"Therefore 1 cannot assure you that the war will be short, and still Tess, that it will be easy.
"It fs, T think, our duly to try os far as our strength lies, not only to win the wor, but to curtail as, far us possible, Its devouring course."
oferring to neutral states, who had the misfortune to be Germany's neighbours, Mr. Churchill said that he vhnd the greatest sympathy for these forlorn countries, and understood their dangers, and their point of view, It would not be. right, however, or in the general interest, that their weakness should feed the agaressor's strength, and fill to overflowing the cup of human woe.
There could be no justice, if ina life and death struggle, the aygressor trampled down every. sentiment of humanity, and those who resisted him remained entangled in the tatters of violated legal conventions. "Hardly riy day passes, Me. Churchill said, without fresh outrages of a cruel and barbarous character being. Lafticted upon the shipping and sailors of all crews murdered, unless we were able. foresee them. aminier's Murderous Deeds"
The Swedes, Norwegians, Danes, and even the Matlans, had been Victims of Hitler's murderous deeds.
Tu his frenzy, this wicked man and the' criminal" regime which he conceived and erected, increasingly turned their malice upon the weak ahd lonely, and above all, the un~ firmed vessels of the countries with Which Germany is still supposed (0 be in friendly relations.
In' British and. French convoys, there was safety. Only one in 800 neutral ships, which resorted to our protection, has been sunk Dut out-fide the shelter of the Allied navies, a merciless and balled pent-up Spite is wreaked pon all who come within' the Nazi clutch.
"Only yesterday, while sailors of a British submarine were carrying ashore on stretchers eight emaciated Dutchmen, whom they rescued from six days" exposure in an open boat, Dutch aviators, in the name of strict impartial orthodoxy, were shooting down British aircraft which had lost its" way." declared Mr. Churchill.
""todo' not reproach the Dutch, our valiant allies of former days my heart goes out to them in their peril and. distress, dwelling, as they. do, a cage with a tiger, But when Wwe were asked to take, as a matter of course, Interpretations of neutrality which' give all advantages to the aggressor, and inflict, all disadvant~ ages upon the defenders' freedom, 1 emall the saying of the late Lord Balfour: "This is a singularly ill-contrived world, but mot s0 ile contrived as thai us Agony of Poland"
Mr, Churchill then said that all outrages of the sea paled before the ainous deeds wrought upon the helpless Czechs and Austrians, and sank into insignificance before the hideous agony of Poland.
The other day, Mr. Churchill died, he had inspected the crew of 8 Polish destroyer. "I have rarely Seen a finer body of men," he said.
was stirred by their' discipline and bearing. Yet how tragic was their plight! Their ship was afloat, out their country had foundered.
Continuing, he said that as he looked round at all the great warships. at anchor, and at other preparations, he comforted himself with the thought that when these Polish sailors had finished their work with the British Navy, we would take particular care to ce that they once more had a home to go to.
"Thoughtless dilletante, or purblicd worldlings, although the fate of Poland stares them in the face, sometimes ask us: what is. it that Britain and France are fighting for? To this, T answer: "It we left off fighting, you would soon fwd out We shall follow this war, wherever it leads us; but we have no wish to. broaden the area of the conflict.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.