27/LJ./40 No~l. FRENCH OFFICIPJ._Q..OBMUNIQUE ( Morninr;) Paris, 'saturday, April 27 ~ 1940 . The following; official communique was issued from French G.H. Q. this morning: NOTHIHG TO :REPORT. AIR MINISTRY BULLETPT HO. 607. 27.4.40 No. 2. Quo.lificd c.ccounti'.nts P.re required by tho Royo.l Air Force, nnd commissions 2s .Account:<.nt Officers r.rc being 0ffercc1 for the dur~tion of hostilities. Those who wish to o.pply f or r.:r,roointmcmt must possess full recognised professiono.l qunlifi.co.tions and must be between tho n~es of 32 nnd 50. Applicntions shou1d be mr:de to The Under Secrctnry of St".te, Air Ministry ( ~; .. 7. (E) 5), Adn.stPE'.l House, Iangswny, I,onc1on, 1n.c.2. It should be not ed th~t the schedule of reserved occupo.tions docs not opcrc.to with reg~rd to professionnl men who wish to be employed in H~M. Forces in their profcssionnl cnpncity. i\IR .AFF.t\ IRS. 2U4/40 -No 3 ULSTER SAVES AND SERVES Since the introduction of the National Defence Issue of Savings Certificates last November, the average weekly sales in Northern Ireland have increased from 4,200 to 54,000, and about 150 Savings Groups have been established. Up to the present 40,000 people have subscribed £860,000, of which 75 per cent is lent to the British Exnhequer for war purposes. There are now 32,588 National Service Volunteers in Northern Ireland, of whom 121500 are women. About 20,000 of the total were recruited in Belfast. DOMINION AND COLONIAL AFFAIRS +++++++ 27/4/L~O -No 4 PRESS NOTICE -ORDINARY SEAMEN-ELIGIBILii,Y 'I10 HOLD PAID ACTING NON-SJJJ3ST.fa:ITTIVE RATE_~ It having been repr esented that Administrative Authorities are in some doubt as to the conditions under which OrdinarySeamen may be granted paid acting lower non-substantive rates, tho following instructions on tho subject arc promulgated for information and guidance. 2. When available, suitab lo Able Seamen should normally be soloctcd for training to fill vacancies for lower non­substantive rates. Increased war requirements and the comparative.: dearth of available Able Seamen, however, have rendered it imperative to authorise tho training of numbers of OrdinarySeamen of all categories to fill vacancies for such non-substantive r at es. · 3o Ordinary Seamen who, in these circumstances., have qualified in tho approved courses of instruction at the various Schools, or who have been trained a'tD.oat under the provisions of King's Regulations and Admiralty Instructions, Article 426, may be granted the appropriat e paid acting non-substantive r ate as from the date on which they commence the duties in a vaconcy in complement, continuance of payment being subject to fulfilment of the conditions laid down in King's Regulations ·nnd Admiralty Instructions, Artj.m;le. L~30$ clnuse 1, as provisionally amended by A.F.Oe 409/39. 4. Confirmation in tho acting r ate so held will be contingent upon advancement to Able Scaman in the case of .those OrdinarySeamon who have qualified by a School course. Those trained afloat will continue to hold tho paid acting rate, under the normal conditions, until such time as they qualify for confirmation at one of the a~propriate Schoolso 5. The foregoing rules may be a·,)plied with retrospective effect to cover any instancos in which Ordinary Seamen have been nece.ssarily employed in vacancios in complement. 6. It has been brought t o notice that cortai.n Ordinary Seamen have been r ated and paid as s.D. or H.D.0.3 from the date of satisfactory compl etion of tho qualifying courses in the Anti­submarine School, instead of from the date of comrnencoment of their duties as such in a vacancy in complement. Their Lordship~ have decided that recovery of the amounts overpaid is to be waived, out the r ecords of such r atings are to be amended, if necessary, to show that they hold only the acting non-substantive rate, until advanced to Able Seamon, as laid down in paragraph3 above. ADMIRALTY s.w.1. 26th Apri!,1940. 27.4.40 No. 5. PRES:::; NOTICE. PENSIONERS, RESERVISTS Ji.ND RE-ENTRI~S -ADV/l_i1TCEMENT /"ND RE-i'J)VANCEMENT. Their Lordships h~ve decided th~t ryensioners, reservists r.md re-entries mC'..y count !)rovious scrvj_.co in tho R. N. (other thnn training time in the c~se of reservists) for advancement or rc­ndvancemont on a tcmporn.ry bRsis, irrespective of the period which hns elapsed since their dischnrge from the active service, This concession docs not £1..l')')Jly t o men with :i;:irevi ous nnvo..l service who arc entered under tho Nntionc.l Service (Armed Forces) Act. 2o Service in tho Reserve Fleet Supplomcnt2ry Pnrty the Ro~• Supploment~ry Party, tho F.A.A. su~plemcnt~ry P~rty, or as R.N.V.R. Instructor, is nlso to bo nllowod to count for ndvnncemont or rc-advnncoment purposes, provided thn.t such ser•vicc wo.s performed in or above tho r~ting l~st held in the Active Service; service below the Active Service rating is only allowed to count for ndvnncoment t o the next higher r~ting to th~t hold in the Supplomontnry Po.rty" Periods of n::m-cont inuous service, ::md rc­engagoments after c-'..;mplotion of time for pension, nro also allowed to count for ndvnncement purposes. 3o Previous service of pensioners, reservists (other than training timo) and re-entries is t o be allowed t o count for advnncement in cl~ss in tho Artificer, Shipwright, Artisan and Mochnnicio.n brnnches. Advc.ncoments of these r c.tin:.:i;s mr-.y be nntodntod, ns nocess2ry, but no o..dvnnccmcnt mny be ['_ntodnted prior t o tho 1st Februr.ry, 1940. 4. Ro-advancements of men who were disrntod f or misconduct Qre not to be nntodntod; men who, counting previous service, nrc already qunlificd, mny be ro-ndvr.ncod by Commnnding Officers ~s from n current do.to of recommondo.tion' Re-ndvnncomonts of men who hnd boon reverted for unsuitnbility (or disr2ted f or incompotnnco) will be offectcc1 through the general ndv~ncemont rosters, · 5. Mon who completed their active service in an ccting rnting, nnd who were mobilised or re-entered in that ncting rr.ting, or adv~nccd to it tho dny nftor re-entry, may count their previous nctint:.i: time townrds tho period required for confirm~.tion, provided they wore not disrntcd during nny subsequent period of non-continuous service. For men not mobilised or re-entered in the nctincr r~ting hold on discho.rgo, or not ndvonccd t o such nc tinz r~ting tho dny after re-entry, sorvico in the acting ro.ting is not to count for confirnmtion,but is to be rcgnrded, for nc1vnnccmont purposes, o.s service in tho lower r nting , for advnncemont t o tho ncting rnting previously hold. This is to npuly nlso to men who were disratcd during non-continuous service after completion of c.s. cngngomont in nn acting rQting. 6. Pensioners, Roynl Fleet reservists nnd re-entries o..rc required to requnlify profcssionnlly, in nccordo.ncc with the present normnl r cgulo.tions, for nci.vo.ncemcnt to I.ending rntc or o..bovc, if more than five yo2rs hnvc cxuircd since the comnlotion of thcir lost R.N. ongngcment. 'rho same rule is t o Cp'!Jly in.. connection with the ro-ndvancomont of those who, during former service, hnd been reverted for unsuitability. Profossionnl rcqunlificntion is not normally required, however, f or the rc-ndvnnccmcnt of men who were disr~tod for misconduct. The nbovc is to npply nlso to Signal nnd TelogrQphist ratings. Those men will not be required t o roqunlify professionally for /advo.nccmcnt l ' 2 ndvnncomcnt (or for re-o.dvcmcemon t ".ftor reversion f or unsuitc.bility) if they wore c.bsent from the Service for less thc.n five yer-.rs, not­wi thstnncting thc.t, under A.P.O. 655/40 they will be unid only for the lowest non-substc.ntivc r f'.tc consistent with their substo.ntivo r~ting if their ~bsonco from tho Service exceeded Q!l£ ycnr. ~. Periods of non-continuous or mobilised s Grvice (e.g., during the 1938 emergency) or in the Supplcmentnry Pnrtios referred to in pD.r n.gr aph 2, or c.s R. N.V. R. Instructor, mr.y be rog.~.rdcd f'.S bridging tho break in service f or tho purpose of calculnting the period of fivc yeri.rs' c.bsoncc r eferred t o in po.r c..grn;::ih 6. 8. Consequent on the ~bove decision t o ~llow f ormer Navnl service to count for advancement purnosos, it will be nocossnry f or the Depots t o be informed of ~revious service of pensioners,Royal Fleet rosorvista nnd re-entries, in order that positions on tho gcnernl advancement rosters mny be determined. Tho f ollowing additional pnrticul2rs arc therefore t o be inclu&cd for those ratings on Form s.507, and on the supplemcntc.ry returns of recommendations for 2dvnncomont required by A.F.0.945/40:­ (i) Dntc of seniority (a column is provided f or this on Form s.507, but seniority must bo included on suppl omen t o.ry r eturns)• (ii) Dnto left Service. (iii) Dato of re-entry, (iv) Length .of nnn-con tinuous, Supp lemon to.ry Pc..rty, or other service allowed to reckon. 9, King's Rogulr'.tions and Admirnlty Instructions, Articles 394 (clause 3) end 406 (clause 3) 1 nr e t o be rognrdcd o.s modified by the Rbovc decisions. 10. It is to be understood th2t Service ~cnsions cannot be rc-o.sscssod on account of ndvancemont or ro-r'.c1vanccmcnt during service subsequent t o disch~rgc t o pension. ADMI HAI.TY, S, W. 1 , 26th April, 1940. ~7/4/40· -No.6. PRESS NOTICE MESSAGE FROM THE FRENCH PRIME MINISTER The following telegrams have been exchanged between the Prime Ministers of France and Great Britain:­ "The people of France shaPe with the people of Great Britain athrill of admiration and gr atitude for the Royal NaV'J which has added a glorious page to its annnls and has inflicted on the enemy a wound which will not b e healed~ Paul Reynaud. 11 "Your telee;ram has deeply touched me nnd will, I know, be ~eceived with lively appreciation by the Royal Navy to whom it will be at once communicated. The successes of the Navy are a fresh proof of the det ermination of the peop1es of our two Countries to fight resolutely until victory is won. Neville Chamberlain. 1·' ADFIRALTY s.w.i. 26th Auril, 1940. AIR MilHST.RY BULJ_,ETIN J.1f,, ._608. No, 7J_ PILOTS ':/ANTLD Ji'Ox"?. THB iL 1-:.:. F. V •. R-. Lembvrs of the Civil _~'...ir Guo.rd, and othors, nre now eligiblE. f or appointment to c •rnmissions in the gonernl duties branch of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve as pilots~ They are required f or aircrnft engaged in non-operational flying, as flying instructors, ferry pilots and pilots of aircraft employed in the training of air obsc~vers, wireless operatoPs and ai:tt gunners~ .t~pplicants must. be l)etween 28 and 48, nave c·arriec1 out at least 250 hours' sol o £lying, including recerit experience on modern types of aircraft, and should preferably be holde~s of Class "B1; pilots' licenses. Forms of applicRtion may be obtained from the Air Ministry, _(s.7. ·E (5) ), Adastpal House, Kingsway, London, w.c.2. 27/4/40 No.8. ROYAL MESSAGE TO CANADIAN PALACE GUARDS The King and Queen have sont hearty congratuiations to Gen McNaughton, commanding the Canadillll troops, for the manner in which Dominion soldiers recently mounted guard over Buckingham Palace and St. Jnmes's Palace. The Telegram from Sir Alexander Hardinge, the King's Private Secretary, read as follows:­"The King and Queen as Colonels-in-Chief of the Royal "22nd Regiment and Toronto Scottish have been proud to "see the o.dmiro.ble manner in which their Regiments 11hnve carried out their duties· on King's guard during "the last week and highly congratulated all ranks." Ezprossing his appreciation in reply Gen. McNaughton wired to Sir Alexander Hardinge:­"Congratulations of their Colonels-in-Chief have been "conveyed to Royal 22nd and Toronto Scottish Regiments, "On behalf of all ranks of Canadian Forces overseo.s "would o:sk them to present our loyal duty to their "Majestieso I would add that all concerned have "deeply appreciated the high privilege given them to "serve pc~sonally their Majesties." DOMINION AND COLONIAL ~\Ii'FAIRS The War Office issues the follovling communique: In the area north of Steinkjaer the position re11iains substantially unchBnged, f·ur patrols have been active and have captured some prisoners. In the Gudbransdalen Valley a heavy German attack against Alliea. Forces in the Kvam are a has been driven off rri th considerable enemy loss. The enemy pressure in this area is being maintained and ail-; action against the Allied lines of cornrnnnication and bases continues; There is nothing to report from the Narvik are~ +++++++ WAR OFFICE, Whitehall, S. W.l. Advance Co:9y of Speech by the Minister of Shipping, the Rt. Hon. R.S. Hudson, M.P., at the Guildhall, Southampton, Saturday, April 27th 1940. NOT FOR PUBLICATION OR BROADCAST BEFORE 4.30 P.M. TODAY. I am very glad that I should be making my first public speech at Southampton. One C&m hardly imagine a more appro:priate se·tting for a Minister of Ship1Jing. The war has wrought great changes 9 not least to Southrunpton. You no longer see those great Atlantic liners that were the pride of your port. They once gave Atlantic 'travellers splendid service. They now give the country a service less public and less lu~rurious but even more vital. I am sorry we had to disa;:i1,:-ioint you by letti nr; New Yorlc have a :9review of the "QUEEN ELIZABE'Iff1 ~ but we have good cErnse to be proud of the way she was got to sea and across the Atl antic, and of the way in which we showed the v1orld that thousands ca:·1 kee:? a secret. Many of you know how great a part your port is ::91£',yinr; i2~ this war. I spent this morning visiting some of your doclrn r.ne_ :r1c.king direct acouaintance with the tasks Southanrnton is undertakins 2.nd the men who perform them. The full story of Southam::_Jton 's contr·1-oution will oe told in time, but you will not expect me to set an E:xamrle of that careless talk against which Yle are warned on every horcrd~-~1.g. The war has c.lready demanded great sacrifices of seamen and c1f ships; those sacrifices have been made, and before the end comes a~~ we have again made the sea safe greater sacrifices still may well have to be made. The changed character of the vrork which war has brought to Southampton has, too, brought hardshi:p and difficulty to mFJ..~J.y of you whose business it was to cater for the :peace time trades . Shi:pb::."'okel"-S, chartering and forwarding agents and other s have lost much ,)f t hej.r usual business, and firms are meeting with difficulty. I h3.Ve £:'l'eat sympathy with those who have been hit in this way. We have not yet been able to find a solution which is approve& by both sides. I would only ask you to remember that all classes of the community have to contend with difficulties caused in one way or another by war. Obviously the Government canno"t and should not ~)romise to re~~mburse every member of the community for the fin8.ncial losses inf1ic·ced by war. It may sound superfluous or even im:per·tinent for a str:.::.nger like · myself to come down to a sea ~Jort and t a1k about the Mel''Ch2.:nt Jii.:::..1..-vy. I make no apology.. Even the week or two I have been in my present task has served to convince me that there is a fine story t o tell . We pride ourselves on being a seafaring nation~ but take for grunted that the food and raw mc,terialsi wit:hout Ylhtch we cannot live in -;1eace time nor fight in 11var time, wil flow steadily into our norts, :OU.r­ ing war time vve wake uu to tJ.1e value of our shi1Js, in :peace tj_me we are apt to forget about them and leave them to fend for t hemselves as best they may. In the years after the l ast war we neglected our merchant fleet. vVe should have sta1"'ted the war in a still stronger position if it had not been for that neglsct. Our first task must 'be to win the rmr ., Let there be no m:l.stake about that. Everything must be subor0.inated to that end. We have got to win and win handsomely. I personally have less and less :patience with the mealy mouthed in our midst. There are no such ~oeo1.Jle in Germany. If the Germans were to win listen to what an Itali2n vvl"iter said only this week. "Those who will be vmlC1uished cannot c13lnde themselves as to their fate. They will be expropriated and imyover­ished., and the victors will monopolise all the world's resou-cees o11 2 Those nro not our r.irns, but the ·writor, in vicvl' of his 7)0Si tion, hns perht'.ps n littlc inside infornntion nbout German intentions. But while we throw the whole of our eff ort int;J winning don't let us o.ltogether forget t he mistakes of the l~st wnr nnd cs~ecially the mistakes of the years nftcr the last wnr, If we are to recover, if we 2re to make cood the appalling w~ste which wer invol vcs, . if we e.r e to try 2nd mo.into.in the sto.ndo.rad of living of our own peopl e and of the other peoples of the world, then undoubtedly we must work f or a revival of intcrnP.tionnl nnd inter EmDire trade, Gnd, ns cm essential pc.rt of our trn.cUn:; l,ife we must see to it thnt our mcrchnnt fleet is put on n snund and prosperous basis ngnin. I o.m quite awn.re thnt in so.ying this I expose myself to the eqsy retort "Oh, but th8.t hns been snid many times before and look whnt hap1Jened11 True. But, as I see it, p::'.rt of my job, pnrt of • your job, pnrt of the shi~pirig industry's job is to see that it doesn't hnppen again. I believe thnt the merchant nnvy has ns vital n part to plny in winning this w2r ns nny of the fightinz Services. I go further. I do not believe there is n responsible member of nny of the fighting Services but recognises the ultimnte dependence of his Service on the work of the merchant Nnvy. Pnrt of our task is so to be2r oursel vcs, o.nc1 I o..m J:)rouc1 now t o count myself pnrt of the Merchant Service, th2t the country will not this time forget, ns it has on occ2sions done in the pnst, the debt it owes to the offiqers, men o.nd 01?mcrs of our merchant fleet. Let me tell you how we arc ~aing about thnt tnsk. When the Government decided to nssume control cf shipping and rcquisition oceo..n-going ships, we were mvo.re of the drnwbo.cks to this course ns well ns of its advantages. We know thnt in pence time the control of his ships by the individual owner is more efficient nnd economic than c'ontrol by any centro.l authority. But in peo..ce time the owners oper~te their vessels to and from the mnrkcts which show the best financial result, In vmr, the main criterion of where o. ship is to go is the urgent :i1riority demands of the Ministries of Food and Supply. Tho,~e Depnrtments send us their ;:n'ogr ammos .'l.nd indicate the urgency of the priority. However carefully these progrnmmes are worked out, they are nlwnys subj ect to alterations, particularly for Service requirements, d2ily o.lmost hourly. The last wo.r, especio.lly the last years of thnt w~r, taught us that these problems could only be properly solved under requisition and centrc..l control. It is cc..sy to talk in an irresponsible wo.y about the mismnnngement of ships by civil servants. I want t o mo.kc it clco.r thnt the actual detailed mano.gcment of the ships remains in tho hnnds of the owners. All we do is to tell the ovmcr where his shi:r_:i is t o go and who..t co.rgo it is to cnrry. The Officers who issue the orders in the Ministry nro not civil servnnts but experienced shipowners, many of whom :J.re giving their services free of ~ny cost t o the State. No one is more alive than we c.re to the fact thc.t every ton of shipping must be .used t o tho best o.dvc.nt.-:i.gc. That is only possible if there is tho closest co-oucr2tion between all concerned with tho probl ems of defence, supply-c.nd trnnsport. we arc constantly trying not only to improve tho.t co-opcr2.tion but also to improve the efficiency of cnch bit of the mo.chine, In this ship­owners,Cfficcrs and mon are co-operating loyally. /I have -3 ­ l hav,e spoken till now of cargoes carried. A fine tale it is too. You have no doubt seen the figures, which are encouraging. I used to.preach the necessity of exports, I am glad to find in my new job that we are in a position to give my friend the President of the Board of Trade and .his Export Council substantial assistance. Apa~t f~dm cargo carrying, the Me~ch~nt Navy has made a big contribution in. material to the armea. forces for special war work, To g~Ve an idea of what has been done I may te11 you that one small br~nch of my Department alone has taken up for the. Navy more than 2}000 craft of all descriptions 1 ranging from motor boats to armed merchant cruisers. In men the story is the sanieo Our need for men will increase. New ships will be put into service. . Others we shall buy abroad. Some, such as the Danes, will be transferred to Allied flags for the duration of the war, and in those cases we hope the Danish of'ficers and crev1s will continue to serve on their ships. The Merchant Shipping Act has already been amended to make that possible. Some, hawever, may not, and the need then will be particularly for engineers. There are many certificated engineers who now hold shore jobs and many non-certificated, nevertheless with considerable sea experience. \'le shall shortly be making an a:ppeal for the services of many of these men, and I am confident it will not be in vain. The very considerable falling off in passenger traffic has of course meant a falling off in the employment of ships' stewards. At the same time the 17ar has meant an increased demand for deck hands, Vl/e have, therefore, made special arrangements for training disengaged stewards and firemen for service on d.ec-k. Schools have been opened at five major ports, one of which is Southampton. The· cost of these schools is shared between the State and the Industry,and I am glad to be able to tell you that out of the 963 men trained since these courses were started at the end of last ;year, 132 were trained here and of these 129 passed the Ministry's examination. These are encouraging figures and reflect great credit on all concerned, but we have not stopped there. Vie have been in touch with the Newfoundland Government, and arrangements have already been made for about 200 men with sea experie·nce to come over from Newfoundland to help us very soon. If the need should arise we hope to be able to get many more of these men with their magnificent sea traditionsQ I will not weary you with elaborate figures about our losses by enemy action. They represent but 3% of our tonnage. They have been almost wholly made good by new building by purchases from abroad and by captures from the enemy. In a recent weel{ our gains from new construction a nd purchases were actually over double our total losses from all cav.ses. I do not want you to run off with the impression that we are always or shall always be as fortunate as that. I merely quote the case to show that there is often a silver lining to the cloud~ One detail about these prize­ships may interest you. Looking through a list the other day, I vms strucl\'. by the length of time it took to get these captured German ships running in our service. I asked the reason., In the cu.se of more than half the German prize ships the crew acconunoa.a tion vvas so unsatis­factory that extensive strLlctural alterations and repairs were necessary. In practically all cases the ships had been generally neglected and required thorough overhaul and renewals. This state of affairs may well reflect the economic strain under which Nazi Germany had been living these last few years and augurs well for the effect our blockade must have on her. /More -4 ­ l.'io~e recentl~,r we have secured a number of Danish ships end fully intend to secure man3r more. There seems to be a good deal of misunderstanding abroad about our attitude and that or our French Allies in this matter. Let me try and clear it up. Denmarl( has been brutall~r overrun by the Nazis. They hacl. evidenJlily long prepared this monstrous act of aggression. I had an interesting account from one of our officials just home. He lived near the Free Port of Copenhagen. At the time of the r ape of Denmark the Free Port nas etocked to the limit with goods from all over the world, The warehouses were overflowing and, for want of space, goods were stacked in piles outside. For three months past, importers of United Kingdomgoods had been clamouring for the issue of Import licences to clear the goods which they had ordered and which the populaoe was demanding, The Danish Government was under an obligation to issue such licences under the Trade Agreement of 1936 but after a partial issue dur ing the month of January no further licences were forth­coming although goods frm1 Germany were allowed in without the slightest difficulty. What was the reason f or this r eluctance on the part of' the Danes? A real l ack of foreign exchange, the result of direct German i)ressure or a wish to be in a position to "feed the brute" and thus avoid a worse fate? Vi/hatever the reason, the plan of the invaders was i rnrnecl.iately evident. Early on the mor:n.ing of rJednesday, April 10th all roads to the frunous Langelinio1 the harbour and to the Free Port were blocked by armed guards and the general looting of Copenhagen began. Down the adjacent streets began an endless procession of lorries loaded with goocls of every description; drums of oil, grease, rubber tyres, boots, shoes, cer:1ent, scrap-iron anc1 everyconceivable comrnodity were rushed in a steady stream. The showrooms of im};:iorters of British cars began to be emptied. Everything on '"·'hich the marauders could lay their hands was removed for shipment t o parts unknovm but which it is easy to identify, vn1ile the Germans had been sinking Danish ships indiscrimin­ately without warning and murde1'ing Danish seamen, we had been giving safe routes gratuitously to Danish masters, offering them safe conduct in convoy and doing everything in our power to maintain that seaborne trade which was the lifeblood of Denmark. -5 Si;nilo.r stori es come from other ~)arts of thG unE' or tunate country. Gernic:my is systematically rGmoving everything of' value and putting it to her onn us e. VIJho c2.11 doubt she would do the serne with De.nish ships. Technically as long r:.:ts a ahip is under the Danish fla8; she can be req_uisi t ioned by the Danish Government, as things st and this means by the Nazis who dor11ino.t.e tho.t Government. When vie have driven the Gern12n merch2nt fleet f'rom the seas, can anyone e.xpect us to lool;;: supinely on nncl. watch the place of tbat fleet t aken by ships flying the Danish flag but under Germs.n control, with the proceeds of their earnings going into German pockets? In Internationo.1 Law we he.ve every right to seize a Do.nish ship found on the High Seas Rnd condemn her as a lawful prize. By l aw Vff; can justly condemn her vri thout compensation. We are sorry hovvever for• the Danish owners and especially for the Danish Mas ters and crews We have., therefore 9 as I think, generously, offered to pay reasonable rat es of hire for such ships on two conditions, one that they are transferred to the British or French flag, two that the proceeds of the hire do not get back to Germany. The problem has not yet been settled, Until it is ·some neutral ch2.rterers may perha.ps be impatient th2.t their shi1)s are still in port. I hope they will realise the f ault is Germany's for raping Denmark, not ours for trying to protect ourselves from the consequences of that crime. The same considero.tLms c1o not arise with our new ally gallant Nervmy. Her mer chant fleet and her seamen had already suffered grievous loss at the h2.nd of the aggressor~ and she has felt the stab of the 0.sso.ss in's knife in her back. It may have been Quisling who poised the blnde but it vrn.s the hand of Ge1"many that triecl. to drive it home~ Happily it vms not f at al, a~d this little na tion, 3,000 ,000 s t rong, a million fewer even than Finlc.nd. encouraged by the help of Britain, France and Poland too, is fighting steadfastly back~ Early in the war we and the F;rench set U \1 in London inter­allied machinery to supervise and control our COiilli1on effort. As you know, th is co-ordination covers not.only the Pi ghting Services but the whole economic life of our two countries. The Inter-Allied Shipping Executive is at leo.st as im2)ortant o. part of the machinery as any other. The machinery has vrnrl~ed smoothly and well. We have French representatives working with us in our office and our co­operation with the French Ministry of Marine is mo s t close and most eordial. This pooling of our resourbes to attain our first object­ive of winning the war will I hope not end wi th the pea ce. 09upled with the pooling of our economic and.industrial resources it will serve not only c:1.s an example but as a nucleus for t he peaceful organisation of international rel atiqnships and international comrneDce in the l)OS t-war years.. I am proud to think th2t Horway. too has joine C:. and that for the l ast 10 days a unified Emel oentro.lised control over Norwegian ships throughout the world has /)een working under Norwegian officials in London and in close co-operation with the French .and ourselves. I should like to pay tribute to the No:i.."wegian owners, masters and crews for the speed with which these arra:;1P'ements were got going s.nd for the spir·it in vrhich they have hGl:ped°:" In my last job as Secretary of the Department of Overseas Trade I was continuc.lly aslcing ou:i." peo11le to economi.se in consump­tion in order to set free raw r.iaterials for the export trade. Economies in c::msurfll.Jtion must still be our slogan. -We are trying to get all we possibl y can into the country. We o.re continuallytrying to i mc-, rove ~rnr m~~hods and cut out dels.ys here 2,nc;i. ~here. even though there is sti.Ll rnuch to be done. We cEJ.11 I thin.1t claim to have been rensonab:i y successful. But hovvever successful vre maybe the restriction of CO!.ii.Sur1 ption still reme.ins ~1. m2.t ter of urgency.Not becaus e there i §> . a sho11 tage todEv of cmy uarticu}.ar 00111.modity but because a t any cimG ~here might be a. sua.c1en demo.nd for tonnage.I want to f;eel thnt our internal stocks le-ave us ample ma rgin. /It 6 It is cleo.1"lY sho:;."tsightec"!.. to e.:::::~)ect to consll711e goods fi-•01:1 ove1"se2s as f~'.st s.s Y!e can brin.:; then Li. F2r better to rne.ke :i_:irovis ion nor: for cmy hc.z2.rc1s thc.t. r.1c.y bef2.l1. vre c2n meet them uith a stout heart. I W8.nt to be eble to s o.y to s 0!1:e of Y-JY colle;o·.gues, the British :public ht.Ve Cl1tcbled :r118 to h2.ve 2. f e\.' thous2.nc1 or t e:tlS of thouse.nc1s tons to sy.ie.re. Coul c1 ;y-ou r,w.ke use o:f those e.t sll. The No.vy or Ar1;1y ns.y l'Jrobc..bly \7~.:nt r:1ore shi:Js. The ~)resGnt oper2.tio~1s in lforw2.y illustrc.te the sudcl.en s.ncl. hec.vy c1e:-'.12.nds for shi:ning v1hich we hc.ve to ·be reci_dy to neet. I cc-.i1.11ot of course give you any ~?2,rt ieul2!7s of Hha t shi~)~; ing was l" ~::;cuil"ed fo:e the new North Western E;::-.:_Jec".itionary Force, out I cnn s e.y this thz,t every ship required ·was r ~.c.dy for its service a..nd i10 cl.el2,y occurred whm1 the lmrry and Na.vy wex•e reaa.y to embo.rk their :persom1el and stores. You will uno.erst s.nc1 th,:::.t 1-.re must be 2.ble to let the Forces the the ships they neecl. at very sho1"t. notice, and yet still be c:ble to f'eel that the country cc.n l"!1c,int2.in our war effort to the full. I should, the1"eforc , like to mt..'.ke e. ::;:ie.rticul2.r G.~J)e2l to all who c2,n to consider~ es) ec i -::-.lly dux•ing these co!·.iing sum.mer months whether they cc.11 rn.:.n.:-.ge substE.ntis.lly to reduce their consu;:1p tion of ove1"sefas goods. Le.rge sections of the populc:.tion :.1a.y vrnll find it difficult. Some I ~:norr rrill :Lind it i rir::iossible. It is u~J to those who ar e more forJm 112.tel y situat e(:_ to increase their efforts and so to fill the gap. The other evening in his bros.des.st after the Budget speech, the Chancellor of' the E.xche\~uer a:x;:iee_lec1 to us 211 to limit our consur.