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BREACH OF MUNICH PACT
BRITISH PREMIERS CHARGE
AGAINST GERMANY
NO CONSULTATION OF OTHER POWERS
TRADE DELEGATION TO BERLIN
SUSPENDED
LONDON, Wednesday.
"Even though it may now be claimed that what has taken
place has occurred with the acquiescence of the Czecho-Slovak
Government, I cannot regard the manner and method by which
these changes have been brought about as being in accord with the
spirit of the Munich Agreement. I cannot believe that anything of
the kind that has now taken place was contemplated by any of
the signatories of the Munich Agreement," declared the Prime
Minister (Mr. Chamberlain) to a crowded and expectant House of
Commons, when he made a statement on events in Central Europe.
He said that the moral guarantee of Czechoslovakia given last
October had lapsed through the disintegration of that country and
that the Bank of England had been instructed to suspend any fur-
ther payments under the credit of ten million sterling advanced
to the Czecho Government, and that the visit of the President of
the Board of Trade and Secretary of the Department of Overseas
Trade to Berlin would not take place.
After making these announce-
ments, Mr. Chamberlain turned back
to consider the policy of Munich
settlement. He said that, having re-
gard to the alternatives open to them
at that time he had no doubt that
the course the British Government
took was right, and he believed that
it had received the approval of the
vast majority of world opinion. That
settlement, however, had not proved
final. Czechoslovakia, to which they
had hoped to give a more stable fu-
ture, had disintegrated. That might
not have been, inevitable.
"I have so often heard charges of
breach of faith bandied about which
did not seem to be to be founded on
suilicient premises, that I do not wish
to associate myself to-day with any
charges of that character," he con-
tinued, "but I am bound to say that
I cannot believe that anything of the
kind that has taken place was con-
templated by any of the signatories
of the Munich Agreement.
The Munich Agreement constituted
a settlement accepted by the four
Powers and Czechoslovakia on the
Czechoslovakian question. It pro-'
vided for the fixation of the future n
frontiers of Czechoslovakia and laid
down the limits of German occupa-
tion, which the German Government
accepted. It has now without, so far
as I know, any communication with
the other three signatories of the
Munich Agreement, sent troops be-
yond the frontier then laid down.
Hitherto, the German Government, in
extending the area of its military
control, has defended its action by
the contention that it was only in-
corporating in the Reich neighbour-
ing masses of people of the German
race. Now, for the first time, it is
effecting military occupation of ter-
ritory inhabited by people with whom
it has no racial connection."
The Premier declared that the
events he had described to the House
could not fail to cause disturbance to
the international situation and ad-
minister a shock to the confidence
which, he said, was beginning to re-
vive.
He recalled that his appeal at Bir-
mingham at the end of January for a
contribution by others to the search
for peace was the aim of his Govern-
ment, and said it was natural there-
fore that he should bitterly regret,
what had now occurred.
"But," said Mr. Chamberlain final-
ly, "do not let us on that account be
deflected from our course. Let us
remember that the desire of all
peoples of the world still remains
concentrated on hopes of peace and
of a return to an atmosphere of un-
derstanding and goodwill which has
so often been disturbed. The aim of
this Government is now, as it always
has been, to promote that desire and
to substantiate a method of discus-
sion for a method of force in the
settlement of differences. Though we
may have to suffer checks and dis-
appointments from, time to time, the
object we have in mind is of too
great significance to the happiness of
mankind for us lightly to give it up
or set it on one side."
The Prime Minister moved the ad-
journment of the House to make his
statement and to allow of a full-
dress debate on the Central European
situation.
Discussion of the Navy estimates
set down for to-day, has been post-
poned in consequence.
In the House of Lords, the Foreign
Secretary (Lord Halifax,) made a
statement in generally similar terms
to that by Mr. Chamberlain in the
House of Commons.
Lord Halifax, like Mr Chamber-
lain, deplored the shock to confi-
dence which he thought was all the
more regrettable because the revival
of confidence which had been taking
place, was beginning to offer a pros-
pect of concrete measures which
would have been of general benefit.
Unless. said the Foieign Secretary,
there was some material change in
the situation as it now appeared,
there would inevitably have to be a
postponement of these measures.
Commons Debate.
Opening the debate for the Opposi-
tion, Dr Grenfell (Lab) commented
with amazement on what he called
sense of splendid isolation and de-
tachment of Mr. Chamberlain's state-
ment on the situation charged with
emotion pride had been humbled and
a nation's trust and independence had
been violated. This incident he held
exemplified one of consequences of
crises to which Europe had been treat-
ed and which would be repeated on
suitable occasions for some time to
come because the British Government
had not been seized with the real sig-
nificance of the events of the last few
years in Europe. He agreed that lit-
tle could be done since Munich, but
charged the Government with failure
to cope with the situation before Mu-
nich.
Ministers had stated last October
that under the Munich agreement
Czechoslovakia would enjoy greater
security than before. The Prime Min-
ister's credulity passed all under-
standing. They were now entering
upon a period fraught with immediate
and terrible dangers to all. There
was no security left in Europe.
Sir Archibald Sinclair, for the Lib-
erals, thought that the methods of
crypto-aggression employed by Hit-
ler's Government in Czechoslovakia
would almost certainly be used again
elsewhere. He appealed to the Pre-
mier to gather like-minded nations
under British leadership in defence of
the principies of law in international
relations.
Mr. Anthony Eden urged upon the
Government the necessity for rapid
adtion to safeguard the position of re-
fugues in Czechoslovakia.
Mr. Eden elicited from the Premier
the intimation that there was no in-
tention to cancel the rest of Mr. R. S.
Huron's tour of northern Carpathia.
He paid a tribute to the courage,
dignity and restraint of the Czech peo-
ple in meeting the new trial. There
could be no doubt about Ithe character
of the action Germany had taken.
The hopes which some had been
able to repose last October in the re-
sults of Munich had been falsified and
no one how could doubt that, there
would be only a brief respite before
further demands were made, and an-
other victim confronted with alterna-
tives of resistance or surrender. What
they saw in the world to-day was the
rapid deterioration of international
authority. He was convinced that if
these methods were allowed, to con-
tinue unchecked, they would all be
involved in a universal tragedy.
Mr. Eden, speaking with great earn-
estness, declared, there is a time
when a great nation must make a
great decision. I believe' that such a
time has come now.
Sir John Simon: Sinclair means
that we should have gone to war. I
am confident that the country is in
favour of the Prime Minister's policy.
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