GRAVE VIEW TAKEN

Dominion, Volume 26, Issue 150, 21 March 1933, Page 7

GRAVE VIEW TAKEN

Arrests in Russia NEGOTIATIONS HELD UP Anglo-Soviet Trade Treaty (By Telegraph.—Press Assn.—Copyright.) London, March 19. The British Government has suspended negotiations for an AngloSoviet trade agreement. They will not be resumed until the Soviet adopts a reasonable attitude. The grave view which the British Government takes of the arrest by the Soviet authorities of the employees of the Metropolitan Vickers Electrical Company was clearly indicated in a speech last night by the Dominions Secretary, Mr. J. H. Thomas. “I know of nothing that has stirred British public opinion more than the arrest of a number of our fellow citizens in Russia.” he said. “Public opinion in this country Is satisfied that the men who have been arrested are respectable and harmless British subjects engaged in their normal commercial vocations. .It seems absurd to suggest that such men should lend themselves to any measure calculated to destroy their own livelihood. It is not understood here what motive underlies these abritrary proceedings, but the whole country will agree that British subjects must not be made the scapegoats of any shortcomings in official projects. Heresy hunting is not countenanced here. ‘I do not know what is the object of this apparently foolish act on the part of Russia. Ido know that in past times Governments, In order to divert attention from home affairs, have got embroiled In foreign difficulties, and. if that is the real object of Russia in this matter, I have no hesitation in

saying that no one in this country will be deceived. Commercial relations must always be to the benefit of both parties, and, if these are to be facilitated, subjects must not be exposed to unwarrantable hindrances and hardships in pursuit of them. ‘We have already given abundant evidence of our anxiety not to interfere with Russia, however much we may disagree in her political aims but clearly it would be a profound mistake to assume that that relationship of a commercial and diplomatic character, which is essential between two nations, could be continued, if our people were subjected to petty tyranny and punishment. and, indeed, the agonising mental strain that these men are now undergoing.” Labour leader's View. Declaring a disagreement with the attitude of Mr. J. 11. Thomas and Mr. Stanley Baldwin regarding the Russian arrests. Mr. George Dansbury, the Labour leader, at Birmingham, said that Russia was a sovereign State, and those going there must live under its laws. Nobody had any right to judge either the prisoners or the Soviet until authentic facts were available. Company Denies Charges. The Metropolitan Vickers Electrical Company officially declares that the charges of sabotage and counter-revo-lutionary activities against the accused in connection with the building of the Dnieprostroi dam are untrue, as the company supplied none of the turbines and generators concerned nor the materials used in their construction. The turbines were supplied from America. ‘‘Moreover, the idea of damaging huge water turbines by pouring sand and acid in them is manifestly absurb,” says the company, “as each blade weighs about five tons and millions of gallons of water passing through daily would prevent acid or sand remaining. Therefore, the accusation is fantastic. This is one of the few great installations in Russia in which the Metropolitan Vickers Company has supplied material, mainly a trifling part of the switch-gear.” The company still lacks news of the charges, but is confident that the affair is a terrible mistake, and all the prisoners ought to be immediately released. The continued refusal to allow the visitors to discuss the case suggests that the prisoners have been subjected to the Ogpu’s third degree methods. Failing satisfaction Britain’s next step, says the “Daily Telegraph,” would be the severance of trade and diplomatic relations, and possibly special measures to ensure the safety of the persecuted Britons. TRIAL A MONTH HENCE Prisoners Remain in Gaol Moscow, March 19. The Soviet authorities state that the Vickers prisoners will remain in the Lubianka gaol for a month before a public trial with a mixed crowd of Russians. Such a trial of Englishmen

TRIAL A MONTH HENCE Prisoners Remain in Gaol Moscow, March 19. The Soviet authorities state that the Vickers prisoners will remain in the Lubianka gaol for a month before a public trial with a mixed crowd of Russians. Such a trial of Englishmen has never yet been held in Russia. The Ogpu lias completed its investigations and handed the evidence to the Supreme Court. The British Consul and an Embassy official visited the prisoners. Foreign firms have deposited their office records with the Embassies. SOVIET DISCIPLINE Ambassador Recalled (Received March 20, 10.15 p.b.) London, March 20. The “Daily Express” states that M. Maisky. Soviet Ambassador to London, has been recalled to Moscow because he failed sufficiently to interpret to the British Foreign Office his Government’s views regarding the arrests. M. Dovgalevsky, Soviet Ambassador at Paris, succeeds M. Maisky.