BRITAIN AND SPAIN

Evening Star, Issue 23560, 26 April 1940, Page 3

BRITAIN AND SPAIN

RELATIONS STEADILY IMPROVING

RECENT TRADE AGREEMENT ADDITIONAL SUPPLIES WELCOMED (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, April 24, In tlio House of Commons, moving the approval of the Clearing Officer Order which he said gave effect to the recent Trade and Payments Agreement between the British and Spanish Governments, signed on March 18, the Secretary for Overseas Trade (Mr 6. H. Shakespeare) said that after the conclusion of the Spanish War the Government considered that the trading position between tho two countries should bo regularised. It was necessary that importers should be assured that past commercial debts would be settled and future transactions entered into with confidence. Nearly 25,000 British creditors would receive payment of commercial debts, almost all of which were contracted before the outbreak of the civil war. Mr Shakespeare emphasised the mutual benefits resulting from the agreement, which enabled traders to •resume normal trade connections. Before the civil war Spain was a good market for between £5,000,000 and £6.000,000 of British exports,- while Britain imported fruit, vegetables, and minerals to the extent of £13,000,000. He said he believed that friendly contact between traders would soon be made, and tho relations between Britain and Spain would steadily improve. . . Speaking for the Labour Opposition, Mr E. Shinwell said that after careful consideration the Labour Party decided not to oppose the order. It would be idle to pretend that no doubts existed regarding the propriety of the agreement, doubts arising _ chiefly because the people of Britain regarded the measures adopted by the Spanish Government as hard and _ oppressive. Ho welcomed the resumption of supplies of iron ore from Spain, which he said were a welcome addition to the existing supplies, and he thought it highly probable that the imports received from Spain would reach prewar levels. ■ , 1 Replying to the debate, the Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs (Mr R. A. Butler) said the attitude of His Majesty’s Government towards tho Governments of certain types was quite clear—it was the policy and not the character of foreign Governments by which Britain was affected. The relations between Britain and Spain had been steadily improving, and, as instances, he cited the free circulation of British newspapers and the release of the remaining British prisoners. CDMMUNIST ACTIVITIES DIES COMMITTEE'S INVESTIGATIONS Press Association— By Telegraph—Copyright NEW YORK, April 24. Mr! Thomas H. O’Shea, a former. Communist,, told the Dies Committee that Communist leaders throughout the Workers’ Union possessed absolute power to paralyse New York’s subway system. The leaders planned to call a strike at the psychological moment and provoke a revolutionary situation. He added that the union had organised gun club members. CANADIAN PREMIER VISIT TO PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT MUCH SPECULATION ROUSED . NEW YORK, April 24. A Warm Springs (Georgia) message states that national attention is focused on the visit of the Canadian Prime Minister (Mr Mackenzie King) to President Roosevelt, who has warned the Press not to speculate on the nature of the conversations, which will be continued to-morrow. It is not. known whether the discussions touched the status of Greenland or the issues surrounding the United States war exports to Canada. The Presidential warning does not alter the fact that the meeting, which is tho first between the President and the head of any belligerent country, gave point to the President’s and the average American’s pro-Allied sympathies. AMERICA’S DEFENCES. At, San Diego (California the Acting Secretary of the Navy (Mr Charles Edison, after a visit to the naval base here, said:— “ AVe cannot gamble with defeat. Tho cost of impotence would be greater than the frightful cost of arming. The desire of the United States for peace is equalled by its determination to defend its shores. Predatory nations should think twice before they risk a conflict with the United States, whose naval programme is serving notice on aggressor nations.” A Washington message states that, on the ground of secrecy for new tactics, foreign military attaches have not been invited to the army peace manoeuvres which will'be held in May. The Navy Department has called bids for materials to construct antisubmarine nets across the harbours of the United States. The ‘ New York Times ’ learns that the navy plans a giant experimental net across the entrance. to San Francisco Harbour. MRS ROOSEVELT’S VIEWS. Mrs Roosevelt, at a Press conference, opposed a war referendum on the grounds that “ there might not be time, and the people’s representatives should be left free to act in an emergency.” . ■ . She added a warning against Trojan horse tactics, coupled with a plea for civil liberties. “Even in the light of Norway’s experience,’’ she said, “ we must not get the jitters. The United States is not yet threatened, and the country is overwhelmingly opposed to sending men to fight in foreign countries.” GERMAN PLANE DESIGNER KILLED IN CRASH LONDON, April 24. The Berlin radio announced that Dr Ernest Heinkel, aged 62, the designer of the Heinkel planes, was killed in a crash.