MYSTERY MACHINE-GUNS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19891, 9 March 1928, Page 9

MYSTERY MACHINE-GUNS.

INQUIRY BY THE LEAGUE.

TENSE SCENE IN COUNCIL.

HIGH FEELING DISPLAYED. By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright. (Received March 8, 10.55 p.m.) A. snd N.Z. GENEVA, March 7. At to-day's sitting of the Council of the League statoment3 were made by representatives of the Little Entente States about ' the machine-guns which were discovered at St. Golhard. The Council accepted a proposal made by Sir Austen Chamberlain, British Foreign Minister, that the documents in the case submitted by General Tanczos. Hungarian delegate, should be examined by a committee consisting of the Dutch, Chilean and Finnish delegates. This committee was empowered to call experts to give evidence. This decision was followed by a tense little scene in which General Tanczos and M. Titulescu (Rumania) appeared to be losing control of themselves, when Sir Austen intervened. He asked: " What has become of the way-bills of the machine-guns and why did Hungary become so excited at the prospect of the League holding an inquiry?" "Way-bills," exclaimed General Tanczos, " her© tlicy arc, five of them." Continuing, he declared Hungary was not excited. He said they knew that guns from Italy were en route to Poland and there had not been an application for a transit licence.

M. Briand (France) asked why Hungary bad had the machine-guns destroyed when the question was before the League. General Tanczos replied that. Hungary had acted merely in conformity with" the international railway convention for the destruction of smuggled goods.

Xfc was reported on January 21 that there had been a great mystery about some truckloads of camouflaged Italian machine-guns which were discovered in transit at the frontier railway station of St. Gothard. Nobody knew to whom they belonged and nobody would admit ownership. An Austro-flungarian commission of investigation reported that Poland was their destination. In Little Entente circles (Rumania, Czecho-Slovakia and Yugoslavia) the finding was scoffed at. The members of the Little Entente lodged a protest at Geneva against the smuggling of arms by Hungary. They said that under the peace treaties permission must be obtained to import arms. The presentation of the Note was postponed out of deference to one of the Great Powers, which was described as being not wholly uninterested. Czecho-Slovakia disclaimed ownership of the machine-guns. Then, on February 25. the guns were sold as scrap iron for £6O, but were not to be removed pending the inquiry by the League. Before they could bo removed the Hungarian Government had them destroyed.