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Hokitika Guardian, 16 September 1937, Page 4

Jt is incredible that Signor Mussolini should have wasted Italian lives and money in Spain purely as a hot gospeller of Fascism, writes “Scrutator” in the Sunday Times, lie must be actuated by motives of purely secular ambition of which the chief is the hope that the triumph of General Franco by Italian help would make Spain a potential ally against British command of the Straits of Gibraltar and against the. communications of France with her North African colonies. It is incredible that he should cherish these ambitious unless lie hopes either to detach Britain from France or to have Germany as an ally of his ambitions. That these speculations should be so much as possible shows how faulty British diplomacy lias been. If the Mediterranean was the danger zone, Britain should have made terms with Germany first, and any danger there must have vanished. But let there ne no misunderstanding. Signor Mussolini. any more than Germany, does not want war with Britain. Ho merely wants to he in a position so favourable that she should cultivate Ins friendship. Every suspicion of tne motives of Italian policy has been justified by Italian propaganda; but. its motive has been desire, not ior war with Britain, but for peace on the basis of satisfaction for Italian ambition. So long as it floes not threaten the satety of Empire communications through the Mediterranean, that is consistent with British friendship.