REVOLT CRUSHED.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20483, 8 December 1934, Page 25 (Supplement)

REVOLT CRUSHED.

Spanish Premier’s Firm Stand. ARMY WAS LOYAL. gENOR LERROUX, the Spanish Prune Minister, aided by all the moderate parties, and thanks to the loyalty of the armed forces of Spain, appears to have crushed the most dangerous attempt to set up a Communist federal regime that has yet been made, states Harold G. Cardozo. Madrid correspondent of the London “ Daily Mail.” It is now obvious that all these revolutionary movements in the Asturias (to which Moroccan troops were rushed), in the Basque Provinces, in Leon, and in Madrid, were linked up with the Catalan revolution in Barcelona. Foreign Arms. The plot of the extremists was to divert Government attention by causing revolts in districts far removed lrom each other, while they tried to strike two massive blows, one in Madrid and one in Catalonia, to overthrow the central Government. The Government may exercise its right of pardon, but manv of the misled rebels will have to go before a firing party. But there are still thousands of rebels at liberty in Spain, and at any moment they may initiate another outbreak of street-fighting. Nearlv all their arms are of foreign origin; and have been bought during the past few months out of a £500.000 fund raised mainly by subscription and held by the Spanish Socialist leaders. Satisfactory news having been received from all over Spain following the suppression of the revolt, the Government decided to hold a meeting of the Cortes. The chamber was filled to capacity, and Senor Lerroux received an enormous ovation which lasted for fully ten minutes. Criminal Code. Two Government Bills were then passed. The first is an amendment to the criminal code imposing the death sentence on those using arms against the public fqxces. , Was more cheering for Senor vjil Robles, the clean-shaven and ath-letic-looking young professor of law, who is the leader of the Popular Action, the strongest party. He congratulated Senor Lerroux, and said he thought the Cortes ought to adjourn to give the Government a free hand. Senor Lerroux stood up amid a fresh wave of cheering. Thanking Senor Gil Robles for the support he bad given the Government, he declared that he continued to do his duty and to act within the limits of the Constitution.

Madrid as I saw it in the hot sun. in a clear blue sky, looked more like an armed camp than anything else. There were armed men at everv street corner, with their rifles at the ready.

I watched troops and police combing out some workmen’s dwellings. All

the men were marched down, most of them in dirty blue shirts and loose green velvet trousers, and made to stand with arms uplifted while the house porter identified each of them. All were searched, and any who did not belong to the house were taken away in a police lorry.

Then the houses themselves were searched, and rifles, pistols, bombs and dynamite cartridges were confiscated. The authorities hope to confiscate the majority of the weapons held by the rebels, who did not dare to fight when they found that their houses were surrounded by police.

I have been informed by officers who have returned from the Asturias that rebels have set fire to a house at Sama, and threw at least one wounded Civil Guard into the flames to be burned alive.