STATE OF STRAIN

Evening Post, Volume CXXVII, Issue 85, 12 April 1939, Page 9

STATE OF STRAIN

EUROPEAN CAPITALS

DIPLOMATIC ACTIVITY

PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES

(British Official Wireless.) (Received April 12, 11.50 a.m.) RUGBY, April 11. According to Press messages, Ministerial and diplomatic activity in London has been paralleled in other capitals, particularly in Paris, where there is reported to have been a meeting of the French Cabinet. Newspapers give some prominence to' agency telegrams regarding measures in a number of countries which would appear to be of a precautionary character. These refer, for example, to the curtailment of army leave in France and the manning of frontier posts in Holland.

There is at present no official confirmation in London of many of these reported steps, which it is pointed out, while having no special significance which could cause alarm, are indicative of the state of strain which has resulted in every part of Europe from the fresh blow to confidence administered by Italy in Albania. The King returned from Windsor Castle to Buckingham Palace this evening for a few hours and gave Mr. Chamberlain an audience. This afternoon tlie Foreign Affairs Committee of Cabinet held another meeting, which was attended by Mr. Chamberlain, Sir John Simon, Lord Halifax, Sir Samuel Hoare, Sir Thomas Inskip, Mr. Oliver Stanley, and Mr. W. S. Morrison, while the Earl of Cadogan was also present. Earlier today the Defence Ministers and Earl Stanhope, Mr. Hore-Belisha, Sir Kingsley Wood, and Lord Chatfield, together with Mr. Morrison, who is assisting Lord Chatfield in defence co-ordina-tion questions, were in conference at the offices of the Committee of Imperial Defence. In addition to these meetings, Ministerial consultations arising out of the international situation and created by the Italian occupation of Albania included an interview this morning between Mr. Chamberlain and Lord Halifax, who had previously received the Russian Ambassador, M. Maisky, at the Foreign Office.