Show british empire beset by b y boes woes W oes faces battle to retain P position posidio h 01 k IRELAND where now bil of eire seek 7 nl 1 of oft INDIA bhea mahome and bopf abent piss HONG KONG 2 to and julns for east PALESTINE where britain got are A F R I 1 C A TROUBLE colonies 41 SPOTS five trouble spots draw londona Lon dons attention in de desperate sperate effort to appease dictators and still maintain world supremacy by JOSEPH IV labine every world empire in history has eventually been threatened by disintegration it happened to alexander the great to rome and to spain today it is happening to great britain obviously any alliance of world powers like that of germany italy and japan must run smack bang into con conflict flicht with the far flung british empire whose tentacles reach from london into of the such is the case in china africa afric a a and nd palestine moreover the united kingdom now hears demands for independence from her colonies colomes who no longer cringe in fear of the shaggy lion once vassal like possessions have grown up and learned to assert themselves two examples are eirp eire which has already won a large measure of freedom and india the worlds no 1 problem child this twentieth century territorial octopus springs from a seafal seafaring i ng mother country whose sons went forth to trade and came home with an amazing empire mostly they acquired it not by aggression but by just happening to be handy when it fell into their hands importance of navy wanes the united kingdom is held together by no stronger a cohesive force than bolint commercial ships ahls and the worlds largest navy but this has been enough to make great britain a referee of international affairs in such a position she has sometimes been strong and aggressive but her star may now be dimming since 1933 she has suffered a steady series of diplomatic defeats to appease germany italy and japan rather than face the stark realities of the situation and stand her ground firmly this is the traditional british way of doing things a trait personified by prime minister neville chamberlain the united kingdom now faces trouble at five vital spots none is more important than hongtong Hong kong which for 90 years has been the base of britaina Brit ains economic operations in the far east during that period one fourth of all chinas cainas foreign eig n trade found inlet and outlet through the tiny island port which lies a scant 30 miles from chinese ca canton anton from here to the inte interior bior runs the ahe canton kowloon railroad jointly owned by the british an and chinese started with Manchu kuo britaina Brit ains economic grip on china was first threatened in 1931 when japan began her two year battle to capture Manchu kuo in 1936 the danger became more acute when japan turned to Shang shanghai haL for years the base of british trade in northern china though the tremendously important yangtze river was subsequently closed britaina Brit ains trade remained substantially safe until a few weeks ago when japan suddenly captured canton and severed the canton kowloon railroad although hongtong Hong kong has been made impregnable against possible japanese invasion these precautions seem pointless in view of the cites death as a trading center IL it deprived of its rail connection to interior china and with chinese merchants intent on boycotting jap anese owned canton hongtong Hong kong bids fair to become a ghost city african colonies important britaina Brit ains second trouble zone is africa where germany demands return of the colonies mandated to the united kingdom following the world war these include taaga tanganyika british Camer Came and british To goland all held directly by london and southwest africa mandated to the british union of south africa economically most of these colonies are useless to the empire but their strategic value Ls is something else tanganyika gave britain a connecting link between east africa and south africa across which she hopes some day to build a cape to cairo railroad moreover the british realize that germany could use lise the war lost colonies as naval and air bases and that african possessions would give the reich an excuse for building up her navy this is a danger london is anxious to avoid the most likely trouble spot is southwest africa which alone of the onetime one time german possessions is desirable for colonization moslems unite palestine the third problem is a battleground for arabs and jews its modern history goes back to the world war when britain enlisted arab support against turkey promising the moslems control over palestine as payment but after the war when britain won a mandate over palestine she established part of the holy land as a national home for world jewry the resultant battle between hebrews and arabs has been bitter and has placed london in an uncomfortable position first by supporting the jewish cause she faces conflict with jew hating germany and italy both of which are now trying to make their nations per cent aryan moreover britaina Brit ains forced hostility toward the arabs is fomenting a nationalistic feeling in the moslem world As a ruler of moslems in palestine and elsewhere britain is thereby cutting her own throat but her primary interest in palestine is not arabs or jews but rather the holy lands strategic importance as a connecting link between her empires to the west and the east it lies along vital air and sea routes which she must preserve indian question unsolved trouble spot no 4 is india little mentioned in headlines because nationalistic outbreaks are all too commonplace in this richest of all lands india offers the united kingdom no immediate threat to her empire security yet it is an ugly sore that adds to the whole of londona Lon dons embarrassment india contains one fifth of the th worlds population represents every religious and political creed and is WANTED A LEADER brit ains old school of diplomacy acy finds a voice tit in prime minister neville chamberlain left charn champion plon of the current appeasement policy this program is is opposed by followers of anthony anyhony eden right former secretary of state stale i in n char charge ge of foreign affairs acho acio will have no truck dictators a mixture of at least 20 races that speak some languages and dialects it is obviously impossible to satisfy such a people nor is the new hame home rule constitution a very far reaching attempt to satisfy them under it all real power is vested in british provincial governors who can veto what few actions the legislatures are empowered to take moreover they rule by decrees when legislatures are not sitting and can disband the sessions at will although mahatma gandhi is no longer a leading force in indian nationalization agitation he has been succeeded by an equally strong chieftain nehru who is is leading the battle to have the constitution ution abolished difficult though britaina Brit ains position may be it is to be deplored that she has not made a more aggressive attempt to make peace peace in india this responsibility is especially incumbent in view of the pot of gold that the empire has discovered in india since 1600 britons have waxed rich in the indian trade today the country is eng lands best customer buying one tenth of all her manufactured exports out of each dollar in revenue collected by the indian government 27 cents is spent in england although england contributes less than 2 cents eire seeks plebiscite the final trouble spot is E eire ire just across the irish channel from england proper at the end of this year great britain will lose its last shred of control over the largest part of ireland which has an area about the size of massachusetts and new hampshire under eamon de valera the southern portion of the island has waged a successful battle for nationalization and is now attempting to increase its sway by taking possession of ulster this latest development follows mr chamberlains pronouncement in favor of self determination for european minorities he wa was s immediately pounced upon by mr de valera who said that self determine tion should also hold good for ireland iche has his way mr de valera will conduct a plebiscite in ulster four of the six counties almost entirely protestant will probably vote to join with catholic eire the once pronounced religious difference being forgotten under pressure of eires economic grasp on the island such is the string of great brit ains troubles and liabilities across the empire on which it was once boasted the sun never sets if mr chamberlains policy of dictator appeasement pea is continued observers believed these liabilities will indeed be lessened that the empire will begin a steady process of internal decay in which one collapse will follow another offsetting this fear is the growing english opinion against chamberlain conservatism a movement which found expression last year in the anti dictator policy of anthony eden former secretary of state for foreign affairs mr eden is back in private life now but repercussions cus against mr chamberlains 49 peace of munich are mounting every week and many englishmen see hope for a new government with a stronger chin 0 western newspaper union 0 4 A |