“RAID” DEVELOPMENTS

Greymouth Evening Star, 16 May 1927, Page 7

“RAID” DEVELOPMENTS

STRONG RUSSIAN PROTEST

STOLEN DOCUMENTS SOUGHT

(Australian & N.Z. Cable Assn.) (By Cable —Press Assn. —Copyright.)

LONDON. May 13

M. Rosengolz, the Soviet Charge d’Affaires at London, has sent a letter to Sir Austen Chamberlain against the raid on the Trade Delegation and Arcos Company. He says that the premises of the Arcos Coy. and the Trade Delegation were occupied by . armed police, although the premises of the Russian Trade Delegation were in accordance with the Trade Agreement of 1921, and confirmed by the Foreign Office in its Note of February 16, 1927, which stated that they would enjoy diplomatic immunity. During the raid, an employee of the Russian Trade Delegation, M. Khudiakov, who had refused to give up the key of a safe containing his personal papers and the cypher codes of the Official Trade Agent, was assaulted by the police, who carried off the post, addressed to the Trade Agent, which the couriers had just bought. “These proceedings.” says M. Rosengola, “are a flagrant violation of Article 5 of the Anglo-Russian Trade Agreement, which provides that the Official Agents shall be at liberty io communicate with their own Government, and with other countries, and to receive and despatch couriers with sealed bags, which shall be exempt from examination.

‘‘Moreover, in accordance with Article One of the Trade Agreement, the British Government undertook not to discriminate against such trade as compared with the trade of any other country; but the very fact of this raid will inevitably injure Anglo-Soviet trade.

“Furthermore, during the raid, the most elementary guarantees and demands for common decency were violated, and the search was begun before the presentation of the warrant, which was only handed to the Assistant Director of the Arcos Coy., M. Sorokin, half an half after the commencement of the search. All of the employees, both men and women, of the Arcos Coy., and the Trade Delegation were detained, and were personally searched, including women possessing diplomatic passports. For instance, the wife of the Charge d’Affaires and the wife of the Financial Attache were searched. This personal search of the women was carried out by the male police. 1 have informed my Government of all that has occurred, and, while awaiting their decision and instructions, I protest most emphatically against the violation of the obligations undertaken by the British Government in accordance with the Anglo-Russian Trade Agreement.”

EMBASSY’S STATEMENT.

LONDON, May 14

The Russian Embassy lias issued a statement that M. Bogoucloff, the First Secretary was en route to the Russian Trade Delegation’s premises on May 12, after the receipt of information of the raid, when he called at the Foreign Office, where M. Palairet Director of the Northern Department, expressed ignorance of the raid. De spite continuous efforts, M. Rozengoltz was unable to see either Sir A. Chamberlain or any responsible official before May 13.

While handling yesterday’s letter to Sir A. Chamberlain, M. Rozengoltz drew his attention to the fact that the police first seized cipher code documents belonging to M. Khinchuk, the official Trade Agent. Such action combined with the raid on the Agent l office, seemed directed to increase the strain on Anglo-Russian relations. Moreover, the raid was carried out in such a manner that the interests oi. the raided institution were ignored. There was, moreover, no guarantee that documents and materials which the police might allege were discover ed on the premises of the Trade Delegation were really there when the raid occurred. The Soviet Embassy announces that the Mauser rifles discovered in the Arcos Company’s building were samples of hunting rifles. which the Arcos Company exports under a license from the British Government,

SaFE-PREAKERS BUSY

LONDON, May 13

Police have been stationed at the Arcos Company’s building all day today. Messages and telegrams for the Company were intercepted and read before their delivery. There was a further development to-night. This was the arrival of a contractor’s lorry, equipped with oxyacetylene apparatus and gas tubes, which were carried to the ground floor for the purpose of breaking open certain safes that are built into the concrete, the keys of which the official!? have declined to hand over, on the grounds that the Delegation has diplo matic immunity.

There was great excitement when the crowd realised that the. police were breaking the safes. Additional forces of police arrived to escort workmen with picks and shovels to clear the debris caused by the drills. Representatives of firms who built the safes supervised the operations. It is authoritatively learned that M. Rosengoltz is under a misapprehension as to lhe exact meaning of Clause Five of the Anglo-Russian Trade Agreement. This clause specifies that the Soviet Trade Delegation’s official agent personally .enjoys immunity from arrest and search, but it does not extend to the offices that are under the agent's control. Furthermore, the authorities declare. 1 immunity is rather a privilege, and is granted specially under the terms of the Agreement.

SECRET CHAMBER REVEALED.

LONDON, May 14

After two hours’ work, the police entered the strong room at the Arcos Coy. building. They found a table and some chairs and presumably these were used at secret meetings. The other strong rooms are now being forced, after which the locked safes will be attacked. The operations are continuing all night long. The Arcos Company, in a statement issued after midnight, says: “We know no reason for the police action. If we had been requested we would, at any time, have produced our papers without the necessity for this melodramatic method.” The Secretary of the Arcos Com-

pany, interviewed as to the raid, said: “They will find nothing of import ance.”

BANK GRANTS CREDIT.

LONDON, May 14. The “Daily Express” says: Rt. Hon. R. McKenna, as the Chairman of the Midland Bank, signed an agreement on Wednesday with the Soviet Trade Delegation, by which the Bank would grant a. credit of ten millions sterling for trade purposes. It is stated that but for the raid negotiations ior important orders would have been begun.

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

LONDON, May 15

An official account of the raid issued to-night explains that an important document was missed from a Government office a. few months ago, and the detectives had been searching for it continuously. In consequence of information received a few days ago, the police obtained a search warrant, under the Official Secrets Act, to search Arcos. Primarily, the order was to ascertain if the missing document was Aithin the building. Work on the safes and strongroom continued throughout Saturday, powerful apparatus drilling concrete and cutting the steel. The “Sunday Express” states that three more secret safes were found on another floor skilfully secreted behind an innocent looking panelling. The “Express” understands that the vital document was not found, but papers regarded as very important were discovered. Some are believed to expose the secrets of the Soviet organisation world-wide. Others relate to the Soviet’s activities in Britain. The search and translation of papers are proceeding day and night, and are unlikely to be completed till the end <i f the week.

The Midland Bank says that the statements by the Press reports ot a ten million credit scheme are incorrect. Nevertheless, Sir Allan Smith, when interviewed, reiterated that an agreement for ten millions credit was reached, adding it was regrettable that the raid was carried out at this moment. Eventually it may do good, but it has necessarily delayed odrers which would have ■ been placed in Britain as a result of the agreement. The “Observer’s” diplomatic correspondent states : The raid caused embarrassment in Downing Street. The Foreign Office was not consulted before the raid, though it was bound to be diplomatically important. Serious quarters admit that the raid was forced on the Foreign Office, and declare it occurred at the moment when they had special reasons for letting sleeping dogs lie. It seems if the old controversy within the Cabinet had forced a climax.

NAVAL DOCUMENTS INVOLVED

LONDON, May 15

The “Sketch” says: There are strong indications that documents of supreme naval importance to Britain were the main object of the Arcos search. A large proportion of the information on which the police acted emanated from recent raids on Soviet centres in Paris, which has become the chief centre of anti-Bolshevik activity by White Russians. Strict watch is now maintained at British naval dockyards to which detectives have been dispatched, especially Chatham and Devonport. The “Sketch” is also informed that the searchers discovered correspondence implicating certain Commoners. HOME SECRETARY’S STATEMENT LONDON, May 15. Sir W. Joynson Hicks will have a special conference with the police and Secret Service Chiefs to-morrow morning, when he will examine the documents found at Arcos. Interviewed, he stated: “I am satisfied that the seaYch is justified. 1 shall make a statement in answer to questions in the Commons to-morrow. I cannot say whether we shall be able lO disclose the nature of the discoveries.” The “Daily Express” understands that Scotland Yard found evidence of conspiracies, lists of Red agents in Britain, names of agitators who received payments from Russia during the general strike, but. no trace of the missing State documents. The “Times’s” political correspondent says: The Arcos raid was primarily for the purpose of searching for a State document of highest importance, stolen recently from a Government Department. It has not yet been found, but the authorities consider the raid amply justified by .the discovery of the secret strong rooms, and abundant evidence proving the existence of a vast Soviet organisation of violent anti-British character. The missing document is believed to have been burned.

RUSSIAN INDIGNATION

MOSCOW, May 14

Newspapers continue indignantly to condemn the Arcos raid, which is termed a gross violation of the AngloSoviet agreements and elementary international relations. “Pravda” declares the Moorgate Street provocation was devised because the Pekin provocation failed. It is only one link in the policy of adventures and sabre rattling, and may fatally affect international peace. ft shows the difference in the rapacious policy of the British Imperialism and Ihe peaceful policy upon which the Soviet depends. “Isvestia” says: The Arcos Coy. raid is the beginning of a realisation of the rupture that was threatened in Sir Austin Chamberlain’s last Note. It deals a blow to the most vital nerve of the mutual relations. The Soviet bogey is again raised to create a diversion and to ensure the painless enactment of the Trades Union Bill. It is also a blow to the work of the Economic Conference at peneva. Britain’s policy is that of a rupture. It is one pregnant with the danger of grave complications. It is hardly to the liking of the British commercial and financial circles, which will suffer if their Soviet market is lost. The responsibility for this catastrophe will not fall on the Soviet, which consistently has been striving for peace, but it will fall entirely on the British Government, which started with a forgery and ends with a pogrom. “Haskaia Jizn” is of opinion that the raid confirms Britain’s systematic activities for a blockade of the Soviet, but it is powerless to induce the Soviet to abandon its chosen path of economic co-existence in competition with the capitalistic world. Forty thousand people demonstrated in front of the British Mission building, as a protest against the Arcos raid.

In consequence of the Arcos raid, the Moscow Council of Commerce and

Industry, adopted a resolution requesting the Ministry of Commerce to transfer ten millions sterling worth of orders from Britain to other countries.

.» FRENCH APPROVE RAID

PARIS, May 14.

The whole of the French Press comments on the raid on the Arcos Coy. and Russian Trade Delegation. M. Pertinaux, writing in the Echo de Paris, says:—lt is possible that the whole Soviet gang will be driven back to their native land. La Victoire says: By resisting this post-revolution of Asiatic barbarism, Britain is once more deserving well of civilisation La Venir and La Figaro urge France to follow Britain’s lead. L’Ouvere says: The Soviet has shot so many in defence of the principle that the State’s first duty is to provide for its own safety, that she cannot be surprised if this principle is also valid in the West.