Evening star., 1940-06-25
Britain Keeps Desire
To Rescue Ally
From Bondage
BY the Associated Press.

today the French had broken
their promises not to let their
fleet fall into enemy hands, but
in the House of Lords Viscount
Caldecote, DominionS Secretary,
said Mr.. Churchill would not re-
lax his efforts to retain French
naval help.
Mr.. Churchill, making his sixth
war report to Commons, made no
reference to the whereabouts of the
French fleet, but said it was "clear
that French war vessels under this
armistice pass into German or Ital-
ian control fully armed"
Lord Caldecote summed up the
situation thus briefly:
THE Prime Minister will relax no
effort to secure that French ships
will continue to serve the cause for
which they have been employed so
many months"
Determined to Continue.
Mr.. Churchill said he had made
it clear to the French that the Brit
ish would go on fighting, and that
he had made it plain to the Petain
government that the conditions in
dlspensable to their release from
their agreement with the British
had not been complied with.
Mr.. Churchill said Britain offered
to release the Reynaud government
from its written pledge not to nego-
tiate separate peace if the French
fleet were sent to British ports and
remained there while the negotia-
tions were being conducted.
This offer was made, he explained
after an earlier refusal and when
it was clearly seen that French re-
| Sistance was crumbling.
On the evening of Sunday, June
16, Mr.. Churchill said, he was on
train preparing to go to Bordeaux
when he was informed of the over
throw of the Reynaud government
/ and the formation of the Petain
/ government for the purpose of seek
ing an armistice with Germany.
Most Solemn Assurances"
Britain the Prime Minister con-
tinued, informed the Petain govern
ment of Britains indispensable con-
ditions to negotiations, and when
A. v. Alexander and Admiral Sir
Dudley Pound and Lord Lloyd went
to Bordeaux most solemn assurances
were given that the fleet would never
fall into German hands"
The next news received was of
the terms of the armistice, Mr..
Churchill said, and this had the
| effect of handing over the feet to
the Germans.
A dispatch from Alexandria, Egypt.
said units of the French feet, sta
| toned at the British naval base,
flew their flags at half mast today
in compliance with French gov
ernment order for day of mourn
ing.
(This dispatch indicated that thus
far these French ships have not
obeyed the reported stipulation of
| the French German a:mistice that
all French naval vessels return to
home ports for disarming or intern
ment)
Reynaud Requess Refused.
The Prime Minister disclosed
that he had refused request of M.
Reynaud to release France from
her obligations as an ally.
He made the disclosure after
telling Commons that I'VE hope to
rescue France from the ruins OF
bondage into which she has been
cast"
The meeting with M. Reynaud,
he said, was at Tours, the first sub
stitute capital after Paris was
abandoned.
I'VE agreed" said Mr.. Churchill.
"that a further appeal should be
made by M. Reynaud to the United
States and If the reply was not
sufficient to enable M. Reynaud to
go on fighting-and he, after all,
was the real fighting spirit-then
we should meet again and take
decision in the light of the new
facts"
eve hope that the French En-
pire, stretching all over the woriG,
will continue the struggle on the
side of it's Allies" Mr.. Churchill
declared
Decrying hard words and re-
proaches," Mr. Churchill said Brit
ain finds it difficult to believe that
the interests and spirit Of France
would find no other expression than
in the melancholy decisions OF the
government at Bordeaux"
I'VE shall aid any movement of
Frenchmen for the defeat of Ger
man barbarism and the freedom
and restoration of France, Mr..
Churchill said.
What our relations will be with
the Bordeaux government I can
not tell. They have delivered them
selves over to the enemy"
Must Look to Own Salvation.
The prime minister continued:
1--WE hope it may become a gov
ernment which will strive steadfast-
ly for victory and will organize
armies of liberation. These are mat
ters. which Frenchmen alone can
decide"
Britain will "endeavor to keep
such contact with the Bordeaux
government as is possible through
the bars of their prison." he de-
clared.
Meanwhile, 1--WE must look to our
own salvation"
THE safety of Great Britain and
the British Empire is powerfully
though not decisively affected by
what happens to the French feet"
Mr.. Churchill said.
Mr.. Churchill called the situation
at present uncertain and obscure"
and said he could say nothing Of
the future. He will make further
statement next week.