THE CHINA MAIL, APRIL 15, 1937.
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BRITAIN'S SURRENDER TO BLOCKADE CONDEMNED
Heated Debate In
AGEN TOU
Parliament
Gallery marked the interest arous- ed by the Commons debate on the Labour motion of censure.
NAVAL
• In moving the censure motion, BATTLE IN
Mr. Attlee said the Opposition re-
garded the Government's action in BISCAY?
INTENTION TO DEFEND SHIPS render of rights which had always
REITERATED
Out of a welter of attack and counter-attack in the House of Commons, which experienced one of its most stormy sessions yesterday, emerged the fact that the British Navy will protect British ves- sels if they are attacked by General Franco's war ships.
warning British ships against en- tering the port of Bilbao as a sur-
Hendaye, To-day, been maintained for British ship the Bay of Biscay have been Prospects of a naval battle in ping and a surrender made in the heightened by news that certain face of a grave breach of interna-units of the reconstituted Span- tional law.
ish Government fleet are heading for these waters.
The Spanish insurgents hąd no
belligerent rights and no right to In Salamanca, insurgent head- blockade Spanish ports. The pre-quarters continue to make claims vention of British ships trading of huge successes. with Spain was no part of non- They now allege that between intervention policy so long as they 12,000 and 14,000 Government carried neither munitions nor vo- troops are estimated to have been lunteers. The issue, therefore, was killed on the Cordoba front in the
THIS WAS ANNOUNCED BY THE HOME SECRETARY IN simple. British ships, on their past four days. THE COURSE OF A HEATED DEBATE ON THE SITUATION |lawful occasions, had been turned According to prisoners- taken AT BILBAO FOLLOWING A LABOUR VOTE OF CENSURE, back by rebels. What was to be MOVED BY MAJOR CLEMENT ATTLEE.
TEMPERS WERE AROUSED DURING THE DEBATE, AND· SIR JOHN SIMON'S REPLY FOR THE GOVERNMENT WAS BROKEN BY ANGRY INTERRUPTIONS FROM THE LABOUR BENCHES,
MR. EDEN'S STATEMENT
-
done?
•
west of Madrid, the Government forces on this front are composed THE WHITE FLAG
entirely of picked foreigners com- The Cabinet came to a decision.manded by Frenchmen and Rus- The Prime Minister made a firm sians.-Reuter. declaration against interference with British shipping the White
down and the
EL PARDO FIGHTING
Salamanca, To-day. Further attacks were made by the International Brigade defend-
the El Pardo sector and the French
ing Madrid on the rebel lines. in Bridge across the Manzanares River yesterday, says a communique from rebel headquarters.
The Labour motion, referring to the Premier's statement on The Foreign Secretary, Mr. An- Ensign is hoisted, Monday, "deplores the failure of thony Eden, recalled that Britain Then it is run the Government to give protec- had not protested when the Span-white flag is run up-British ships tion to British merchant ships on ish Government last August de were, to all intents and purposes, their lawful occasions.”
clared a blockade of the insurgent told they must not go to Bilbao. Major Attlee claimed that the ports in Spanish Morocco, and em-Yet there was no question this time Government's action in warning|phasised that belligerent rights of startling a world war or of great shipping that they should not en- could not be granted to one side. trouble with a great foreign power. ter Bilbao was an acquiescence "Had we followed precedents The threat to which the Govern- în a grave breach of Internation- and granted belligerent rights, ment had surrendered came
then both sides would have been rebels whose land forces were on
The communique adds that the entitled to hold up British ships land and who had no great naval period from July 17 last year to attempting to break the blockade strength.
July 17 this year has been proclaim- Mr. Attlee asked for detailed in-ed the "first victorious year of the even on the high seas," he declared.
upon Nationalist Government."
al Law,
NO MINES
AVOIDING COMPLICATIONS
a
from
Replying to an earlier question formation of the evidence from Sir Archibald Sinclair, Liber- which the Government had reached
war
MR. CHURCHILL
On the Guadalajara front, in- surgent artillery carried out а strong bombardment of the Repub- lican lines.
The Labour leader exhibited cable from the President of the Basque Republic stating that
In Paris it is reported that neither the Basque nor General
al member for Caithness, whether their decision and the sources from Spanish nationals living in French Franco's forces had laid any mines
a ship disregarding the warning which it came. He declared that
Morocco have been warned by the in the approaches to Bilbao. would be protected if attacked be- General Franco, who was failing Republican Consulate to report for
During the first fortnight in fore she reached the three-mile generally, was dependent for & military service. Trans-Ocean. April there had been 58 inward limit, Mr. Eden said the answer local success upon starving women and outward sailings without mo-was definitely in the affirmative. and children and the British Gov- to attempt to enter the port. Later lestation, and the batteries of Bil-
ernment acquiesced! The Govern the Government decided to inform DAILY BOMBING- bao had kept the rebel fleet at a
ment had no right to put upon British ships that it desired them distance of fifteen miles from the
The Government, however, was British sailors such humiliation. not to enter Bilbao on account of shore.
bound to warn ships of the dan- A Liberal speaker, Sir Archibald the dangerous situation there. The gers of the Bilbao coast in view of Sinclair, argued that Government action, he claimed, was on all fours
the Government could Sir John Simon, replying for the which
not action in discouraging British food with that taken last Autumn. Government, said the Government's guarantee the safety of ships in ships from entering Basque ports Of course, the Home Secretary policy was to avoid all complica-Iterritorial waters of Bilbao.
was an intervention in the civil added, the British navy could force tions which might prejudice goo Mr. Eden quoted a telegram from and not, as Sir John Simon its way into any port in Spain. It international relations, and strict- the British consul at Bilbao saying claimed, part of the non-interven- could sweep passage clear of mines- ly to refrain from all interference there had been daily bombing and
tion policy.
But that action would not be con- in the internal affairs of Spain. much destruction in the last fort-
sistent with the policy of non-inter- As the Home Secretary proceed-night.
their ed he was almost continuously in- He also read a telegram from Mr. Winston Churchill, who said vention to which it was
duty to be faithful. terrupted by derisive Labour com- the ship-owners parliamentary com- he was partisan of neither side in primary ments and ironical cheers.
Imittee saying they were
satisfied Spain, urged that it would be mad-General Franco had been told ex-
the British Govern-. Sir John declared that H.M.S. that the Government was doing its ness to break the blockade which pressedly
the insurgents had established and, ment could not recognise velli- Blanche reported on April 6 that utmost to protect the industry.
according to British naval officers gerent rights and that the warning there was a close blockade of
effectively established, if Great given to British ships would not be Bilbao, and that serious incidents were likely to arise if merchant The Foreign Secretary said that Britain was to retain that poise in considered to have absolved him ships attempted to enter the if it became necessary for the pro-relation to the Spanish civil war from responsibility for any damage port.
tection of British shipping to carry which was so useful for the preven- to a British ship which disregarded UPROAR IN HOUSE
out mine-sweeping outside terri-tion of its spreading into Europe. the warning.
Sir John reminded the House that torial waters, the Government Mr. Churchill ended with a sugges- would certainly consider it, but it tion for the cooperation of the five the British Navy had for months Powers whose navies were joining discharged a great humanitarian was a most formidable task.
He emphasised that forcible in the control scheme in proposing work off the coasts of Spain. They action within territorial waters some solution of the Spanish civil had carried 17,000 innocent people would amount to intervention. war. He hoped that such coopera- to safety. But within the last two Another storm was witnessed when the Opposition demanded Dealing with a plea by Mr. tion in the ease of Spain might lead months, on the advice of the Ad- to hear the text of the Board of Winston Churchill for arbitration, to a lessening. of the tension Trade's communication warning Mr. Eden said that if ever Britain Europe generally. ships not to enter Bilbao.
could make a contribution to bring
PRIMARY DUTY Replying to Mr. Lloyd George, the conflict to an end, that contri-
Sir John Simon said that when to be done, so far as possible, by Sir John Simon emphasised that bution would be eagerly made.-
the report was received H.M.S. ships which were not men of war. the British Navy would protect Reuter.
Blanche was instructed to inform Sir John claimed, în conclusion, vessels if they were attacked by General Franco's warships,
The presence of a number of any British merchant ship bound that he had justified the action of of affairs the Government to the House and The Labour vote of censure was foreign Ambassadors and Ministers for Bilbao of the state defeated by 345 to 130.
in the
Distinguished Strangers and to advise it most strongly not to the country-British Wireless.
A fresh uproar was caused by the Minister's comment that the British commander on the spot was a better authority than the Basque Government..
MINESWEEPING
KEEN INTEREST
inmiralty, it had been thought unsafe, because of the danger from mines, for British warships to
ports
on Basque coast and enter had
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