INSUFFICIENT MEN

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVI, Issue 310, 28 November 1936, Page 9

INSUFFICIENT MEN

PLIGHT OF THE REBELS. DECISION TO RETIRE. FATE OF MADRID. (United Press Association.—By Electric Telegraph.—Copyright.) Received November 28, 8.5 a.m. LONDON, Nov. 27. Coupled with a report from Madrid that the Canadian-born General Kleber, who is commanding the Loyalists’ international forces, told the visiting British Parliamentarians that General Franco has insufficient men to capture Madrid, is a statement in a Lisbon newspaper that the insurgents contemplate abandoning their forward positions at Madrid to concentrate on a more remote severance of communications to cut off Madrid’s supplies. Meanwhile the rebels are desperately trying to succour their own detachments which are hemmed in on three sides of the University City. The Seville radio claims that three squadrons of bombers have wrought havoc at Cartagena, sinking three Government warships, demolishing munition dumps, and firing the arsenal. Both the Paris papers Humanite and Populaire declare that a fleet of Italian-built bombers is massed in the Balearic Islands for the purpose of an attack on Barcelona. FREE STATE DECISION. FRANCO NOT RECOGNISED. Received November 28, 9.25 a.m. LONDON, Nov. 27. - A Dublin message says the Free State Dail, by 65 votes to 44, rejected a motion to recognise General Franco’s Government. Oslo reports that the Government has forbidden Norwegian ships to carry munitions to Spain. A Paris message says the insurgents stopped and searched the French steamer Vill© de Bastia off Cape Ortegal. It is reported from Geneva that Spain has requested the convocation of the League Council to examine Italian and German intervention in Spain. INCIDENT FEARED. DEBATE IN LORDS. (British Official Wireless.) Received November 28, 11.12 a.m. RUGBY, Nov. 27. The text of the Government’s Bill to prohibit the discharge ip, or transhipment for, Spanish territory of weapons and munitions of war and other articles from certain ships, which was issued to-day, lays down that ships to which the Bill applies are, firstly, all British ships except those registered in certain British Dominions or territories administered by such Dominions, and, secondly, all other ships registered in or licensed under the law of any colony, British protectorate, or mandated territory. In the debate in the House of Lords on the situation in Spain, Lord Cecil said there could be no doubt that extensive assistance had been given by outside" countries to both sides in’ the dispute. The danger of some incident made him ieel extremely anxious. Lord Plymouth said the Government was collaborating in every possible effort to make the work of the Non-Intervention Committee more effective. A scheme of control and supervision had been agreed to in principle by the committee, but as the scheme was not yet quite complete no approach had been made to the parties in Spain.