What the Commons was told

Mr. Speaker, at midnight last night the terms of the Japanese surrender were announced to the world. The House will, I trust, bear with me while I repeat them, for I feel that it is fit and proper that they should be for ever on record in the annals of this ancient and honourable House. They are as follow: "With reference to the announcement of 10th August, regarding the acceptance of the provisions of the Potsdam…

My Lords, I beg to move that an humble Address be presented to His Majesty to offer the thanks of this House for His Majesty's gracious Speech addressed to both Houses of Parliament. May I first thank my noble friend the Leader of the House for the honour he has done me in asking me to submit tins Motion to your Lordships' House. The new Parliament meets amid universal feelings of profound thankfulness and relief…

It is not part of the duty of the speaker who for the moment has the honour to address the House, to regulate the applause on either side. I now turn to the results of the Potsdam Conference so far as they have been made public in the agreed communiquéand in President Truman's very remarkable speech of a little more than a week ago. There has been general approval of the arrangements proposed for the administration…

I am sure the hon. Member will never find that I have ever said that people were only entitled to vote in the way I like. I never nursed such an illusion. It is that very freedom which was so vehemently exercised against me and my friends that I am defending now in respect of other countries. Mr. Laski also made a declaration about France which has most important and far-reaching effects, namely, that if the French…

It is customary, to an extent which has almost developed into routine, for the Leader of the Opposition on this occasion to begin by offering compliments to the mover and seconder of the Address, and I do not think I remember, in 42 years of service in this House, any occasion when that task has not been accomplished. But certainly I can recall few occasions when it was more easy to offer the unstinted compliments…

I have had the privilege on many occasions of congratulating the mover and the seconder of the Address from the other side, but this is the first time on which I do so from the Treasury Bench. I echo what was said by my right hon. Friend the Leader of the Opposition. All through the years I have been in the House there has been an astonishingly high standard kept in these speeches, and I entirely agree that the hon.…

I rise with great diffidence, and crave the indulgence of the House because the matter to which I should like to draw attention is one which must be treated now or never. His Majesty's Government have a unique opportunity of bringing about a great and lasting benefit to the trade of this country, and, consequently, to its standard of living, as well as to the standard of living of many other nations of the world. It…

It did not quite read that way. There had been agreement, at least by the inference, that the Poles should go up to the Oder and the Eastern Neisse. The population of the territories to the West of this latter river, even on a pre war basis, amounted to a little over 3,000,000, most of whom were said to be already gone. No mines were working, nothing was happening there, and they had just been driven out. On the…

It was largely made public in the United States, but if it could be officially made public here, I think it Would be a good thing, because I think it would serve to remove some of the misconceptions which seem to lurk here and there about my right hon. Friend's views on that subject. Now I pass to other countries, to the Mediterranean, and first to Greece. I agree entirely with what the Foreign Secretary said on…

One of the nicest traditions in this House is that those of us who have been here before have the privilege of congratulating maiden speakers. I am unusually fortunate to-day for I rather think I have the opportunity of congratulating three, or at any rate two. The hon. Lady who has just spoken will be a very worthy representative of that great city Plymouth. The sincerity with which she spoke and her knowledge of…

Whatever controversy or heat or indiscretion may arise on any other part of the Debate in connection with the King's Speech, I am sure that in this case, having regard to the fact that every word one utters affects not only our own country but other countries, and further, having regard to the fluidity of the world situation and its great complexities, restraint will be exercised in this part of the Debate. In the…

My Lords, it is with rather special satisfaction that your Lordships have listened to the noble Viscount on this theme. As the Lord Chancellor has said, Lord Cecil has a particular right to take comfort for the way in which the Charter justifies his steady championship of the Covenant of the League of Nations through fair and foul weather, and I am sure that we shall all agree with him in his appeal for enthusiasm…

That might be misunderstood. People might expect all soldiers to be wearing white helmets with "M.P." on them and white gaiters and gloves! But it would be, perhaps, a desirable gesture for the present Government to make, at a time when war is to be outlawed by this new Charter, and at a time when, perhaps, our Armed Forces generally are to be reorganized, to change this old and outworn title for our military…

My Lords, the natural and proper spokesman from this Bench on this occasion would have been my noble friend Lord Perth who, with his long experience as Secretary-General of the League of Nations, speaks in this House always with unrivalled authority. But to his great regret, which I am sure is shared by all your Lordships, Lord Perth, who has had to undergo an operation, although he is now fully convalescent, is not…

Can the Prime Minister assure us at the present moment that the Dominions are being closely consulted in the carrying out of the Potsdam Declaration?

asked the Prime Minister whether the Dominions were consulted by His Majesty's Government be fore the issue of the Potsdam Declaration with regard to Japan.

The reply is in the negative. In the circumstances in which the ultimatum was issued from Potsdam it was unfortunately impracticable to communicate in advance with Dominion Governments.

I am very grateful that I have been able to catch your eye this evening, Mr. Speaker, I hoped originally to speak on matters in connection with the constituency I have the privilege of representing. Stretford, as as many hon. Members are aware, is a large industrial area, with perhaps the largest concentration of industry in the country, and I felt it incumbent upon me originally to speak in connection with that…

My Lords, I must apologize for being unable to be here for this debate except for the last few minutes, but my absence was unavoidable. With regard to the San Francisco Charter, it seems to me, so far as I have been able to understand, that a great advantage is that the most important component parts of the Organization will be sitting all the time. Troubles in the past have arisen where people were able to avoid…

My Lords, this seems to have been a debate made up mainly of maiden speeches, and although I cannot claim to be exactly a maiden speaker I would ask for the lull indulgence of the House of which I feel thoroughly in need, because if it is a high honour to stand here it is also a great responsibility. Moreover, I have a certain feeling of unreality because the work in this matter has been largely done by the noble…

I would like to find some new and interesting way of announcing a first speech. I have watched the indulgence of the House and I know I can rely upon it. The Peace Conference at San Francisco has been born in a world fresh from misery. When wounds have begun to heal and memories have become dim the new organisation will meet its first test. I believe that there is one way of cementing the world together. I…

The Prime Minister has asked me to intervene in this Debate, not as Minister of Education, but as the only other member of the present Cabinet who was in the Labour delegation. The Minister of Works completed the Labour trio. But while I do not speak as Minister of Education, I feel I must just say this: The most destructive atomic bomb yet discovered is the human mind. To-day we see the trail of destruction that…

I should like to take this opportunity, as did my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for South Paddington (Vice-Admiral Taylor), to congratulate the Foreign Secretary on the very brilliant speech that he made the other night. It was a very fair, moderate, impartial statement which has received the approval of the whole world. If I have eventually to comment upon that statement it will be with due deference and only…

There is one point on which I should like to congratulate the three hon. Gentlemen opposite who initiated this Debate. I am deeply impressed by the great importance which they now attach to the "Daily Herald" and I am very moved by the importance which the hon. Gentleman the Member for London University (Sir E. Graham-Little) attaches to the writings of the hon. Member for Devonport (Mr. Foot). If I may say so, they…

They were charged with all sorts of heinous crimes—sabotage, murder and so on—which they all emphatically denied. The charges which they admitted—they were all taken in the Western part of Poland—were that, when the Germans were driven back, they did not declare themselves, and they also admitted that they had maintained wireless communication with the Government in this country. The reason why they did not come out…

I wish to raise the question of the conditions prevailing in Poland, with particular reference to the return of the Poles to Poland, the Provisional Govern- ment, and the forthcoming elections in that country. Everyone must be in absolute agreement as to the urgent necessity of the Poles returning to Poland as soon as possible. I would preface my remarks by stating emphatically that all Poles are most anxious to…

I have already indicated to the hon. Member that the report from which he quoted does not lie within the knowledge of His Majesty's Government. I want also to make this plain, if I may refer again to the point raised, that following the representations made at Potsdam the Czechoslovak Government did, in principle, at any rate, suspend these expulsions.

Perhaps I shall be able, if I am permitted, to say what we are doing. No one in this House can escape the consequences. We are partners to the decisions. I want to deal with a newspaper report my hon. Friend quoted, but, as I indicated when we were speaking previously, it is not possible to give very accurate figures. I would agree that for Czechoslovakia there probably are some 2,250,000 to 2,500,000 people…

Well, as I am sure the hon. Member knows, it is very difficult to get exact information on this subject. I do want to make it plain that the Czechoslovak Government did most earnestly attempt to co-operate in this matter and the Hungarian Government numerically was not so substantially concerned. But despite repeated protests by His Majesty's Government, I am afraid I have to admit that there is no similar picture…

I was saying that it has been recently announced in the Press that some 4,500,000 Germans from Eastern Europe are to be expelled from that territory, commencing on Monday next, at the rate of some 30,000 a day. I do not wish in any way to anticipate a debate, which, I hope, is likely to take place in the comparatively near future on the broad issue of the situation in Germany, and therefore I propose to confine my…

These principles were laid down in the Potsdam Declaration of 26th July and in the Instrument of Surrender of 2nd September. With regard to the second part of the Question, I would refer the hon. and gallant Member to the reply which I gave yesterday to the hon. and gallant Member for Wallasey (Captain Marples).

As regards the first part of the Question, my hon. Friend will have seen reports in the Press that a Far Eastern Commission is about to meet in Washington for the purpose of formulating and recommending policies for the control of Japan. I feel sure the House will agree that it is undesirable for His Majesty's Government to make a statement, in advance of the deliberations of that Commission, which might be…

I can add nothing at present to the terms of the Potsdam Declaration.

My Lords, the first of the Motions before us to-day, as it stands, would require considerable qualification. It is, I think, liable in its present form to create considerable apprehension and misapprehension abroad, although, of course, the speech made by the noble Viscount was in itself far less alarming. It is only with a view to allaying these possible repercussions that I propose to say a few words to your…

My Lords, I realize the importance of this occasion and of the task which I have to perform. I ask your Lordships to be patient while I explain exactly how I propose to carry out my task. I have had the great advantage of seeing Lord Templewood's Motion on the Paper and of examining it; and I received a communication concerning Viscount Elibank's proposal, which is now a separate Motion. I have therefore prepared…

My Lords, my * Resolution is the last Notice on the Order Paper. I do not propose to proceed with it, but I should like to congratulate the noble Viscount on his most interesting and charming speech and his description of the Ruhr and, at the same time, to thank him for the reply which he made to my Motion. I was satisfied in nearly all respects if we are to assume that the Potsdam Resolutions are, and will be,…

If I did an injustice to the noble Viscount, I would certainly like to apologize. All I meant was that there are people who say: "I am not concerned with hard conditions in Germany, I am only concerned to see what can be produced there for the good of others." I should take into consideration something for the human beings of Germany as well as some consideration for the people of other countries. That is all. I…

With our Allies. As a matter of practical administration, it is necessary that denazification should be phased. There is in the first place, a list of those Nazis who come within the category of those who are to be the subject of automatic arrest, and, in the British zone, some 50,000 have been arrested, falling within that category. Leading Nazis have been expelled from administrative posts in provincial and local…

My Lords, the Motion of the noble Lord, Lord Vansittart, is in a Sense a supplement to the debate in your Lordships' House last week. In the course of that debate my noble friend the Secretary of State for Air foreshadowed a change in the administration of the British element of the Control Commission. I think it may be of interest to your Lordships if I say that, with effect from yesterday, His Majesty's Government…

They fall under six heads. The first is this. At Potsdam the Big Three declared in favour of the decentralization of the political structure of Germany and the development of local responsibility. Those were the exact words. They also said that, for the time being—a rather ambiguous phrase—they would create no central Government, but they did say, at the same time and in the same paragraph, that they would set up a…

What about the British zone? It is possible that the policy there may be somewhat influenced by the talk that I continually hear in this country to the effect that it may not be wise to de-industrialize Germany to the extent foreshadowed at Potsdam. Your Lordships will remember that paragraph 13 of the Potsdam Agreement states that primary emphasis will be laid on the development of agriculture and peaceful domestic…

Of course, much depends on the rate and date at which a central Government is set up, and still more will depend on its powers when it is so established. I think we should all be agreed that, as laid clown at Potsdam, the Germans must learn to govern themselves locally; that, therefore, a central Government should be the last of our creations, and that, even when it does come into being, its powers must be most…

I have no doubt there is some truth in what the hon. Gentleman has delighted in having the opportunity of saying, but we are discussing now the state of the Continent of Europe, and to that I would again turn the attention of the House. The facts that have been quoted by many speakers to-day are really a most terrible indictment. There is no doubt that, as hinted at by the right hon. Gentleman the Member for Oxford…

It really would not be fair to the House if I tried to give the evidence. I have said already that hon. Members can read the evidence for themselves and can put against it evidence that comes in a contrary sense. I only say that it looks as though these expulsions are deliberately carried out in spite of repeated remonstrances. Further, much of the evidence shows that the expulsions are carried out under quite…

It is my pleasant duty to congratulate the two previous speakers on their maiden speeches. The hon. and gallant Member for Westmorland (Lieut.-Colonel Vane) spoke with a realism based on very recent and evidently highly observant observations of the conditions in Germany. The hon. and gallant Member who preceded him spoke in a rather more idealistic vein. In a sense he apologised for his idealism, but I think that…

Well, I stick to whisky. The difficulties of U.N.R.R.A. were inevitable—the difficulty of bringing a new organisation into so many countries, the difficulty of getting personnel, the claims for experts over such a wide field, all made the building up of U.N.R.R.A. extremely difficult. But let me say that I regard the evolution of U.N.R.R.A. in the last two months as most remarkable from the point of view of its…

That is true, but on the other hand, it must be remembered that at that time, when the mines were under the German regime, most tremendous efforts were made to keep up coal production. The miners were given special food, even if other people went without, and transport was stolen from practically every country in Europe in order to keep those mines fully employed. Now that there has been this terrible devastation of…

I am certainly aware that there has been great devastation in that part of the world, but the hon. Gentleman is not a great authority on the war that took place in Poland, because when that war started he was opposed to it. Therefore, we think that we have a right to demand that deportation should be stopped this winter. We think that is a right we have under the Potsdam Agreement, and we think that we have a right…

It falls to my happy lot to-day to congratulate the hon. and gallant Member for New Forest and Christchurch (Colonel Crosthwaite-Eyre) and the hon. Member for East Coventry (Mr. Crossman) on their maiden speeches. It is always a difficult thing to make one's first speech in this House, but I think the hon. and gallant Member for New Forest and Christchurch showed in his speech that he had three characteristics that…

I would like to begin by thanking the Government for the opportunity of discussing this most important question to-day. Like the right hon. Gentleman who has just spoken in the Debate, I certainly have no desire to criticise the Government or to attack the Government on this issue. The Motion on the Paper, to which reference has been made, was signed by Members of all parties, and it commands a wide degree of…

My first task is to congratulate no less than four maiden speakers—the hon. Member who has just sat down, the hon. Member for Dartford (Mr. Dodds),the hon. Member for the Isle of Thanet (Mr. Carson) and the hon. Member for the Rushcliffe Division (Mrs. Paton). They have given us very good and varied speeches, two of which particularly commended themselves to me, and we shall, I am sure, be glad to hear all these…

Yes, and not only there but elsewhere across the Atlantic, too. As regards sugar, with the aid of the stocks found in the Dutch East Indies, the extra shipping facilities that are available to bring sugar from distant sources, and with the production of sugar beet in Europe itself, if coal could be supplied for its processing, the shortage would not be serious. Fourthly, as to clothing, with the aid of the gift…

(1) by using their utmost influence with those Governments who have been expelling vast numbers of Germans from their homes in Eastern Europe, to ensure that this expulsion should be discontinued at least until the winter is over, and if then resumed, should be carried out in an orderly manner as suggested in the Potsdam Declaration, and by agreement with all the four Governments in control of Germany ; (2) by…

The juridical position of the free city of Danzig is, in the view of His Majesty's Government, unchanged, and will remain so until it is re-determined at the Peace Settlement. The position of Danzig de facto is, as the House is aware, that it was placed under the administration of the Polish State by agreement between His Majesty's Government, the United States Government and the Soviet Government at the Potsdam…

Is it a fact that the Soviet Government themselves offered, at Potsdam, fuller participation by us in the Control Commission, and should not they therefore have consulted us, in view of the offer they made?

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he is aware that 22 anti-Fascists of the Spanish Resistance movement are being tried before a summary court in Cadiz, Spain, for demanding the end of the Fascist dictator ship of General Franco, and are liable to be instantly shot; and if he will immediately approach the other signatories of the Potsdam Declaration with a view to taking further steps against the…

It is proposed to bring certain German plant and machinery over to this country as reparations. The Potsdam Agreement on Reparations provides that 75 per cent. of such industrial capital equipment in the Western zones of Germany as is unnecessary for the German peace economy shall be made available as reparations to the United Kingdom, the United States of America and other countries entitled to reparations other…

I am very glad that the hon. Member for Ipswich (Mr. Stokes) has raised this matter once again, and that he has spoken in such very moving terms. We all recognise his sincerity in this matter. I think all of us are sincere about it. I recognise also that the Under-Secretary of State has had a rather rough evening. He has had a heavy time for an Under-Secretary in having to reply to two Debates in rapid succession.…

I am sure I did not say we approved. I said that I thought, in this tense and complex situation, we ought to admit that our information from Czechoslovakia persuaded us that there have been improvements and that the Government in control of these camps had the intention to improve their conditions. I think I ought to repeat that our information is still unofficial and not precise. The Press report, to which two hon.…

I make no apology for returning once more to the very important subject which I raised about three weeks ago on the Adjournment—I put a further question about it to the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs today—the question of the mass expulsions from Central Europe into Eastern Germany, occupied Germany. I regret to say that His Majesty's Government still have no information which they are able to give me.…

As the hon. Member is aware, it was agreed by the British, United States and Soviet Governments at Potsdam that certain essential central German administrative departments should be set up. Discussions are still going on as to how this decision can best be carried out. The French Government, who had no representative at Potsdam, have expressed some misgivings about the plan, but I hope that an agreement may be…

These matters are under examination by a Level of Industry Committee which has been set up in Berlin by the Allied Control Council. The committee are guided by the decisions of the Potsdam Conference to the effect broadly that the peacetime production of Germany should be restricted to what is necessary to maintain a living standard not above the average of other European countries and that industries useful for war…

I rise to reinforce the appeal already made on behalf of the people of Europe. I have also been to many countries referred to today—Germany, Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and other countries—and I can speak with a certain amount of experience of what is happening. I wish particularly to appeal on behalf of Austria, because that country stands somehow in a rather peculiar and unusual position in this matter. It…

Is the hon. Gentleman satisfied that the Potsdam Agreement in regard to this issue has been broken or not?

If the hon. and gallant Gentleman will read the answer, he will find that point was answered. If I may give the answer again in clearer terms, so far as our information goes the terms of the Potsdam decision are being followed.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what reports he has received from the Allied Commission as to the rate of expulsion from Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary; and whether he is now satisfied that these expulsions have stopped, in conformity to the terms of the Potsdam Conference.

No, Sir, they were not a party to the Treaty because at the time they had no troops in Iran. It only concerned us and the Soviet Union. Their troops came later. In view of that, when the German war began to come to an end, we became anxious to withdraw our troops and first raised this matter at Yalta. It is fair that I should state these matters and that the House should know them because the issue is important to…

I must, as on a previous occasion in a foreign affairs Debate, pay a compliment to those who have delivered their maiden speeches. These foreign affairs Debates seem to give a great opportunity for new Members to reveal the very deep study which not only they, but obviously those whom they represent, have given to world problems. I must say it is a very healthy and encouraging sign. I do not propose, in this…

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will state in general terms the method to be employed by the Allied Control Council in carrying out the planned expulsion of 6,500,000 persons from Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Austria, starting in December, so as to conform to the Potsdam Declaration that these expulsions must be carried out in an orderly and humane manner.

The plan envisaged at Potsdam for the orderly and humane transfer of German populations, has now been completed and approved by the Allied Control Council. The rate of transfer is to be gradual and such as to minimise hardship. For example in the next three months wily 20 per cent, of the total number will be transferred and transfers will extend altogether over seven months subject to weather and transport…

Does the Minister realise that instead of taking an immense amount of trouble to get these hotels, they would have found that all the places to which I have referred were waiting; and is he aware that it was not considered necessary at Yalta and Potsdam to hold the conferences in the capitals?

My Lords, I am glad to follow so great an international statesman as the noble Viscount, to whose speech this afternoon, as always, we have listened with such profit. There is one aspect of the international situation to which I should like to refer. The crisis is a crisis of confidence. After Germany's repeated and brutal assaults in the last 75 years, there can be no wonder at the insistence by France and the rest…

My Lords, the field covered by this Motion is very vast. The noble Viscount who has moved it has given the reasons why he has not pursued the course frequently followed on such occasions as this of attempting any individual survey of the particular problems that now arise in many parts of the world. For the same reasons, I shall follow the same course. I could have desired, indeed, to have dealt with one particular…

I do not think there are many who have already come from Poland, but it is anticipated that the number of Germans coming from Poland altogether will be 1,500,000. The number of displaced persons in assembly centres in the British zone, awaiting repatriation if they so desire, was 540,000 on November 10, and of those approximately 6o per cent. were Poles. Repatriation is continuing as rapidly as circumstances permit,…

Let me finish my argument. I think that the noble Lord will see that there is still a great deal to be done. Fortunately, our zone is one of the key zones of the Continent. It covers, indeed, the most important industrial centre upon the whole Continent. Noble Lords will remember that some weeks ago I ventured to draw the attention of the House to the great potentialities of the Ruhr Rhineland, to the fact that more…

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the Council of Five Foreign Ministers whose establishment was announced in the communiqué of the Potsdam Conference on 2nd August is in being; whether its joint secretariat has been set up in London as contemplated in the Potsdam communiqué; on what work the secretariat is now engaged; what are the arrangements, referred to in the same communiqué, for periodic…

I have been asked to reply. The plan for the transfer of Germans to Western Germany was based on the decision reached at Potsdam that transfers were to be carried out in an orderly and humane manner, and full weight to the humanitarian considerations was given by the Allied representatives on the Control Council in Germany when formulating the plan. The persons transferred will arrive at the Western Zones of Germany…

Is my hon. Friend aware that responsible people have already stated that this transfer is not possible humanely within the limits of the Potsdam Declaration in the Winter months, and therefore, will His Majesty's Government make representations to the Allied Control Commission to reconsider their decision, and stop it?

and so on. If all this be effected, at last and after untold horrors, the disorderly and inhuman deportations will begin to approach the orderly and humane deportations envisaged at Potsdam. But, even so, there is, and there must be, extreme suffering in the congested Russian zone—how congested, I do not think we know—and in Poland itself where, for Germans, the miseries of remaining there for a time are no less…

I am very grateful for the confidence expressed in me on both sides of the House but I am a little apprehensive lest that means that both sides expect me to up- hold their arguments. It would be nearer the case, if I might say so without impertinence, to say that they expect me to uphold their affirmations, because very little fact has been demonstrated in this Debate and I need hardly apologise for saying that I…

It was agreed at the Potsdam Conference that all arms, ammunition and implements of war and all specialised facilities for their production in Germany should be held at the disposal of the Allies, or destroyed. This decision is being implemented in full by H.M. Government in the British Zone of Germany and good progress has been made. The answer to the second part of the Question is "Yes, Sir."