ALL PARTIES AGREE

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1010, 28 June 1930, Page 9

ALL PARTIES AGREE

GOVERNMENT BACKED IN MALTESE CRISIS URGENT ACTION TAKEN British Official T Tireless Reed. 12.40 p.m. RUGBY, Friday. The action of tho British Govern ment in suspending the Constitution ol Malta was approved by all branches of the Opposition in the House of Com mons last evening, but hopes are expressed that the Constitution might be restored at the earliest possible moment. Dr. Shiels, Under-Secretary for the Colonies, expressed satisfaction at this general approval of the Government’s action, which was taken with great reluctance aDd in the hope that the suspension would not be of long duration. There would at any’ rate be an opportunity for all parties to reconsider the position, and so bring about an atmos phere likely' to lead to harmony. The Government was anxious that the Maltese people should have an opportunity' to work out their own destiny and did not wish to intervene between local parties; but they had been compelled to take action owing to the intervention of an outside party It was Important to emphasise that the issue was not really a religious cne, but was to some extent a dome&tic controversy*. The Government had intervened in the best interests of self-government and steps would be taken to see that the people of Malta had full opportu- ■ nities of understanding the facts of the [ situation.