Evening star., 1935-10-22

for there are three-not tWo-tne
League, Italy and Ethiopia"
The cabinet minister said he re-
joiced that Great Britain, during the
present tense days, enjoyed not only
the solidarity of British public opinion
but the unbroken solidarity of its en-
pire and "the impressive unanimity Of
the great dominions."
Some of our foreign friends have
been surprised by the depth and
breadth of these expressions of opin-
ion," Hoare remarked. They failed
to understand our belief in the
League as an instrument not only for
stopping war but also for removing
its causes.
They didn't realize the sincerity
Of our hope and faith in the new
order of International relations. They
failed, also, to understand that most
Of us regard the League as bridge
between Great Britain and Europe
and, if this bridge is gravely weakened
and broken, cooperation between us
and the continent becomes difficult
and dangerous"
'Peace or Destruction"
Pointing out that the controversy
raised an issue between the League
and one Of its most powerful members,
Sir Samuel said: There is a real
temptation to throw up the task as
hopeless. Some there be in Europe
who have tended to succumb.
There was a cry on the continent
early in this century: World power
or decline! We say now: World peace
or destruction
The British empire, he said, is
bound to have enemies and critics
who are jealous of the British posi-
ton, want to make trouble in Eu-
rope and "embroil us with our
friends"
1T is such as these" he declared.
"who are trying to make it appear
that Great Britain is attempting to
use the League for selfish ends and
is bent on mobilizing its machinery
for the humiliation of Italy"
Such men, he declared, ARE doing
their best to kindle a conf1agration
in Europe and to destroy the League
ITSELF"
Answering other critics, who said
Great Britain had been timid and
slow to act, Sir Samuel declared the
government made representations to
Italy in the Ethiopian conflict at the
end of last year, and from then
onward we never stopped warning
Italy of the gravity of the issues"
Defends League Policy.
"The House may take it from me
that from the very moment this con-
troversy started we have left the Ital-
ian government In no doubt whatever
Of our attitude" the foreign secre-
tary declared.
Criticism of the Leagues slowness
to act Hoare answered by saying that
until August there was possibility
Of peaceful settlement of the Italo-
Ethiopian dispute, which Il think the
italian government was unwise to re-
ject and which I am certain men,
bers of the League would have been
unwise to frustrate by the abrupt
policy of ultinlatum."
Hoare expressed the belief that the
economic sanctions against Italy, If
collectively applied and not frustrated
by non-members of the League, will
definitely shorten the duration Of
the war"
OF military sanctions he said the
necessary concert for their enforce
ment never existed at Geneva and
that all the action there had been
not military, but economic.
The foreign secretary was followed
on the floor by Maj. Clement Richard
Attlee of the opposition, who said the
opposition felt the government had
waited too long in clearly defining the
international position.
Attlee declared that had Sir
Samuels speech at Geneva in Septem-
ber been delivered previous to January