MIDDLE EAST AND BRITAIN
HE intolerable interference ,with the British ship ' Empire Roach' by an Egyptian corvette is of sinister significance as providing evidence, completely of a piece with what is happening in Persia, that an impression prevails in the Middle East that any kind of insolence or insult can be directed against Great Britain with impunity. This must be stopped with- out further delay—not because we could not in some circum- stances afford to ignore pinpricks, but because an apparently supine attitude will encourage further breaches of international decency which may at any moment lead to really serious trouble. No one desires a recurrence to Palmerstonian diplomacy, and insistence on prestige can in certain circumstances resemble a provocative imperialism, but to submit indefinitely to insult is to create a situation which could only lead in the end to disaster. Mr. Eden, long before the ' Empire Roach' incident, suggested that a British warship should be stationed south of the Suez Canal to prevent the completely illegal stoppage of tankers by the Egyptian Government. There is a great deal to be said for that. The inflammability of the Middle East must be recognised, but a show of weakness is more likely to start a fire than a show of strength. Mr. Morrison has so far manifested a very imperfect, recognition of that.
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