London, Feb. 21. suggestion that the vast, competitive rearmament confronting the nations of the world was perhaps the result of misunderstanding and an appeal to the Opposition to do nothing to ner ease such a misunderstanding by captious criticism or suspicion vere the two important points in the speech with which Mr, neville Chamberlai the Prime Minister, today opened the second ay's debate on defence in the House of Commons.
Mr. Chamberlain said that when he listened to the defence debate yesterday, he felt the absence of strong feeling, controversy {or symptoms of anxiety which have been noticeable before.
He derived the general impression that alf parts of the House were being forced, by the pressure of facts and the realization of the coalifies of the situation, towards something like a general agreement as to the necessity of the ai rms programme, which they were carrying through, and as to the manner in which it was being conducted, particularly the way in which it was being financed.
The Prime Minister recalled that last year the Labour Party had stressed the need of a policy based on collective security and the League. Tt seemed to him to indicate that the Labour Party realized it was no use, in the present "circumstances, to appeal to the League and that "we had to trust to other means of maintaining peace and this country's safety."
After commenting that civil defence had somewhat lagged behind three chief defence services, Chamberlain said: "Even in the case of civil defence, the organization under Sir John Anderson, Lord Privy Seal and Minister of Civilian Defence, necessary measures are now falling into place. I think it will not be very long before we are able to say that our air-raid precautions and the kindred measures which they are giving us, have resulted in what we desire to see."
He paid tribute to Lord Chatfeld. Minister for Ca-ordination of Defence. whose experience fitted him for his work of ce-ordination. He explained hat the appointment of Mr. W. S. Morrison, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and answering in the House Commons for the Ca-ordination of Defence Minister, as Lord Chatfield' representative in the House o Commons was made to correct the difficulty of Lord Chatfield being in the House of Lords, but it, did not mean that Mr. Morrison was the Minister of Supply.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.