LEAVING BRITISH HONDURAS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 68, Issue 133, 17 March 1948, Page 3

LEAVING BRITISH HONDURAS

PLANS FOR SHEFFIELD NEW YORK; March 15. Vice-Admiral Sir William Tennant, Commander-in-Chief America and West Indies Station, announced today that he was leaving British Honduras aboard the cruiser Sheffield “in the very near future, probably in the next 24 hours.” “The defence of British Honduras is now perfectly satisfactory in the army’s hands,” he declared. The Sheffield, which arrived at Belize on February 29 following threats of an invasion, of British Honduras by Guatemala, leaves beh ind the second battalion of the Gloucester Regiment which is expected to stay at least months. Sir William Tenant explained that the Sheffield was leaving mainly because she was to partake soon in doing exercises with ships of tin* Royal Canadian Navy which was already in the Caribbean for that purpose. He insisted that the Sheffield’s departure had nothing to do with the opening or closing of the frontier. He was referring to a, statement, by the Guatemalan Foreign Minister, Senor Moany, that the border would be reopened as: soon as Ihe Sheffield departed. A New York message says, that the British cruiser Sheffield, with ViceAdmiral Sir William Tennant aboard, left British Honduras at' dawn today after IS days’ stay. It left to the Army the maintenance of the colony’s defences against any possible invasion from Guatemala. Honduran officials are now waiting to see if Guatemala will reopen the frontier, as promised, on the Sheffield’s departure. Addressing the Legislative Council only a few hours after the Sheffield’s departure, ’ the Governor of British Honduras, Sir Gerald Hawksworth. reiterated the colony’s determination to “resist by force, if necessary, any foreign aggression.” Sir Gerald Hawksworth said that dojfencb preparations were completed.