12 SEPTEMBER 1931, Page 3

The Revolt in Chile The " national harmony " for

the sake of which General Ibanez suddenly left Chile a few weeks ago after governing that country firmly and well for three years hasproved an elusive commodity. The Government which succeeded him has been forced to resign after narrowly failing to come to terms with the leaders of a revolution provoked by its unpopular policy of economy and wage-cuts. The new Cabinet, however, have put action before arbitration and the severity of their emer- gency measures will not be relaxed until discipline has been unequivocally restored in the mutinous navy. Serious fighting has taken place ; the piece de resistance was a bombardment of the fleet from the air which took place on Sunday with the civilian population watching from the shore. The Air Force, no less considerate than loyal, opened the action with hand-grenades instead of heavy bombs, thus doing what they could to preserve their misguided comrades—and, still more important, the misappropriated warships—from the consequences of an act of dissension which the ring-leaders arc now regretting in irons. Chile's political troubles, like those of the other South American countries, arc the direct conse- quence of the economic depression. The present solution can, we fear, be little more than temporary.

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