SPANISH STRUGGLE

Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 265, 5 August 1937, Page 15

SPANISH STRUGGLE

Britain’s Interests Divided WAR WILL" SETTLE NOTHING During a lecture to the Insurance Institute and Bank Officers’ Guild last night on the Spanish revolution, Mr. Evan Parry commented on what he said were misapprehensions about the characteristics of the factions in the struggle, and remarked that Britain’s neutrality arose from a division of interest in its outcome. He pointed out that a useful discussion of the subject was impossible without entering into controversial matters. Mr. Parry traced the history of Spain from 1914, when it was in a feudal state with the privileged classes of grandees, church and army on one side, and the unprivileged masses on the other; through the Great War, with its awakening of the people of Spain to a consciousness of democracy, for which other nations said they were fighting; through the development of republicanism, with the abdication of the King, the gathering of reactionary forces and the revolt, which was largely due to the army’s disloyalty to the Republican Government and friendliness to the classes whose privileges the Government threatened. It had been suggested in some quarters, he said, that the Popular Front Government which was elected to power in February, 193(3, shortly before the revolution, was Red, Socialist or Communist, but it was nothing of the sort. It was by no means as advanced as that of Blum in France. It was stated also that the elections were “cooked” and not fair. The answer to that seemed to be that the elections were held under the auspices of the Popular Front’s opponents, who would not be likely to allow unfairness to themselves. Excuses Made. Disorder developed, but when troops were sent to a place to suppress a disturbance, the army, being favourable to the right, let its friends down lightly, but was severe on the Government’s supporters. The disorders thus increased, and had been made the excuse for the revolution. As the war had gone on the Government had become more Red, and now contained many Socialists. The division of the forces was clear. The rebels represented the old established order fighting for its life against an upsurge of humanity leading one knew not where. Mr. Parry said that if be had seemed prejudiced it was because he felt that it would have been better for Spain if the Republican Government had been allowed to remain instead of the country bemg thrown into civil war; and the disorders had come from the Right. If the rebels won Franco was not likely to be dictator, because he had not the special qualities of a dictator. Britain’s Part. Britain was torn between two groups of interests. For instance, large commercial interests in Loudon were in favour of the rebels for the reason that there was a great amount of money sunk in Spain, and they feared that if the Government won it would, turn into a kind of Soviet regime which would repudiate its debts and the money would be lost. On the other hand, certain other Imperial interests in Britain favoured the Government because they saw that if Franco won Britain’s interests would be seriously threatened strategically. Thus Britain had endeavoured to maintain neutrality as far as possible. Unfortunately, the non-intervention agreement had worked in favour of the rebels, because Germany and Italy had ignored it and sent help to the rebels, whereas what help the Government had received had come from Russia, which had the disadvantage of being remote from Spain. Mr. Parry’s own view was that, the Franco forces would not succeed. They might succeed in a military sense, but a government could not be imposed on people who did not want it. He reminded his listeners that the result of the civil war was still in doubt, even though the rebels had been making considerable efforts for some time and had had the help of 100,000 Italians and many Moors, Would they need those foreign forces if they had public support? Clearly they had not public support. Daily it became more and more clear that under the pretext of civil war an Italian invasion of Spain was taking place. Whichever side won, the civil war would not settle anything.