TURMOIL IN SPAIN

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 281, 27 November 1936, Page 7

TURMOIL IN SPAIN

BRITISH WARSHIPS MOVEMENTS EXPLAINED ITALY AND BALEARICS [ British Official Wireless. ] RUGBY, Nov. 25. Sensational interpretations weie placed in Press messages upon certain routine ship movements at Malta. The facts are that the warship Cyclops, depot ship of the first submarine flotilla, left Malta for Alicante to ' relieve the Woolwich. This type of i vessel, owing to the accommodation ' available, has proved of particular ■ use for the evacuation of refugees. ’ Within the next two days the Gala- • tea, flagship of Rear-Admiral Somerville, commanding the destroyer flo- ■ tillas, will leave Malta to relieve the ■ Arethusa and lhe first destroyer flo- . tilla, now off the coast of Spain. Signor Grandi, in London, and ; Count Ciano, in Rome, have volun- t • teered most binding assurances that i ’ the Italian Government has neither i • the desire nor the intention to inter- 1 • fere in any way with the status quo < , at the Balearic Islands. i IRISHMEN TO TAKE PART ; ODUFFY’S CONTINGENT MADRID, Nov. 25. b General O’Duffy with 40 Irishmen has arrived at Lisbon en route to the ‘ Spanish front. QUESTIONS IN COMMONS ’ REPLIES BY MINISTERS , [ British Offic'al Wireless. J RUGBY, Nov. 25. Several questions regarding the . situation in Spain wore answered by . Mr Anthony Eden in the House of ; Commons. He stated that the proposed ban on the conveyance of war L materials to Spain by British vessels . would not apply to commodities such I as foodstuffs and coal. , Referring to the report of the ar- ’ rest by Spanish rebel warships of the . Norwegian vessel Lisken, Mr Anthony ’ Eden said that he understood that the master of the ship had informed the naval authorities at Gibraltar that on November 5 he was stopped and interrogated by two Spanish armed trawlers about ten miles off Cape Finisterre, and ordered to proceed in company with one of them to Vigo. The master refused on the grounds that he was outside territorial waters. An armed guard was placed on board the Norwegian ship, and she was taken to Vigo, where her cargo of seed potatoes, consigned to the Agricultural Department of the Spanish Government, was confiscated. Sir Samuel Hoare stated that reports received from the Glowworm indicated that the Spanish Governi ment warship Miguel de Cervantes • was damaged at the entrance to Car- ; thagena harbour on November 22, • and that the damage was consistent ■ with a torpedo attack. ; Mr Noel Baker referred to reports* that the Spanish Government had ob- > tained pieces of the torpedo, which ; had caused the damage, and he asked ! if it was not of vital interest to the ■ Powers, including Britain, that the , facts of the case should be estab- ; lished. ; Sir Samuel Hoare replied: “It is of vital interest to the British Governj ment that we should not interfere. I have no information to justify my cx- ■ pressing any opinion about the mat- . ter.” MUNITIONS SEIZED t ACTION BY FRANCE 1 MARSEILLES, Nov. 25. ‘ The police seized a motor convoy ; containing 200 tons of bombs, shells, . and machine-guns, said to be con- : , signed to Mexico. There are two ves- I seis loading in the harbour, allegedly 1 . for Spain. j BONA-FIDE CARGO. MARSEILLES, Nov. 25. The confiscated motor convoy was subsequently proved a bona-fide shipment to Mexico for which it was loaded on board a Norwegian steamer bound for Vera Cruz. The lorries contained empty shells and uncharged air bombs. 1 NAZI ESPIONAGE ‘ I 1 ORGANISATION REVEALED j CARTAGENA POLICE ACTIVE. MADRID, Nov. 25. 1 Beyond the rebels’ claim to have captured the important West Park, in the north-west sector, there is little change in the position of the capital. The police at Cartagena allege that they have unearthed a vast Nazi espionage propaganda organisation, and that the German Consulate is a veritable arsenal. The insurgents claim to have captured near Barcelona a Norwegian steamer laden with munitions, and likewise forced a Greek steamer to di- > vert its course to Ceuta. t Radio messages from Teneriffe an- t nounce that naval attacks on Barce- t lona and Valencia are imminent. i Nine hundred and sixty prisoners, I mostly former Fascist officers, belong- ] ing to General Franco’s secret force t in Madrid, have been evacuated from ( the model prison and sent to Valencia. £ forestalling General Franco’s attempt ( to capture the model prison and re- I lease them. x