LEND-LEASE ISSUE

New Zealand Herald, Volume 82, Issue 25301, 7 September 1945, Page 7

LEND-LEASE ISSUE

STEPS BY MR TKUMAN

DESIRE TO AID BRITAIN i (R<>cd. 8.10 p.m.) N'EAV YORK. Sept. fi President Truman is sending the Chief of War Mobilisation, Mr John Snyder, the head of the Surplus ( Property Board, Mr W. S. Syrning- . ton, and the Secretary of the jSenafce, Mr Leslie Bif'fle, to Western [ Europe to learn at first hand Europe's needs and the possibilities c of repaying the United States. 1 Their mission is to act as the Presi- } dent's eyes and ears and to inquire: f (1) How much lend-lease material is t housed in British warehouses in England and the Continent; (2) which |. Allied Governments will have ihe first ( allocation of available materials; 03) , determine the extent to which the ( United States considers itself obliged to • send food and coal to Britain and , liberated countries. , While Mr Truman sympathises with ( the British economy's plight, he is ] determined to aid Britain as much as | and no more than is required. There is reason to believe the President was taken unawares by the order of Mr L. T. Crowley, Foreign Economic Administrator, ending lend-lease without prior consultation with British and othei Allied representatives. One of the mission's first assignments is consultations with Mr Attle.e and Mr Kevin. It is firmly expected that a real understanding will be reached on the arrival of the Halifax mission, so that the abrupt cessation oi lend-lease will j not cause undue hardship to Britain. COLLAPSE OF DOCK BATTLESHIP DAMAGED WAR SECRET REVEALED (Recti. 11.40 p.m.) TvOXDON, Sept. f> Among the long withheld stories that can now be told is that of a floating dry dock capsizing at Trincomalee, Ceylon, the main base of the British East Indies Station, and the consequont disabling of the battleship Valiant, says Renter's correspondent. The dock, a prefabricated American construction, was assembled at Calcutta and taken to Trincomalee % It promptly collapsed when the \ aliant, the first battleship to use it, entered The loss of the dock at that stage of the war was not critical, but it_ sank inside one of the narrowest entries to the inner anchorages, reducing Trincomalee to a stores and fuelling anchorace. with minor repair facilities. The situation also necessitated long voyages to bases in Africa and Attstralia for periodic overhauls. '1 he Valiant had to be taken to btiez for repair. She was reported seaworthy, but is now obsolete. DARING SUBMARINES BONAVENTURE'S MISSIONS (Kt'cd. 5.3." p.m.) SYDNEY, Sept. ti Two midget submarines from H.M.S. Bona venture, a Royal Navy submarine depot ship, now in Sydney, sneaked underneath the Japanese heavy cruiser Takao in Job ore Strait near Singapore on July 31. Divers attached time fuse mines to the hull of the cruiser. It is believed that the vessel was blown up. Coinciding with this exploit another midget submarine from the Bonaventure <?ut the Saigon-Japan and SaigonSingapore cables at the entrance to Saigon Harbour. These daring activities were revealed officiailv bv Captain W. R. Fell, 0.8. E., D.S.C.,' R!N., of the Bonaventure, who is a New Zealander and'who has been in the Royal Navy for 30 years. He said the Bonaventure's first mission was [ the crippling of the German battleship Tirpitz. Midget submarines put the . Tirpitz out of action long enough to enable her to be sunk by the R.A.F. ; FAR EAST CABLES RESUMPTION OF CONTROL * LONDON, Sept. 4 1 Cable and Wireless announced that steps are already being taken to resume 1 control of the 18.000-mile chain of Brit- ' ish cables in the Far East which have ' been in Japane.se hands since 1942. [ Trained operators are waiting at ; Colombo and Rangoon to advance as the armies clear the enemy from the various islands. | Fifty young men specially trained in New Zealand and Australia and wearing special uniforms have already ar- ■ rived in Colombo to join the Communii cations Corps. Cable ships are also being s prepared to follow the navies to repair i the submarine cables which the Japl anese damaged.

DE GAULLE PREVAILS t VOTING PLAN ADOPTED (Reed. 5.35 p.m.) PARIS, Sept, 5 The French Cabinet has adopted the voting plan for the new Constitution favoured by General do Gaulle. Left Wing groups allege that the plan will reduce the industrial representation in the Legislature. The Cabinet has discussed General de Gaulle's collision with the Left Wing parties after his refusal to discuss the voting procedure with them. RUMANIAN AFFAIRS OPPOSITION CRITICISED LONDON, Sept. 4 The Rumanian Government, in a communique, cited by the Moscow radio, attacked M. Julius Maniu and M. Constantin Bratianu, leaders of the Peasant and Liberal Parties respectively, declaring that they had lost contact with the realities of Rumania's present political life. They had endeavoured artificially to provoke a Government crisis and sow discord between the Government and the people, also between the Government and King Michael, by recommending King Michael to take actions harmful to the national interest and the Crown. The Government was resolved to fight to the end against the anti-national and anti-democratic activities of the Fascists and their supporters, it was stated. Such activities would endanger the Government's achievements, also international concord. CHINESE PROBLEMS PRELIMINARY TALKS (Reed. 5.35 p.m.) CHUNGKING, Sept, 5 The Chungking Government :inu the Yenan Communists have completed a preliminary exchange of views, and are now discussing specific issues in an endeavour to resolve their differences, The Minister of Information, Mr Wu, said that reports that a preliminary agreement had been reached were premature. He declined to comment on the progress, as a statement might complicate matters. JAPANESE "GESTAPO" (Reed. 6.35 p.m.) NEW YORK, Sept. 5 Eighth Army headquarters announce that some members of the disbanded Kimpeitai, Japan's notorious "Gestapo," will be used to augment the civilian police in Yokohama and Tokyo. They will have no authority beyond guard duty, but will be empowered to arrest Japanese civilians. ITALIAN TRADE MISSION ROME, Sept, n An Italian commercial mission left br air for Warsaw to discuss the resumption of Italian-Polish trade. The mission will also go to Czechoslovakia.