Cuba
MK. NIAIII'LLS'S appeal to British shipow ners not to carry war material to Cuba was in- tended as a sign of co-operation with the US rather than as a direct order to the shipowners concerned. For there is no evidence of British shipping even considering aiding the Russian build-up in America's offshore island. Moreover, even if there were, nothing could be done: strong' words would need a new Act of Parliament to hack them up before any direct preSsure could be brought to bear. The Minister of Transport s plea is more constructive nevertheless, than Mr. Maudling's recent hint that Cuba was America's problem and hers alone. It helps prevent Cuba becoming another China, where the British Government's refusal to veto all trade caused considerable Anglo-American friction. However even a British parliamentary ban on trade of all .1 kind with Cuba would do little to solve Mr. Kennedy's worries—there are many ships wilh flags of convenience and indeed Russian `-hips that fall outside the jurisdiction of his allies.
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