MERELY PERSONAL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23689, 22 December 1938, Page 11

MERELY PERSONAL

MR PIROW'S CONVERSATIONS QUESTIONS IN PARLIAMENT REFERENCES TO MANDATES (British Official Wireless) (United Press Association) (By Electric Telegraph-Copyright) RUGBY, Dec. 20. The Secretary of State for the Dominions Mr Malcolm MacDonald, stated in the House of Commons, in answer to a question, that when Mr O. Pirow, Minister of Defence for South Africa, was in London he gave a number of British Ministers an account of the impressions he had gathered in Europe, and these were discussed with him. Beyond certain talks on the question of trade communications, Mr Pirow's conversations in Europe were informal and personal, and Mr MacDonald said he had no statement to make upon them. Mr R. T. Fletcher (Lab.): May I ask whether in the course of these conversations with the British Government any discrepancy was discovered between the views of Britain and the Union Government regarding the cession of mandated territories to Germany?* Mr MacDonald: Obvidusly I cannot report the upshot of private and personal conversations, but there will be an answer later on regarding the attitude of the dominion Governments to the cession of territorics. Mr Fletcher: Was anything detrimental to British trading interests revealed as the result of the conversations between Mr Pirow and mem-, bers of foreign Governments? Mr MacDonald: Not that I am aware of. Mr Arthur Henderson: May the House take it that the British Government does not share the oessimistic outlook of Mr Pirow regarding the possibility of war in the spring? . , . Mr MacDonald: The attitude of Britain has been very faithfully stated by Mr Chamberlain and other Ministers. In an answer on the question of the cession of territories, Mr MacDonald said recent statements in the House related to questions of the transfer of territories under the administration of the British Government. Consultation with the dominions had not, therefore, been necessary. The general views of the dominion Governments on the question of the future of the mandated territories under their administration were well known. Mr G. le Mander (Lib.) asked if he might take it that the views of the dominion Governments were the same as those of the United Kingdom on the movement regarding the cession of mandated territories. Mr MacDonald: I have no reason to suppose that they differ any way. NAVAL DEFENCE OF AFRICA THE QUESTION DISCUSSED (British Official Wireless) . -RUGBY, Dec. 20. ('Received Dec. 21, at 6.30 p.m.) Mr Malcolm MacDonald was asked in the House of Commons whether opportunity was taken of Mr Pirow's recent visit to London to consider the adequacy of the arrangements for naval defence of South Africa in time of war. He said the object of Mr Pirow's. visit was to discuss certain technical aspects of defence in South Africa, including naval defence. Questions were settled as the result of the discussions, but as to details he could not anticipate any statement Mr Pirow might make after his return to South Africa, since that was a matter for the Union Government. Mr MacDonald added that the Union Minister of Defence recently announced very considerable expenditure with regard to defence, and a good deal of the money involved was in relation to naval defence.