PORTUGUESE CASE

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 205, 27 May 1944, Page 7

PORTUGUESE CASE

Relations With Britain (Received May 26, 7 p.m.) LONDON, May 20. In a speech in Lisbon dealing with relations between Britain and Portugal* the Prime Minister, Dr. Salazar, said: “Britain so far has made three big requests, first, for the preservation of the zone of peace in the Iberian Peninsula, second, for protection, ot. the Atlantic ports; and third, for facilities in the Azores. She has also—naturally and even with justice—asked for benevolent neutrality. It has been possible to satsify these requests. Why, therefore, do there still occur here and there signs of discontent? We must try to have a deep understanding of British reactions. Britain works, suffers and fights in an atmosphere of excitement created by the very gravity of her danger and the magnitude of the fight. We who live under a kindly and almost undeserved peace can scarcely

assess the material and moral sufferings, preoccupations and anxieties of the Bri- x hish, but we have understood the greatness of their example and the sensitiveness of the sorely tried minds to which delays', rejection's, refusals and even smaller things appear as a denial of justice. .We for our part defend certain principles because, first, it is not easy to decide where our political realism ends and lack of national conscience begins; secondly, we don’t accept the law of war but seek to remain faithful to the < law of peace. “The of the Anglo-Portuguese alliance can only be of value to Britain if they are services rendered from a true ally. Any diminution of our autonomy and independence, or any subservience, could not, therefore, serve the common cause. It cannot be expected that AngloPortuguese relations should always continue without friction. On the contrary, the multiplicity and importance of the interests in question sometimes demand long discussions which, through mutual confidence, can be frank, even lively, without prejudice to friendship.”