§ 4 p.m.
§ LORD SNELLMy Lords, I beg to ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any statement to make on the international situation.
§ THE LORD PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL (EARL STANHOPE)My Lords, in the last week events of great importance have occurred in the international field. On September 26 the German Foreign Minister paid a visit to Moscow, and on September 28 the results of this visit were proclaimed. These results were threefold. In the first place, a fourth partition of Poland has been attempted, and an agreement has been signed recognising as final the frontier between Russia and Germany. The line agreed upon was considerably more favourable to Germany than the provisional line of military occupation which had previously been laid down. In the second place the German and Soviet Governments have declared that their agreement has finally settled the questions arising out of the collapse of the Polish State and has created a solid foundation for lasting peace in Eastern Europe. In their opinion the liquidation of the present war between Germany and England and France would be in the interests of all nations. Both Governments, they go on to say, will endeavour to achieve this object as quickly as possible. They assert that should their efforts prove unsuccessful, England and France will bear the responsibility for the continuance of the war, and they acid that the German and Soviet Governments will then consult together as to the measures they will take. In the third place, an economic agreement between Germany and Russia is foreshadowed, under which Russia will supply raw materials to Germany and 1231 Germany will supply industrial goods produced over a lengthy period.
There has been in some quarters a demand that His Majesty's Government should define their attitude in the face of these developments, but we see nothing in what has happened that should lead this country to modify the attitude which it has felt it right to take. The agreement between Germany and Russia and the subsequent partition of Poland between them have, of course, changed the position in Poland, but it by no means follows that the arrangement will enure to the ultimate advantage of Germany, and still less should it affect the aims of His Majesty's Government. There is nothing in that agreement that should cause us to do anything other than what we are doing now—mobilising all the resources and all the might of the British Empire for the effective prosecution of the war.
The reason for which this country entered the war has been frequently proclaimed. It was to put an end to the successive acts of German aggression which menaced the freedom and the very security of all the nations of Europe. The immediate cause of the war was the deliberate invasion of Poland by Germany, the latest but by no means the only act of aggression planned and carried through by the German Government. But if Poland was the direct occasion of war, it was not the fundamental cause. That cause was the overwhelming sense in this country and in France of the intolerable nature of a state of affairs in which the nations of Europe were faced with the alternative of jeopardising their freedom or of mobilising their forces at regular intervals to defend it.
The passage in the Russo-German declaration about the liquidation of the war is obscure but it seems to combine a suggestion of some proposal for peace with a scarcely veiled threat as to the consequences if the proposal should be refused. His Majesty's Government cannot anticipate what the nature of any such proposal might be. But we can say at once that no threat would ever induce this country or France to abandon the purpose for which we have entered upon this struggle. To attempt—as German propaganda does—to saddle us with the responsibility for continuing the 1232 war because we are not prepared to abandon the struggle before this purpose is achieved is only another instance of German war technique. The responsibility for the war rests upon those who have conceived and carried out this policy of successive aggression, and it can neither be evaded nor excused. His Majesty's Government would add one thing more. No mere assurances from the present German Government could be accepted by us. For that Government have too often proved in the past that their undertakings are worthless when it suits them that they should be broken. If, therefore, proposals are made, we shall certainly examine them, and we shall test them in the light of what I have just said. Nobody desires the war to continue for an unnecessary day, but the overwhelming mass of opinion in this country, and we are satisfied also in France, is determined to secure that the rule of violence shall cease and that the word of Governments, once pledged, must henceforth be kept.
These events in the international field and our reactions to them are necessarily uppermost in our minds to-day. Your Lordships will, however, wish me to give you a brief summary of the progress of the war since I last spoke. On the Western Front some further progress has been made by the French, which has enabled them to secure useful points for observation over the German positions. A large British Army has been transported to France, and is taking its place alongside our French Allies. We have reason to be proud of the efficiency with which this complicated movement has been carried out. Reconnaissance flights, both by day and by night, are being made by the Royal Air Force units in France, and there have been encounters with enemy fighter aircraft. An account of the heroic combat above the Siegfried line, in which five battle aircraft fought fifteen Messerschmidt fighters, has already been made public, and has attracted the warm admiration of our French Allies. Aircraft of the Coastal Command have continued, throughout the week, to carry out anti-submarine and other routine patrols, escort work, and special reconnaissances, and advantage has been taken of the light of the moon to continue the relentless hunting of submarines during the night hours. A number of U-boats have been sighted and attacked. As already announced, attacks were made 1233 on units of the German Fleet by aircraft of the Bomber Command on September 29. As a result of one of these attacks, prosecuted in the teeth of fierce opposition, both from anti-aircraft gunfire and from enemy fighters, we suffered some losses, but the Germans have admitted that two of their attacking fighters were shot down.
At sea, the war against the submarine has continued with unabated vigour. On September 20 last the Government statement expressed the opinion that the rapid increase in the numbers, power and efficiency of our hunting craft, together with the employment of the convoy system, would cause the submarine menace to dwindle no less rapidly. His Majesty's Government are happy to say that events have shown our confidence to be justified. Trade is flowing to and from our ports in an ever-increasing volume. At this moment hundreds of vessels are moving over the great ocean routes. They are protected both by convoy and by the unremitting and relentless action of our anti-submarine forces. Between September 11 and 20, 1,485 vessels, of a gross tonnage of 3,679,000 tons, entered or cleared the ports of the United Kingdom. During that period only 1.25 per cent. of these ships and 1.75 per cent. of the total tonnage was lost by U-boat attacks or by mines. No ship has been lost in convoy. Between September 20 and 24 three British ships, of an aggregate tonnage of 7,627 tons, were sunk by German submarines. Since then, that is to say for a period of over a week, no British ship has been reported sunk by enemy submarine action.
This may, in part, be due to the fact that the U-boats at sea at the beginning of the war are now being relieved by others putting out from German ports. But there is ample evidence that submarines are still operating round our coasts. The absence of sinkings, therefore, is, in the main, due to the successful measures adopted by the Royal Navy. The U-boats are being hunted from home waters where our shipping must inevitably congregate and where in consequence it is most vulnerable. German submarines therefore, in their efforts to avoid our warships are being driven to operate in far distant waters. In those seas their menace cannot be so great; but until they 1234 can be found and destroyed they may be an embarrassment.
Another and more sinister development of the U-boat warfare is the announcement by the German Government that they will regard every vessel of the British Merchant Navy as a warship. If this means anything, it means that they will pursue an unrestricted submarine campaign. The right to arm merchant ships for self-defence is one of the well-established principles of International Law. Since the war commenced, our merchant shipping has been subjected to attack without warning or in circumstances which put their crews in jeopardy by forcing them to take to the boats, often miles from land or rescue, a procedure directly contrary to international maritime law. These illegal attacks only serve to underline the importance of providing our shipping with adequate defensive equipment; and we are pressing on with this with the utmost possible dispatch. Further evidence of unrestricted submarine warfare is to be found in the number of neutral merchant ships which Germany has sunk. Since the outbreak of war, the total of these sinkings amounts to seven ships, of a gross tonnage of 13,194 tons. In addition, eight ships with a gross tonnage of 27,765 tons have been sunk by mines or bombing. Evidence has been received that a German raider is operating in the South Atlantic. One of our ships has been sunk and the crew has been picked up by a neutral ship. This fresh menace will be dealt with according to prearranged plans.
The reiterated misstatements of the German broadcasts have given prominence to the action in the middle of the North Sea on Tuesday, September 26, between German bombing planes and certain units of the Home Fleet. The Germans have claimed the sinking of the aircraft carrier "Ark Royal," later changed to "Glorious" or even "Furious," and severe damage to battleships without loss to themselves. The facts are that no British ship was damaged and that all of them, the "Ark Royal" included, are carrying out their normal duties, entirely unmoved by these rumours. The only casualties incurred in that action were suffered by the German aircraft themselves. Four of the crew of these aircraft are prisoners in our hands.
1235 The preparations of the Dominions, to which I have referred in previous statements, are continuing, and your Lordships will be glad to hear also of the splendid help we are receiving from two other parts of the Empire, Newfoundland and Southern Rhodesia. In Newfoundland, arrangements are already being made to recruit for the Royal Navy some hundreds of men from the Newfoundland fishing fleet. All of us will recollect the magnificent service rendered by Newfoundland men in the last war. Southern Rhodesia has mobilised its forces, and is giving us very welcome assistance by providing officers and men for service, both on land and in the air, outside the borders of this self-governing Colony.
There is little that need be said to-day about developments on the Home Front. National Registration Day was fixed by order as Friday, September 29. During the week beginning September 17 the local officers in charge of the enumeration mobilized their enumerators; and on September 24 these enumerators, totalling 65,000 in Great Britain, began delivering schedules for the purpose of the returns due to be made on the 29th. Enumerators are now making their rounds for the collection of schedules and the writing and issue of identity cards. The difficulties usually experienced by enumerators in finding people at home to receive or deliver the schedule were greatly increased by the present unusual family distribution and the black-out conditions at night. His Majesty's Government are glad, however, to be able to say that so far as reports are available, the whole machine appears to be working well and smoothly.
Finally, there is a matter which has attracted considerable attention and given rise to anxiety in the House and the country—the work of the Ministry of Information. As the Prime Minister said on Thursday last, the responsibility of the Ministry for news has not extended in any way beyond the provision of means for its communication to the Press. A review has now been made of the arrangements for the distribution of news, including the question of direct contact between the Press and the Departments. The subject has been fully discussed with the representatives of the Press with a view to meeting their convenience in the 1236 matter. As a result it has been decided that there shall be a reversion to the practice existing prior to the outbreak of war, whereby the Press representatives had direct contact with the various Government Departments, those Departments themselves furnishing the Press with all official communications in such manner as was found most appropriate. Each Department will therefore now make its own arrangements for communicating news to the Press representatives.
It has, however, been represented to my noble friend the Minister of Information that the mechanical facilities provided in the building occupied by the Ministry for the receipt and distribution of Government communications have proved of great convenience to a large section of the Press. There is no present intention to do away with these facilities, which will continue to be utilised as a channel by which official communications will be issued to the Press. In any case in which official communications are made direct by Departments, the same communications will be issued simultaneously through the central channel. My noble friend Lord Macmillan has asked me to add that some difficulty must be expected in connection with the supply and distribution of news in time of war: the revised arrangements now proposed are intended to reduce difficulties to a minimum and he feels sure that he can rely upon the Press to co-operate in their smooth working. The new arrangements will come into force on Monday morning next.
As regards the censorship, which is at present housed at the Ministry of Information, the responsibility for censorship must rest, like the responsibility for news and its distribution, upon the Departments which are concerned with the subject matter. Departments will, of course, exercise their own control as regards the news that they give out. The central censorship, which is concerned with material or messages submitted by the Press (voluntarily in the case of matter for use in this country) will, as before, be operated by censor officers guided by the directions of the Departments. In the event of questions arising as to any particular censorship operation, the Minister in charge of the Department affected will answer for it in Parliament. Sir Walter Monckton has been appointed Controller of Censorship; he will at the 1237 same time supervise the arrangements for the central communication of news to the Press.
§ 4.20 p.m.
§ LORD SNELLMy Lords, I beg to thank the noble Earl for the statement that he has made to the House and to say that I do not propose to-day to inaugurate a discussion upon it, but I shall put a Motion on the Paper which will enable your Lordships to comment upon it to-morrow. In doing so I would like to say that I think there may be rather more discussion to-morrow than there has been on previous occasions. If Parliament, which on the whole has done so well during recent weeks, is to maintain this position it must do more than merely formally receive these statements that are made. Therefore, whilst we shall try to co-operate as far as possible with the Government, I think there may be a little more criticism to-morrow than there has hitherto been.
§ 4.22 p.m.
§ LORD PONSONBY OF SHULBREDEMy Lords, may I respectfully suggest to the noble Earl the Leader of the House, in view of what my noble friend has just said and in view of the fact that I do not think there is a single member of your Lordships' House who wants to say anything in a speech which would in any way embarrass the Government or be useful to the enemy, that it would be advisable on these occasions of the discussion after the statement for this House to meet in Secret Session? I would ask the Government to consider that, because, although reticence is the chief quality of your Lordships' House, I feel that after a statement like the one we have heard to-day there are a good many members of your Lordships' House who would like to speak their mind rather openly, and I think that would be for the public good and also for the Government good.
§ EARL STANHOPEMy Lords, the Government will certainly consider the suggestion made by my noble friend Lord Ponsonby, but if the Session is to be secret I do not quite see how it is to be to the public good. During the last war I believe Secret Sessions were held on several occasions. I think I only attended one, because I was serving overseas throughout the period, but I 1238 understood that the Secret Sessions were by no means always secret, and that a good deal leaked out afterwards as to what had been said by various individuals and as to the general position that was disclosed in those Sessions. But certainly the Government will consider the matter and come to a decision about it.
LORD STRABOLGIMy Lords, as the noble Earl must be aware, my Party has been considering this matter for another place. Though we expect discretion on the part of Ministers in a Secret Session, a person might inadvertently betray information, but a Secret Session does give opportunity for Peers who are not members of the Government to speak with greater freedom than they can under present conditions. We do not expect secrets from the Government, but we may be able to give the Government a few home truths.
§ EARL STANHOPEMy Lords, that may be so, but if those "truths" happen not to be truths, it is obviously right that the Minister should refute them, and then he may have to say more than he ought.