CREW OF SPANISH TRAWLER REBELS

Southland Times, Issue 23436, 17 February 1938, Page 5

CREW OF SPANISH TRAWLER REBELS

ARMED VESSEL GOES OVER TO LOYALISTS BARCELONA, February 15. A rebel armed trawler with 20 members of the crew surrendered to the Government and entered Barcelona harbour. The trawler was near Barcelona when the crew rebelled and threw the captain into the sea. Its armament includes the latest type of anti-aircraft gun. It is reported that another rebel trawler attempted to surrender but the captain wirelessed the insurgent cruiser Canarias, which rushed up. Meanwhile the trawler’s crew was fighting the captain and officers, who were opposing the surrender. The Canarias opened fire and sank the trawler. EXECUTIONS BY REBELS IN BILBAO BRITISH REPRESENTATIONS TO BOTH PARTIES (British Official Wireless) RUGBY, February 14. In reply to a question in the House of Commons, the Foreign Secretary (Mr R. A. Eden) said he had been informed that a number of executions had taken place in Bilbao since its occupation by the insurgents. It was naturally impossible to obtain the exact number.

Britain had strongly represented to the parties in Spain the desirability of refraining from further executions in order to avoid prejudicing prospective negotiations for a general exchange of prisoners and other detained persons. The British agent at Salamanca (Sir Robert Hodgson) had recently received an assurance that Basque prisoners were in no danger, and Britain had received a similar assurance from the Spanish Government.