They were sinking an increasing number of U-boats, said Mr. Churchill, but they did not make announcements of, U-boat sinkings unless there was almost every reason to be sure they had succeeded.
From the substantial losses they had suffered from just these few U-boats operating up to the present, the House would see how vast must be the preparations which they ought to make, and which they had made, to cope with the full scale of attack which might come upon them.
With the passage of the summer, new building of U-boats would increasingly come into play, and they expected to meet them with their large new aircraft, especially adapted for the purpose. They would be building such aircraft all this summer at their extreme capacity.
After mentioning steps taken to make a large increase in the rate of merchant ship-building, to replace inevitable losses, Mr. Churchill continued: "The U-boat is being steadily driven from using the gun on the Surface, and has been largely driven from using the torpedo, to the laying of mines, magnetic and others, in approaches to our harbours."
"I come on behalf of the Navy" he said "to ask for a few more ships and a little money" (laughter) "to enable them have had to call upon fishing fleets ud fishermen," the Minister said. "Although this year we shall have about 250,000 sailors at our disposal, we had at the end of November to call for many thousands of volunteers for mine-sweeping duties.
"Engagement was only for three months, but it is now clear it must be greatly enlarged. In many seaports over 75 per cent. of those who were volunteers for three months now wish to continue for the duration of the war, and the Admiralty are going to meet their wish" (cheers), Inexcusable Nazi Attacks Mr. Churchill then declared: "So inexcusable has been the behaviour of some German aviators in attacking harmless unarmed vessels and machine-gunning crews when in boats, and in describing on the radio what fun it was to see little ship crackling up in flames' that we have had to set about arming all our fishing boats and small craft with means of defending themselves" (cheers).
"We have reason to know that several of them have sheered off very quickly when they found that fishermen, who had only just been given a weapon, fired back upon them. Thousands of guns of all sorts and sizes are being issued to our merchant and fishing fleets.
"The Nazis have retorted by saying this entitles them to break all the conventions which they had already broken many times over" (laughter). "They may, of course, apply their methods on a larger scale, but they have not for some time been able to descend to any new level of cruelty and disgrace.
"I suppose the House realizes" said Mr. Churchill "that Hitler and his Nazis have quite definitely exceeded the worst villainies which Imperial Germany committed in the last war. One of the most extraordinary things I have ever known in my experience is the way in which German illegalities, atrocities and brutalities are coming to be accepted as if they Were part of ordinary day to day occurrences, Outery of Neutrals Deplored "Why, the neutral press makes more fuss when I make a speech telling them what is their duty, than they have done when many of their ships have been sunk" (cheers) "and over 1,000 of their sailors have been drowned or murdered—that is the right word—on the open seas.
"Apparently, according to the present doctrine of neutral states, pro ably endorsed by the German Go ernment, Germany is to gain one set of advantages by breaking all the rules and committing foul outrages, and then go on and gain another set of advantages through insisting, whenever it suits her, upon the stricttest interpretation of the international code she has torn to pieces, "It is not at all odd that His Majesty's Government is getting rather tired of it," Mr. Churchill commented amid cheers. "I am getting rather tired of it myself" (laughter). "For my part, I say without hesitation that in the interpretation of rules and conventions affecting neutrals, humanity, rather than legal pedantry, must be our chief guide" (cheers) "and judging from the Altmark episode, this seems to be the opinion, not only of
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.