London, Mar. 10.
In the House of Commons to-day a series of questions were put to the Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Mr, Arthur Henderson, with regard to an announcement made by the President of the Third. Internationale, in Moscow, that instructions had been issued to its agents to organize strikes and riots in Great Britain, the British Dominions and the Colonies.
One member of the House asked whether the attention of the Foreign Secretary had been called to the fact that Inst Thursday's demonstrations in Grest Britain were organized by the Communist Party Sor representatives from Moscow, (The demonstrations to which reference was made were created by small groups of Communists in London, Manchester and Glasgow. They were easily handled by the police, though a few demonstrators were slightly hurt in London and a number of arrests were made in Manchester and Glasgow.)
In reply, Mr, Arthur Henderson said that he had no doubt that the Communist Internationale was pains to produce the manifestations of Inst Thursday in this country, but, in view of the exceedingly feeble response to its efforts, he trusted that no undue alarm would be felt in any quarter of the House. As he had previously explained, the Government would not. hesitate to take the House into its confidence should serious cause of complaint arise, but he would again repeat that they intended, in the first instance, to be judges as to the gravity, or otherwise, of a particular instance and of the action which might de expedient and necessary to safeguard the interests of Great Britain, Asked whether he had now satisfied himself that there was religious, persecution in Russia and whether any action was being taken by His Majesty's: Government in the matter, the Secretary for Foreign Affairs replied that, from a study of the regulation issued by the Soviet Government. respecting religious he had no igious pressure which had consistently, and for many years, been a notorious feature of Soviet policy. He did not, however, believe that any action it was open to His Majesty's Government to take would be ealculated to further the cause of religious liberty.—Wireless through Reuter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.