15 MARCH 1946, Page 12

INTERFERENCE WITH GENERAL FRANCO

Ste,—The majority of your readers will, I think, agree heartily with your leading article on our relationship with Russia in last week's issue and with what you say on the Spanish question. It is about the latter that I should like to comment. You say that this is no matter for the

Security Council because " there is nothing whatever in the Spanish situation which threatens international peace." But it is not a matter for the Security Council for another reason ; the Charter forbids intervention in the domestic affairs of any country. Nevertheless, one of our leading Liberal commentators wrote on Friday in a daily paper apropos of our relationship with France over this issue: " The British Government will suffer great loss of prestige by its reluctance to use the machinery of the Security Council, even though its use in such a case would appear to be forbidden by the Charter." Surely this is a very dangerous attitude to adopt. The prestige of the Security Council is of greater concern to humanity than is any question of our prestige, and even our prestige will inevitably suffer in the long run if we support anything contrary to the Charter to please France or any other country, or rather to please the extreme Lest-wing elements in any country ; for that is what it amounts to. It is quite obvious where the pressure is coming from that is being applied on Spain today. I, with most people in this country, dislike the Spanish regime intensely, but there are other regimes that we dislike as well, and to transform that dislike into action through the Security Council against any country would constitute a most dangerous precedent—Yours, &c., H. G. LYALL. The Hazels, Bricker Wood, Watford, Hens.