The Struggle For Peace

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" Such consequences are not to be lightly incurred ; they
ought never to be incurred unless we can be satisfied, and our
peoples are satisfied, that every honourable alternative has
been tried and found to be impossible. It was with these
considerations in mind that I chose the second course, and my
aim has never wavered. The goal is not only peace, but con-
fidence that peace can be maintained. I never imagined that
the goal could be attained in the twinkling of an eye or without
checks, disappointments, and setbacks. I have had them all,
perhaps in greater measure than I had anticipated, but I am
neither disheartened nor deterred by these passing phases. It
has been well said that failure only begins when you leave off
trying to succeed. As long as I am where I am, I will never
leave off trying.
" And when I look back over this past year and consider
the record of our actions I confess I am astonished at the
pessimism which seems to possess some of our critics. They
profess, and I am sure their profession is made in all sincerity,
that they too desire peace above all things. But if you want
peace you must seek and ensue it. You must find out what
threatens it and you must take active positive steps to remove
that threat. In pursuit of our aim the British Government has
,been active, and it has not been unsuccessful. Let me remind
you of the agreements which stand up like milestones to mark
our progress as the year has gone by.
" In April we made the agreement between the United
Kingdom and Eire—an agreement which brought to an end
the long and bitter struggle between our two countries. In
that same month we concluded the Anglo-Italian Agreement
and thereby closed the breach which had unhappily for a time
interrupted the old friendship between us. In September
came the Munich Agreement, followed by the Anglo-German
declaration. In due course that has led to the complementary
Franco-German declaration signed a few days ago. And
lastly let me mention the Anglo-American Trade Agreement,
because, while it is primarily a commercial treaty, I regard that
agreement as symbolic of the good relations happily existing
between the United States and ourselves.
" Here, then, in something less than twelve months are
five major international agreements, three of which have been