7. Mr. V. Adamsasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has any information to give the House respecting the present degree of German intervention on behalf of the rebel forces in Spain?
§ Viscount CranborneI have nothing to add to the statements which have already been made to the House regarding foreign intervention in Spain.
Mr. AdamsHas the Noble Lord constantly in mind the danger to our Imperial interests if Germany should establish control of the Iberian peninsula?
§ Mr. T. WilliamsIs not the House entitled to much more information?
§ Viscount CranborneIt is not a question of what the House is entitled to, but of what information is available.
§ Mr. WilliamsWill the Noble Lord undertake to supply the House with all the information at his disposal at present?
§ Viscount CranborneI have said it is impossible to give accurate information. The only way accurate information is to be got is to inquire through the headquarters. If I got it from General Franco's headquarters, it would not be satisfactory to hon. Members opposite.
§ Sir Percy HarrisIs the Noble Lord as ill-informed as he would have us believe?
§ 13. Mr. A. Hendersonasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is aware of the allegations of the Spanish Government that Italian warships participated in the attack on Malaga; and whether he will make a statement thereon?
§ Viscount CranborneI have seen reports in the Press of the allegation referred to, but I have no official information on which to base a statement.
§ Mr. HendersonMay I ask the Under-Secretary whether in fact an Italian warship comes within Senor Mussolini's definition of a volunteer?
Sir Nairne Stewart SandemanIs it not the fact that Caballero's Government has cried "Wolf, wolf" so often that nobody pays any attention to it?
§ Mr. DaltonIs the Foreign Office wholly indifferent to the establishment of yet another Italian naval base in the Mediterranean?
§ Viscount CranborneI have already said that we have no official information on this subject, and certainly the last supplementary question does not arise out of the question.
§ Mr. DaltonWill the Noble Lord take steps to get the information?
§ 16. Mr. R. Aclandasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the Government have received reliable information of any occasion on which there has arrived at any Spanish port or crossed any Spanish land frontier a contingent of Russians, either with or without arms, numbering over 25 or over 100; if so, to about what date, and to what place did the information relate?
§ Viscount CranborneI am not certain whether the hon. Member has a specific instance in mind, and, if so, to what instance he is referring. Such information as is in my possession with regard to Russians now fighting in Spain does not relate to the date or place of arrival of particular contingents. I understand that there are considerable numbers of Russians in the Madrid area and also in Catalonia, but I am not in a position to give any accurate estimate of the total numbers of men involved.
§ Mr. AclandMay I ask for a specific answer to the question I put down, as to whether there has ever been any information of the arrival of such a body of Russians as I have described in any port? That is capable of an answer, "Yes" or "No"?
§ Viscount CranborneOur information is that there are numbers of Russians in Spain, and presumably therefore they must have arrived.
Captain CazaletHas my hon. Friend any information about 1,000 French volunteers who crossed the frontier for the Spanish side during the last few weeks?
§ Viscount CranbornePerhaps my hon. and gallant Friend will put down that question.
§ 17. Mr. Aclandasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether it is the intention of His Majesty's Government to indicate at an early date that this country will be willing, as from an early date, to co-operate in a system of control over the land and sea frontiers of Spain as soon as sufficient nations to make the control effective have expressed their willingness to co-operate without waiting for the co-operation of Germany and Italy?
§ Viscount CranborneHis Majesty's Government, as also the Governments of Germany and Italy, have already expressed their willingness to co-operate in a system of supervision. It is essential that the scheme to be adopted shall be thoroughly international in character, and its details are now being worked out on that basis.
§ Mr. AclandDoes not the Noble Lord appreciate that, unless His Majesty's Government give some such indication as is suggested in this question, the Fascist Powers will go on playing yo-yo with us, as they have been doing for the last six months?
§ Mr. H. G. WilliamsIs there any precedent for blockading the coasts of a country with whom we are not at war?
§ Mr. ThurtleCan the Noble Lord give any date when he expects that this system of supervision will come into operation?
§ Viscount CranborneI wish I could. It is a difficult and complex subject, and our object is to get it put into force as soon as possible.
§ 18. Mr. Aclandasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether His Majesty's Government will urge upon the Non-intervention Committee the necessity for ensuring that, in the system of control now under consideration for the land and sea frontiers of Spain, no part of the frontiers held by the Government shall be solely controlled by French or Russian officials and no part of the frontiers held by the insurgents shall be controlled solely by Italian, German, or Portuguese officials?
§ Viscount CranborneYes, Sir.
§ 19. Mr. Sorensenasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has any information respecting the position, treatment, and apprehension of 821 British citizens in Malaga and in the area recently covered by the insurgent advance in Spain?
§ Viscount CranborneReports received from the authorities at Gibraltar indicate that the few British residents in Malaga are safe and, with one exception, have not been molested, and that the Consulate and private property are intact. Sir Peter Chalmers Mitchell was, however, arrested on 9th February, but was subsequently released at the instance of the Acting British Consul, and was transferred to a British warship.
§ Mr. SorensenIs the arrest of Sir Peter Chalmers Mitchell an illustration of the methods of Franco in that area?
§ 21. Sir W. Davisonasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has received any reports from our British diplomatic representatives in France or Spain with regard to reinforcements for the Valencia Government crossing the Franco-Spanish frontier?
§ Viscount CranborneAccording to the reports which have been received by His Majesty's Government, a considerable number of foreign volunteers have been crossing the French frontier into Spain during the last few months. I am not, however, in a position to give any accurate estimate of the numbers involved.
§ Mr. ThurtleCan the Noble Lord state the relative strength of these volunteers as compared with the reinforcements which have reached Franco from German and Italian sources?
§ Viscount CranborneI have explained that it is impossible to make an accurate estimate.
§ Mr. ThurtleCan the Noble Lord give us the approximate figure of the relative strength?
§ 22. Mr. Crossleyasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is aware that the Embassy of a foreign Power has recently disseminated to all Members of Parliament certain literature published and issued by a political party in this country; and whether he will make 822 representations to the Government of the country concerned against this practice?
§ Viscount CranborneI understand that two pamphlets dealing with the situation in Spain have been published by the National Council of Labour and the Labour Publications Department respectively. I have, however, no direct evidence that pamphlets published by a political party in this country have been circulated by the Spanish Embassy.
§ Mr. CrossleyIs the Noble Lord not aware that every private Member of Parliament received two pamphlets, one of them printed by Transport House; and will not the position of representatives of foreign Powers be somewhat lowered if they enter into direct association with individual political parties?
§ Viscount CranborneWhat I said was that I had no direct evidence that this has been circulated by the Spanish Embassy.
§ Mr. H. G. WilliamsIs it not the case that the Labour party denies that they were responsible for the issue of this pamphlet?
§ 8. Mr. Kelly (for Lieut.-Commander Fletcher)asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, as the rendering of military aid by Italy to rebels against the Government of Spain constitutes a violation of international law and of the obligation of one State member of the League not to commit aggression against the political independence of another member; and, in view of the danger to good relations between other nations which the civil war in Spain engenders, and as the foreign policy of the Government is founded upon the Covenant of the League of Nations, he is prepared to recommend to the League of Nations that action should now be taken regarding the Spanish civil war under Article 10 of the Covenant?
§ Viscount CranborneSo far as I am aware there is nothing to substantiate the suggestion that any attempt is being made to alienate the territorial integrity or political independence of Spain. The last part of the question does not, therefore, arise.
§ Mr. Attlee(by Private Notice) asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether any progress is being made in regard to international action for the relief of women and children in Spain?
§ Viscount CranborneThe right hon. Gentleman will recall that the proposal made by His Majesty's Government in December last that assistance for the relief of the Spanish civilian population should be organised on an international basis was not acceptable to the Spanish Government, who however, requested the Council of the League to furnish them with certain technical advice on the subject of relief work. On this point, I would refer the right hon. Gentleman to the full statement made by my right hon. Friend in reply to a question asked by the hon. Member for Wolverhampton East (Mr. Mander) on 3rd February last. An appeal was received last night from the Spanish Government for the relief of the refugees at present at Almeria. His Majesty's Government are now urgently considering whether the question of any international relief action can now be further profitably examined.
§ Mr. AttleeHas the hon. Gentleman realised the conditions of the men, women and children in Guipuzcoa where the Basque population are being driven out en masse by the rebels, and will any action he taken in regard to these victims?
§ Viscount CranborneI have already said that the question of international relief action is being urgently examined, but the right hon. Gentleman will recall that when we put forward a proposal in December, the Spanish Government itself was not in favour of it.
§ Mr. BellengerIs the hon. Gentleman's definition of the word "urgently" the same as that which applies in the case of the Non-Intervention Committee?
§ Mr. Charles WilliamsIs it a fact that the British Fleet is still carrying on the good work of helping to get people out?
§ Mr. SorensenIs the hon. Gentleman aware that, meanwhile, numbers of children are being shattered, maimed and mutilated, and that this is the direct result of the steady advance of the rebels?