. In the interests of Iraq and of the unhappy
refugees in the Vilayet of Mosul we trust that a solution will be found quickly. Let us repeat that we were never in favour of committing ourselves in Iraq, but now that our consider- able expenditure has -practically come to an end and events have made us responsible for the refugees we cannot see how we could honourably abandon our wards. Some people talk as.though our honour were not involved, but it certainly is. We must try to ensure a. defensible frontier- for Iraq, and then, provided that we are not false to a trust, the sooner we are freed from our entangle- ment the better. It is said by some of the Government's critics here that the Government are rushing into a war with Turkey. That is ridiculous. Nobody. wants, to avoid war more earnestly than Mr. Baldwin and Sir Austen Chamberlain. The best means of safety is to have the approval and support of the League of Nations. To win that approval is the British policy, and it is the only statesmanlike one. * *
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