SPANISH CONFLICT

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 18, 22 January 1937, Page 9

SPANISH CONFLICT

CEUTA BOMBED

PETROL SET ON FIRE A NAVAL ACTION SEEN OFF GIBRALTAR (United Press Association—R.v lilcctric 'ft-ic-grapb—Copyright.) (Received January 22, 11 a.m.) GIBRALTAR, January 21. Government aeroplanes again bombed Ceuta, setting fire to petrol tanks, from which large columns of smoke were seen rising. A naval action was seen from Gibraltar during the night, but the ships engaged were not recognisable. TOLL OF THE WAR MILLION LIVES LOST (Received January 22, 10 a.m.) MADRID, January 21. The war has cost the lives of a million Spaniards, according to a statement published in the "Libertad."

BATTLE IN THE AIR

STAGED OVER MADRID (Received January 22. noon.) MADRID. January 21. A large force of insurgent aircraft engaged in a battle with Government aeroplanes over Madrid. FRANCE'S "PROHIBITION (British Official Wireless.) (Received January 22, 11 a.m.) RUGBY, January 21. A Paris message states that the French Senate, following the example of the Chamber of Deputies, today unanimously passed the Bill empowering the Government to ban volunteers proceeding to Spain.. IF FRANCO WINS THE ANCIENT CORTES NATIONALISTS' GOAL (From "The Post's" Representative.) LONDON, January 2. "The position is a very curious one, and it would be difficult to find a precedent," says Mr. Charles Petrie, writing of Spain in the January issue of the "Empire Review." "What is, in effect, a war in which four great Powers are engaged, is being conducted in miniature, while a committee is sitting in London, not to prevent their intervention, which is out of the question, but to ensure that it does not take place on an extended scale. The cynic will find much cause for merriment in this truly Gilbertian situation, but every good European will hope that the Powers concerned will rest content with the behaviour of their representatives in this trial by battle, though one cannot help sympathising with the unhappy Spaniards, upon whom the latest theories in war and politics are being tested. 1 "The difficulty of seeing the wood for the trees doubtless accounts for much of the muddled thinking in England where Spain is concerned, but it is time that the basic facts were clearly appreciated. It is often said, even in Conservative circles, that the victory of the Reds would probably best serve British interests. Those who take this view would do well to reflect upon the, nemesis which overtook Imperial Germany for arranging tlu transport of Lenin and Trotsky from Switzerland to Russia. "The defeat General Franco means anarchy in Spain, and almost certainly a Bolshevist attack on the independence of Portugal, which Great Britain is pledged by treaty to defend, by force of arms if necessary. Furthermore, neither Germany nor Italy would tolerate a Red Spain, and both would not hesitate to resort to direct military action to prevent it. All this means chaos in the Mediterranean, where, as elsewhere, the real British interest is peace. Nor can it be supposed that Moscow would neglect the opportunity thus provided by a Europe Red at both ends, and there are unlimited possibilities of mischief in France, North Africa, and the Near East. NATIONALISTS' POLICY. "To this it may be objected that if General Franco wins, the Spain of tomorrow' will be a satellite of Germany and Italy. One cannot but regret that the Nationalists have not been able to achieve victory with their own unaided resources, though they have in all probability not received one half the assistance, from abroad that has been at the disposal of their opponents; ; yet that does not mean Spain will become a German or an Italian province if they are victorious. Rome and Berlin have solemnly disclaimed any designs on Spanish territory, and General Franco has declared that he will not part with a foot of the country. Italy, since the conquest of Abyssinia, is among the 'haves,' and is in no mood for further adventures, while neither she nor Germany is desirous of taking any step displeasing to Great Britain. "It is commonly assumed abroad that the Nationalists have no policy j beyond the establishment of a military dictatorship under their leader, and that their only idea of governing Spain is to hold the country down by brute force. This assumption is a travesty of the facts. It is true that General Franco has declared a period of strong rule to be essential, and this always proves necessary on the morrow of such civil strife as we are witnessing, but the Nationalists have also a definite political philosophy, to which they are waiting to give practical effect. On what may be described as the intellectual side of the movement, they are the heirs of the Carlists, and their desire is to get back to the old Spain of pre-Bourbon days.

"In consequence, they have little use for the imported social and political customs of the past hundred years. Their prophets are men like Ramiro de Maeztu, who look back across the centuries to the days when the Spanish Cortes was the equal of the English Parliament. That Cortes was essentially a corporative body, and to this the Nationalists wish to return. Don Antonio Goicoechea has written of the Cortes in the Middle Ages, 'Medieval Spain regarded the social elements represented in its Cortes as parts of a living entity, with a separate and autonomous individuality, but subordinate to the existence of the whole.' Such a system is the goal of the followers of General Franco. DISCUSSION FORBIDDEN. "Very wisely, the Nationalist leader has forbidden all discussion by his followers of the future Spanish Constitution until the victory has been won. for that would only cause divisions in

their ranks. That the Royalists are with him to a man is true, but there are others of his supporters, notably General Quiepo de Llano, who were opponents of the monarchy in the days of King Alfonso, who has never abdicated. Public opinion in Nationalist circles, while fully recognising the great services which the King has rendered Spain, seems to incline towards his son, Don Juan.

"From the standpoint of the country as a whole, it is seriously to be hoped that the monarchy will in due course be restored. After this embittered civil war Spain will need a chief who stands above the parties, and who combines in himself the interests of the nation. This can only be a hereditary monarch.

"How Catalonia will fit into the new scheme of things is by no means clear, though it must be remembered that there are at least as many Catalans who wish to give expression to their national feeling through the medium of the Right as through that of the Left. A new Spain is inevitable, and it is sur.ely better that it should seek its inspiration in the old Spanish traditions to which Western civilisation owes so m»ch. than in the revolutionary creed of Bolshevik Russia."