UNCERTAIN SITUATION

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21176, 27 July 1940, Page 7

UNCERTAIN SITUATION

) CONDITIONS IN MOROCCO ) HOSTILITY TO BRITAIN (United Press Assn.—Elec. Tel. Copyright) LONDON, July 26 The situation at Casablanca, t Morocco, is uncertain, states the 2 Tangier correspondent of the Times. 1 The port is carefully guarded. The - French naval authorities are hostile 3 to the British. Vice-Admiral Ollive, , commanding the fleet, is very antii British. Rear-Admiral Sablet, who commanded the naval establishments in Morocco, is pro-British but he was removed just before the armistice, making way for Rear-Admiral D’Harcourt, who is anti-British. The discipline of the French naval ratings is deteriorating, says the correspondent. From 12 to 20 British ships are believed to be detained in Moroccan ports, where their crews are interned or under arrest. The junior ranks of the Air Force generally are favourable to Britain, but the attitude of the higher ranks is uncertain. The order to bomb Gibraltar was most unpopular, and was deliberately .carried out in ar. inefficient manner. The native situation in Morocco is disturbed. The Moroccans object to their transfer from one Power to another like cattle. The nationalist spirit is increasing, but the natives have no arms. Boarded at Dawn British naval ratings in rubber boots and steel helmets scrambled up the sides of the French warships at dawn, says the London Daily Mail, in telling how the French ships in British ports were seized. The sailors were led by officers, who immediately went to the French captains’ cabins and urged them to accept the occupation in a good spirit. The boarding parties assembled quietly ashore overnight. They were given no inkling of where they were going, or for what purpose; but more volunteers than could be used came forward.