DARLAN’S THREAT

Wairarapa Times-Age, 12 March 1941, Page 5

DARLAN’S THREAT

BRITISH SPOKESMAN REPLIES CONSTRUCTIVE PROPOSALS AWAITED. PRINCIPLE OF ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION. (By Telegraph—Press Association —Copyright) LONDON. March 11. Replying to Admiral Darlan's threat to use warships to convoy French merchant ships if the British blockade continued, a spokesman of the British Ministry of Economic Warfare said: "The Germans may have released 2.000.000 quintals of wheat for France, but this is scarcely generous because it is only returning a fraction of the wheat that was looted from France in the last 10 months. If there are any means of helping unoccupied France without helping Germany the British Government will be willing to consider them, but so far there has been no proposal from France. "We must remember that the French Government has accepted the principle of economic co-operation with Germany. Admiral Darlan may be responsible for feeding 40,000.000 people in France; Britain, however, is fighting to free many times 40,000.000 people who are enslaved in Europe, including the self-same France.” “The Times” says: “It is a long time since Goebbels was presented with such a sparkling gift as Admiral Darlan's declaration that the Germans have been more generous than the British. The distortion of fact is so obvious that it calls Admiral Darlan’s motive into question. He did not even mention the vast quantities of French produce of all kinds plundered by the Germans. “More than four-fifths of France’s wheatfields are occupied, and France is being tilled by the Germans, and Germany takes about, two-thirds of all the goods imported into unoccupied France. The British let many ships every month pass Gibraltar to France, but they cannot be expected always to look the other way when the Germans see in that a chance of making a breach in the blockade.” The “Daily Mail” in a leading article says: “We do not desire that the French people should suffer privations. If Britain is assured that the supplies will not reach the enemy, some agreement can probably be reached, but it must be reinforced with the strongest guarantee from Vichy. It is for Admiral Darlan to advance proposals. When France was our ally no one upheld the blockade more firmly than Admiral Darlan.” .ATTITUDE CLEAR VICHY REJECTS BRITISH INVITATIONS. POSSIBILTY OF U.S.A. INTERVENTION. WASHINGTON, March 11. The British Ambassador, Lord Halifax, conferred with the State Secretary, Mr Hull, on. Admiral Darlan’s threat and later told the Press that Britain had already made her attitude clear, adding: “Unoccupied France stands in a somewhat different position from the occupied countries, but her problems are the same.” . Diplomatic sources in Washington said that Vichy had twice rejected British invitations to an economic conference to discuss food, possibly under German pressure. IA 8.8. C. bulletin received last night stated: "A Reuter report from Washington hints that the United States may intervene in the blockade dispute between London and Vichy.”]