THE ANGLO-ITALIAN AGREEMENT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23649, 5 November 1938, Page 12

THE ANGLO-ITALIAN AGREEMENT

The debate in the House of Commons on the Anglo-Italian agreement has resulted in the endorsement of the Government's announced intention to bring the agreement into force. The fact that Mr Chamberlain's motion was carried by 345 votes to 138 implies that the Government's supporters for the most part accepted his view that the Italian Government had sufficiently complied with the conditions laid down by Britain as an essential preliminary. The agreement was signed on April 16 last. It was reserved for the two Governments to determine the date upon which its provisions should operate. An important British postulate was that "a settlement of the Spanish question " should be a prerequisite to the entry into force of the agreement. Asked in the House of Commons at the time what was meant by a settlement, Mr Chamberlain's reply was that at that stage it would be wrong to try to define the circumstances in which it could be said that a settlement had been arrived at. In the interval of over six months that has since elapsed there was more show of eagerness on the part of the Italian Government to have tie agreement brought into force then.of its readiness to comply with the preliminary conditions. In July last the British plan for the withdrawal of volunteers from Spain was accepted at a full meeting of the members of the Nonintervention Committee, and about that time Mr Chamberlain said:— "When the Government can feel that Spain has ceased to be a menace to the peace of Europe I think we shall regard that as a settlement of the Spanish question." The considerations by which Mr Chamberlain asked the House of Commons to be swayed are indicated in the expression by him of the conviction that Spain is now no longer a menace to the peace of Europe, and that therefore no reason remains for delaying-a step which would contribute to general appeasement. In support of the argument afforded by the withdrawal of ten thousand Italian troops from Spain he cited an assurance by Signor Mussolini respecting the retirement of the remaining Italian forces from that country, and he also laid stress on the joint assurances from both Signor Mussolini and Herr Hitler at Munich that they had no territorial ambitions in Spain. An opinion at variance with that of the Government on the question of Italy's compliance with the conditions prerequisite to the Anglo-Italian agreement coming into operation was presented with considerable force in the debate in the House of Commons. The withdrawal of troops, it was pointed out, might amount to little in comparison with the total strength of the Italian forces in Spain. Mr Eden, again, advanced an argument which may well appear to possess cogency when he claimed that it could not be said that there had been any effective limitation of foreign intervention in Spain as long as Italy had air legions in that country, for in the end the Spanish Government would be broken, not' by General Franco's land forces, but by overwhelming air-power. That may yet prove to be a well-founded assessment of the situation. Such differences of opinion as were shown in the debate may be regarded as irreconcilable It has taken Signor Mussolini many months to act in Spain in such a way as to meet the stipulations of the British Government respecting an agreement which he is anxious to see in force. All along his attitude towards non-intervention has been the reverse of helpful, and unless there is reason to expect shortly a

more substantial gesture from him in the shape of withdrawal of active support from General Franco it is difficult to see any definite prospect of much alteration for the better in the Spanish outlook.