London, Jan, 24.
MR. Neville Chamberlain, the Prime Minister, in a broadcast speech last night, inaugurated the Government's drive for volunteers in every branch of the country's defence services. Referring to conditions which, in the Government's view, made its scheme of voluntary national service necessary for the security of the country, Mr. Chamberlain said.
"It is a scheme to make us ready for war, but that does not mean that I think war is coming."
"You know that I have done, and shall continue to do, all I can to preserve peace for ourselves and for others, too.
We, in this country, would never begin war, but we might be forced to participate in a war begun by others, or we might be attacked ourselves if the Government of some other country were to think that we could not defend ourselves effectively," the Prime Minister declared.
"The better prepared we are to defend ourselves and to resist attack, the less likely is it that any aggressor will try an adventure in which Њe chances of success would be so unpromising." The Prime Minister emphasised that modern war was not like wars of the past, The development of air forces, he declared, "have deprived us of our old island security and, in our case as in the case of continental countries, civilians will be the victims of attack as much as soldiers, sailors end airmen, Indeed, they might very likely be the first victims.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.