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Show Britain, France Study Plans -To Help Turkish Allies In Event Conflict Spreads LONDON, March 18 (AP) Asserting that Britain may starve to death unlet! her shipbuilding program la ipeeded up, Emanuel Shin well, Laborite member of parliament, asked the house of common Monday for a vote censuring the (hipping ministry. Shlnwcll took the floor to press his demand for a vote shortly after the government had disclosed to commons that It Is consulting with France and Turkey on the form of aid the western powers might give their eastern ally in event she became Involved In war. The laborite scored the shipping ministry for delays which he said were due to lack of organisation, and declared that complaints were rolling In as "ships are lost, lives are lost and hundreds of thousands thou-sands of pounds frittered away." Dispute Churchill The effective cargo-carrying tonnage ton-nage Of the British merchsnt marine ma-rine Is only about lOXWO.OUO tons at present Shlnwcll said, and not "18,000,000 tons as Mr. Churchill (first lord of the admiralty Win. ston Churchill) would have claimed." He declared the available tonnage ton-nage had been depleted both because be-cause the Queen Mary and other large ships are now tied up and because a number of other vessels have been taken over by the admiralty. ad-miralty. . That Britain, France and Turkey Tur-key are consulting on possible measures of military cooperation in the near east was announced by Foreign Undersecretary R. A. Butler. But-ler. The British government at the same time turned down a augges-tion augges-tion that it ask the League of Nations Na-tions to set up a neutral commission commis-sion to examine responsible proposals pro-posals for peace in the European conflict. The suggestion was made by Laborite La-borite Arthur Woodburn, and Butler But-ler rejected it. declaring Foreign Secretary Lord Halifax "Is not convinced" adoption of the proposal propo-sal "would be best in the present circumstances." Gets Birthday Cheer Prime Minister Chamberlain was given a rousing birthday cheer as he appeared in the house. He smiled In acknowledgment. He is spending his seventy-first birthdsy much as he would any other day. Chamberlain told the house bis (Ceailmiad M Paia Twef Britain, France Plan Turk Aid (Continue Frees Paae Ooe) statement tomorrow on Finland and the progress of the European war would contain Information oa the quantity of guns and ammunition ammuni-tion and planes given and offered to Finland. A aeries of o Jest lone was asked on the future of Finland, but Butler But-ler asked members to await Chamberlain's Cham-berlain's statement. Asked for assurance that Finland would not be prejudiced when the peace conference con-ference came because she accepted the Russian peace terms, Butler replied, re-plied, "It is not possible to fore-east fore-east at this state the scope of the peace conference." Asked whether a comprehensive plsn existed for Immediate military mili-tary aid to Turkey if "her territory terri-tory should be threatened or if it becomes expedient for her to go to the aid of a neighboring atate," Butler replied: "Great Britain and France arc bound by article one of their treaty of mutual assistance with Turkey to give Turkey all the aid and assurance la their power in the event of her being involved in hostilities with a European power pow-er In consequence of aggressloa by that power - against Turkey. The form that assistance should take has been and la the subject of consultation between the three governments." |