A Mighty Endeavor (19 page)
“SHUT UP YOU BASTARDS AND SIT DOWN! Your pardon, Mister Speaker.”
It took a few moments for the Speaker to regain control of himself. Rosevear felt the humiliation of Bell’s assistance as keenly as his own embarrassment and anger at losing control of the House. So it was with some ferocity he glared down at Billy Hughes, nominally Locock’s party leader. Although, at 79, Hughes’ position was mostly honorary; one he filled in lieu of some more energetic man.
“Has this Motion a second?”
In his day, Billy Hughes would have eaten Rosevear alive and picked his toes with the bones. Now, a little past his prime and still coming to terms with recent events, Hughes hesitated. It wasn’t that the room lacked for men who would have backed the Motion of No Confidence in a heartbeat, but the Speaker had just made it a party affair rather than a private matter and so no one stepped forward.
Until, from the Labor benches, the Parliament’s one true independent stood up. “I’ll second the motion,” said Alexander Wilson in his Irish brogue, “and what’s more, I think I may take a small little stroll.” Putting actions to words, he crossed the floor.
The man who had bought the curtain down on Menzies’ government proceeded to leave Curtin’s in aheap on the floor of the House.
Cabinet Room, Government House, Calcutta, India
“Telegram from the Governor General in Australia, Your Excellency.”
Sir Martyn bustled in to the Viceroy’s brightly morning room and handed the message over directly. He knew the contents, of course, but theoretically it was a private letter.
Lord Linlithgow slipped the flimsy from its envelope and read eagerly. Of all the sources of intelligence available to the Government of India, the back channel between the Crown’s direct representatives around the globe was by far the most reliable. It was actually the official route for a good deal of correspondence between parts of the Empire that lacked more direct representation, but as a source of reliable gossip, it was without peer.
“Which way have the Australians gone?” asked Nehru anxiously from settee. Yesterday, Brigadier General The Right Honorable Lord Gowrie, VC, GCMG, CB, DSO & Bar, known to his friends as Alexander Hore-Ruthven and presently Governor General of Australia, had sent warning the new Government was clarifying its position in response to Daventry and he should have more news shortly. “Are they still in the war?
The Viceroy just shook his head. “This verges on the incredible! Two governments in almost as many weeks. Good God, one would think they were turning into some comic-opera republic, yet Gowrie believes they remain stable and has some hopes for a new Government by morning.”
“They are so divided all over this one issue?” puzzled Nehru.
“Oh, reading between the lines, I suspect there is a little more to it than just the war,” Linlithgow sniffed. “And I can’t say I cared for the sound of this Curtin fellow, so perhaps there’s a silver lining to be found in that. But what sort of government they might cobble up now, I should hate to think.”
“They have three parties,” offered Sir Martyn helpfully, “but only one has the numbers to govern on its own. The other two have a long standing coalition.”
Pandit Nehru smiled “Yes and the Australian Labour Party was the first Labour Party in the world to form a national government..”
“Ahh ..”
“. . even if it only lasted for five days. My knowledge is mostly historical, Martyn. As Australian affairs have taken some prominence lately, I thought it best to do a little reading, but I find there is not a great deal to be had on the subject.”
“Oh?” recovered Sir Martyn easily “Well recent events are a little complicated but, put simply, the previous Prime Minister, or should I say now, the fellow before the last chap . ..”
“Menzies,” supplied Linthgow. “A good man by all accounts.”
“Yes, sir; thank you. Robert Menzies took the loyalist view and was, reluctantly, prepared to follow London. His party, by and large, disagreed, as did his coalition partner and they all seem to have parted ways. That let Labor in as a minority government--I believe resting on the vote of a single independent...”
“Who must have jumped ship,” concluded Nehru.
“Precisely,” agreed Sir Martyn. “Or, if not, then there has been some movement across the floor. But other than Labor no one else has the numbers to form government unless another coalition can be arranged.”
“Damn messy,” nodded Linlithgow. “Whoever does come along will have no choice but to make a stand on the war, one way or another. So . .”
“I know what will occupy the bulk of our day, we must find a sound line and length for us to take should the Australians publicly accept the Armistice and step out of the war.”
“And should they stay in, of course ...” add Nehru
“Oh, I should think that very much depends on you, Pandit,” returned the Viceroy with a smile. “What say the Congress Party on the events of yesterday?”
“Your Excellency,” Nehru began gravely, “the revelation of plans to invade India and the sinking of the
Hobart
have swung enough votes on the Party executive towards maintaining the state of war. It is held that the act confirms the intentions. Many disagree, of course. Gandhi and his followers call for peace at any price and non-violent resistance to the German invasion. Subhas Chandra Bose actually believes that an alliance with Germany is the proper course. But with those exceptions, and with heavy hearts, most others agree that maintaining the state of war is required. Both as a prudent precaution against German designs and to highlight our independence from London.”
Linlithgow smiled with relief. “Very well. With your agreement, Pandit, we will announce your appointment as my deputy tomorrow. One change I would like to make to the agreement you negotiated with Sir Martyn. In two years, when you become President, instead of taking the position of your Chief of Staff, I would like you to appoint Sir Martyn in that role. It would be of great benefit to all concerned, I think.--Oh and if you are agreeable, Martyn?”
Nehru’s stately nod and Sir Martyn’s stunned head jerk seemed to signify acceptance. The Viceroy took pity on his secretary. “Then, with your concurrence Pandit, two telegrams please, Martyn. If you would, type them out personally, and secure them until required. The first to London; in cypher of course: ‘Regret to advise you that in accordance with the Daventry Message, India takes responsibility for her own internal government and external relations. God Save the King.’
“Very good, sir,” said Sir Martyn scribbling hastily in his note book. “And the second?”
“To Reichskanzlei in Berlin. Two copies, of course; one for the Japanese as their protecting power, but in plain language. It should read ‘Genesis 1:22.’”
Nehru looked confused. Sir Martyn leaned over and whispered, “Go forth and multiply.”
“Ahhh.” Nehru smiled. “How appropriate.”
Parliament House, Canberra, Australia
Stepping up to the Government dispatch box for the first time as Prime Minister, Gregory Locock paused to survey the Chamber and marvel at how different it looked from this one particular spot. A night’s frantic negotiation and a series of political compromises put him in this position. The sulking opposition glowering across the way; his own variegated coalition: Country Party, United Australia Party, independents and the little cluster of floor crossing Labor members buried safely deep in the Government backbenches. He was simply the candidate who offended fewest people. A bemused George Bell struggled to look stern as he nodded.
“The House recognizes the Honorable Prime Minister.”
“Mister Speaker, as the first matter of Government business bought before this house, we should like to move a motion reaffirming the state of war that exists between this Commonwealth and Germany along with her allies, principally the Kingdom of Italy.”
The Speaker looked down at the Labor Party frontbench and saw a mix of resignation and simmering resentment, but little opposition. “What say the House?” he demanded “Those in favor, say Aye.” The roar of affirmation rang about the chamber and left little doubt as to the temper of the Parliament that day.
“The Ayes would seem to have it
...”
A grim faced John Curtin nodded. “The motion is carried by a majority of the House!” concluded Bell under a second roar of approval.
It took several minutes of gavel banging and demands for Order to get the assembly back in its seats. “The Prime Minister retains the floor.”
Locock nodded. “Thank you, Mister Speaker. What the future holds, we do not know; but this we can say with all the confidence we can muster. We will be victorious, however long and hard the road may be. Mister Speaker, it is also my duty to inform the House that certain communications have been received by the Governor General from London in the last twelve hours purporting to be from the Government of Great Britain at the behest of His Majesty. These contradict the clear message from His Majesty in his Daventry broadcast.
“I put the following motion to the House. ‘That in accordance with the Daventry Message, this House accepts the responsibilities delegated to it in that the authority of the Crown will pass through the Governor General to the Australian Parliament, there to be held in trust by them sitting as a Committee of Trustees.”
The roar of “Aye!!!” was deafening.
Room 208, Munitions Building, Washington, DC, USA
“What used to be the Commonwealth is now falling into line with the Big Three. Canada, Australia and India have all repudiated Halifax’s armistice. South Africa followed suit this morning and the smaller colonies are doing the same. We’ve still got a war to join, gentlemen.” Cordell Hull had a bold smile on his face. For the first time in the two months since Halifax had signed the notorious armistice, things were running the way he wanted them to.
“I still can’t believe that crazy scheme worked.” Secretary Stinson shook his head. “You should be in a British prison, all of you.”
“If it’s crazy and it works, it isn’t crazy.” Hull stared at Stuyvesant who had an innocent expression on his face. Hull had heard that Stuyvesant had been on the aircraft that had pulled off the rescue and he didn’t approve. Not completely, anyway. “The scientific material you brought back alone was worth the risks we took. You might be interested to know that a few other refugees are starting to appear in Canada. We’re not sure how they are coming out, but it does look as if the larger British companies are getting their key designers and engineers out to Canada.”
“My people say there’s a lot of ill-feeling towards Halifax and his administration. It looks like Halifax nearly missed the bus. People were swinging away from an end-the-war way of thinking towards a grim determination to win at all costs. Another couple of weeks and he would have been too late.” Stuyvesant thought carefully about how much to say. “There’s a resistance movement springing up already. Mostly in Scotland and Northern England, but it’s there. It wouldn’t surprise me to find out that a lot of companies and research groups are quietly getting their key people and files to safety. Not to mention burying the records on any work that might be of aid to the Germans.”
“So, there is still a war going on. Where do we go from here?” Stimson was slightly confused by the whole situation. He could see that the simple fact that the British Empire was still in the war, even if Britain itself was not, worked in favor of American interests, but he couldn’t understand what the Dominions were going to do.
Just exactly how did the Australians plan to wage war on the Germans?
The same question interested Cordell Hull and Phillip Stuyvesant, but Hull in particular had larger concerns. “Britain’s status within the Commonwealth is now open to dispute. Canada recognized Churchill’s government-in-exile as the legitimate government of Great Britain as soon as Australia and India came out. As far as we can make out, that means that the Halifax government in London has effectively been suspended from membership of the Commonwealth. So, we now have a British Commonwealth that doesn’t include Britain. How that is going to spin out is something that we can’t even begin to guess at, but the economic consequences are grave. We may have to do some propping up there to make sure they stay in business.”
“Military support too. We can start by giving them the aircraft that are clogging up our airfields. We’re finding more of the damned things every day.” Stimson sounded indignant at the amount of American production capacity that had been absorbed by British and French orders while the American forces were crying out for modern equipment.
“Do we really want to do that?” Hull was thoughtful. “The President wants to put an end to the great colonial empires and this is our chance to finish off one of them, at least. It won’t hurt our position to let the political situation mature for a few months. The longer we take to incorporate the orphaned Dominions into our trading sphere, the deeper the economic hole they will be in, and the harder the bargain we can eventually drive when we finally get around to buying them up. The longer we keep things simmering, the more likely it is that something will break our way.”
“Like Germany hitting Russia. That’s the way they’re going.” Stuyvesant looked thoughtful while he assessed the likely consequences of the invasion. “However we cut this, Russia is going to be an ally when the Germans do invade and we’ll be supporting them as well. We could carry the burden of doing that by ourselves, but why? We can use help, even if it isn’t essential. The invasion will change those Dominions from geese waiting to be plucked into useful economic resources.”