the mere process of eliminating all means to oppose its ultimate expression, These objections to the Labour vote of censure do not undervalue the deep sense of humiliation which assails all thinking men and women when they observe how sadly the roseate visions of 1919 have faded. Despite the frantic appeal to nationalist prejudices which have so gravely imperilled international amity, to say nothing of economic recovery, in recent years, itis satisfactory to note that the fundamental principles of peace preservation are vivid influences in the public life of many nations to-ay. Candour impels recognition of the unfortunate fact that the blame for much of the failure of world-statesmanship must be laid at the door of the very internation alist to which the hopes of peace-lovers were pinned. So far from being a source of comradeship, that movement in its extreme guises, has sought to stir up hatred and particularly the hatred of class prejudice. It has tried to tear down the nobler qualities of patriotic selflessness and to replace them by fanatical exploitation of servile mass-cupidity. The root of this perversion of a worthy ideal has Jain in an ill-conceived disregard of human limitations and a complementary denial of those spiritual and moral forces without which either men nor nations can exist.
The correction of these errors has, necessarily, exposed the world's sanity to other dangerous experiments in folly. Thus the stage has been over-crowded with the con-fioting energies of builders, destroyers, recreators and rebuilders in a positive medley of obscurant and empirical fervour. In such a plight the part of wisdom is to hold fast to facts and judge theories in that light alone. There is no reason for believing that the ground gained has been irrevocably lost. It is rather "desirable to proceed in the conviction that it can be best consolidated by jeautious adherence to proved methods of statesmanship, in support of which proved measures of defence must not be neglected. A new world cannot be constructed in a vacuum. Tt cannot find a place where national freedom is not. Until national freedom is completely secured by a really comprehensive system of international ce-operation, it has to depend in the last resort on adequate measures of defence. On that principle the British Government's Policy rests. From the integrity of the British Empire British statesmen derive their authority for continuing to persevere in the gradual development of an ultimo ately four-square foundation of the world's peace. And even the obedient members of the Labour Party who followed Mr. Attlee into the lobby on Monday evening, would be unwilling to face the future if those considerations were ignored.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.