WORLD AFFAIRS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 95, 23 April 1931, Page 6

WORLD AFFAIRS.

A WEEKLY REVIEW. (By BYSTANDER., Spain has had its revolution and transformed itself into a republic; but it is not quite clear what is to happen next. The abdication of King Alfonso is not particularly definite or conclusive; indeed, lie seems deliberately to have left himself an opening for some future attempt to regain the throne if the opportunity comes. There is something impressive in the tenacity with which ti.cse royalties cling to their monarchical traditions. The Infanta Isabella, Alfonso's aunt, at the age of 80, though bedridden by paralysis, has insisted on being carried out of her ungrateful country. She is evidently a true daughter of Isabella, that martial queen whose conflict with the Carlists caused so much confusion in Spain and anxiety in British diplomatic circles in the old Victorian days. But it is quite possible that Alfonso, possessing immense wealth and free from all public and official responsibilities, may find exile more to his taste than a violent and sanguinary civil war, which would certainly ruin his country and could hardly end in his permanent restoration to the throne. A Republic in Suspense. Of coursc, now that the republicans have seized power, their first step must be to secure the endorsement of their acts and their policy by the nation. Everybody in Spain is looking forward to the elections which are to be held some time within the next six months. In the meantime, the new rulers of the country do not seem inclined to commit themselves to anything but vague generalities. The new Minister of Finance contents himself with the remark that the watchwords of the new regime will be Liberty and Progress; and he could not well say less. The Minister of National Economy has gone a little further into detail with the warning that the land may be taken over and divided among the peasantry. He has added his personal assurance that the Government will act "like gentlemen," and that "there will be compensation." But it is hardly likely to console the royalists to learn that they may be expropriated as well as exiled. As a matter of fact, there is very grave apprehension that the more violent revolutionaries of the Communist type may seize the upper hand. It is rumoured, according to the "Morning Post," that "Moscow is actively exploiting the Spanish revolution," and one of the Bolshevik organs has declared that "the Communists are mobilising 1,000,000 workers to fight for a Soviet Spain." It is not likely that the Bolsheviks who have worked so hard to stir up a world revolution in India and Chins* will overlook the chance afforded them by the upheaval, and their propaganda in Spain may produce startling developments there at any time. An Emancipated People. The part of Spain most seriously affected by the Revolution is Catalonia. The people of this province, in the north-east corner of the peninsula, have been for many centuries famous for their love of liberty and independence. In the seventh century their land was overrun by Gothic barbarians .and during the Dark Ages Catalonia was an outlying province of the Prankish Empire J founded by Charlemagne. These foreign influences have helped to differentiate the Catalans from j the rest of the Spanish people, and throughout every stage of European history they have given ! signal proof of their intense local patriotism and their courageous devotion to the cause of national independence. They have constantly played a foremost part in the revolutionary movements of the past hundred years, and when the downfall of the Throne was at last assured, the Catalans at once proclaimed their province a republic and asserted their right to political separation from Spain. Happily this dangerous obstacle to national unity has been successfully surmounted "The Catalonian demand for Home Rule," we are told, "has been settled by allowing Catalonia to adopt her own language, flag and anthem, and to elect a constituent assembly, with a Minister at Madrid." Catalonia will thus form a more or less independent factor in the Spanish Republic, standing to it in much the same relation as the Dominions stand to the British Empire. The Revolution Epidemic. It is a historical fact that revolutionary movements are "catching," and I attribute the trouble now simmering in Portugal and its colonies largely to the chaotic condition of Spain. Theoretically, the Portuguese have most of the rights and liberties for which the Spaniards have striven in vain. Anyhow, Portugal has been a republic for over twenty years. The Portuguese under a democracy, therefore, ought to have just as good a Government as they deserve. However, they are not satisfied; in fact, there is plenty of talk about tyranny and autocracy and corruption on the Portuguese side of the Spanish frontier. Strangely enough, the trouble began actively, not in Portugal, but in Madeira and the Azores, the island dependencies of Portugal off the west coast of Africa. But thought the people in the islands, both Portuguese and native, have plenty to complain of, this disorder is probably "sympathetic" as well. Of course, the Government at Lisbon goes on insisting that the country is really quite peaceful and contented, and it 'has catcgorically denied the rumours of risings in the Portuguese colonies and the African mainland. But there is good reason to believe that revolutionary feeling is abroad throughout Portugal and all its wide-spread possessions; and as Britain has a pre-emptive claim over the Portuguese colonies, many of which have great value as trading ports and naval bases, the future of the Portuguese Republic is a matter of considerable importance for us all. Australia's Troubles. Last week the Australian political crisis dcvolopcd a stage further with the rejection of the Fiduciary Note Issue Bill by the Senate. Mr. Scullin had, of course, anticipated this reverse, and a fortnight ago he announced that if the Bill were thrown out it would be sent back to the Senate after the statutory three months had elapsed, and if it were rejected again he would then appeal for a dissolution of both Houses. But nobody on the Labour side is anxious to go to the country just now. For Mr. Lang has so effectually scared Australia with his repudiation and other extravagant schemes that it is difficult even to imagine which way the majority of would vote. The various sections of the Opposition arc making a desperate effort to combine forces against Labour, and though Dr. Earlc Page and the Country Party are inclined to hold aloof, the Leader of the Nationalists, Mr. J. G. Latham, has publicly declared that lie and his friends are ready to follow Mr. Lyons, if that redoubtable recruit from Labour's ranks can organise /find. lead a United Party against Mr. Scullin. Meantime, Mr. Scullin has not enhanced the status or the prestige of his Government by claiming credit for Britain's remission of interest on the war debt —a concession for which the way was prepared by the Premiers' Conference and the Loan Council; nor has he increased public confidence in his judgment by the plea that Mr. Theodore's inflation scheme is "only a little one," or his contention that the banks ought to go on lending to the Government and the general public whether they see any reasonable prospect of getting their money back or not. Australian affairs are complicated, and Mr. Scullin does not seem to be the man to unravel them. ,