London, Apr. 3.
'XCLAIMING amid loud cheering that "the declaration I made on Friday last was a tremendous departure from anything this country has undertaken, and from our constituted and traditional ideas," Mr, Neville Chamberla the Premier, added that this declaration was "not concerned with frontier incidents."
Speaking during the foreign affairs debate in the House of Commons today, Mr, Chamberlain emphasized that his declaration was concerned with the "big things that might lie behind frontier incidents. If Poland were threatened, I have no doubt that the Polish people would resist.
In that case, the declaration means that France and ourselves would immediately come to her assistance (Cheers).
believe," Mr, Chamberlain went on, "that this nation is now united not only in' approval of what we have said, but in approval of the aim and purpose which lie behind it.
T believe that the whole Empire shares in that approval. Members of the British Commonwealth beyond the seas have hitherto watched our efforts for peace with the fervent hope that they ight be successful.
All of them have had a growing consciousness that we cannot live for ever in the atmosphere of surprise and alarm from which Europe has suffered in recent months. The common business of life cannot he carried on in a state of uncertainty. So far as it has been possible for Hi is Majesty's Government to help to restore confidence by plain words, we have done our part, and in doing so I am certain we have expressed the will of this people."
Following upon a passage in. the speech male by Mr. Anthony Eden, the former Foreign Secretary, in. the course of the debate today, in which he said that "we had better clear decks, andthe order paper {o0," 9 motion "for the "formation of a National Government on the widest basis" was withdrawn, "Referring to the crisis last Septem ver in the earlier part of his speech, the Prime Minister mentioned. the assurance given to him, and not to him only but to the world, that the German Government had no wish to dominate other races; but that all they wanted was to assimilate Germans living in adjacent territories Within their own country.
"We were told," the Premier de~ clared, "hat when that was done, St would be the end, and that there would be no further territorial ambitions, Assurances Thrown to Winds"
Those assurances have now been thrown to the winds absolutely.
"That has completely destroyed confidence, and has foreed the British Government to make this great parture, of which I gave the first Intimation last week. We are now told that there ave other reasons for the recent events in Czechoslovaki. historical associations, and fear of attack. They may be excellent rea~ sons, but they do not accord with assurances given before (cheers). Was inevitable that they should raise doubts as to whether other reasons might not be found for further pansion.
"Lam not asserting today that this challenge has been made, No oficial tatement that T know of has ever formulated such ambition, although there have been plenty of unofficial talks, "The effect of recent events, how-fever, has penetrated far beyond the units of the countries concerned, probably far farther than was antis tipated by those who brought them irelement" Refuted Referring to the suggested "encir= clement" of Germany, Mr. Chamber Jain continued. "It ly fantastic to sungest that a policy which policy of self-defence can be dose {ed as encirclement, if by that term is meant encirclement for the pur= pose of aggressive action.
"1 do not wish today to attempt to specify what Govern now or in the ne desirable to consult on the situation, but 1 would make one allusion to the Soviet Union, because 1 quite appre 4H, late that the Soviet Union is always "Inthe thoughts of members of the Opposition, sand that they are still a Mille "auspicious "as to whether so-called ideological differences may not be dividing "us. in. what otherwise Would be the interests of both of us ST'du: not pretend. for a moment 8 that ideological differences do not exist. They remain Unchanged, but Our point ts that whatever may be those ideotonical differences, they. do hot really count in a question of this 4 kind, What we ite concerned (isto pi our independ Here, 1 mean the indepen 2 states may be thre aggression. We therefore we leon the ce-operation of any country, aly and generally unanimous approval of the declaration he had made on Friday. The House would Thow itself united and determined. to {ace whatever. measures might. be necessary 10 render the declaration effective Chamberlain then expressed approval of the description which had been applied to his statement on Friday, "a cover note issued in advance" of "a complete insurance Polley." That statement, he agreed, Constituted a mew and ' tremendous departure in British foreign policy—an addition to those carefully limited and defined commitments which wore publicly formulated for the British Government by Mr. Anthony Eden (ihe then Foreign Secretary) in his famous speech at Leamington.
Friday's statement should have been clear beyond possibility of misunderstanding.
was not concerned with minor little frontier Incidents. It was con-corned with the big things tha Tay behind—with the "independence Poland which, if it were threatened, the Polish people would defend. that case, his statement meant that Great Britain and France would mediately come to Poland's assistance.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.