Interesting Arguments in House of Commons London, Dec. 24.
A Conservative contention that Japan was situated as far from Singapore America was from England' and, therefore the base could not be a menace to Japan and Jo Liberal argument that the base could only be a protection againat [tke Japanese, yet in the event of an Anglo-Japanese war no base would enable British commerce to pass from the East to the West, and, therefore, the Government ' were wise to drop the project altogether Jwere the principal arguments on both sides in the debate on the Singapore Base in the House of Commons this evening.
Mr. L. C. M. S. Amery, Secretary State for' the Dominions and Colonies in the Into Conservative Government, argued that Whatever degree of disarmament was achieved fat the forthcoming naval conference in London, the navy would still require bases in order to be mobile and for the Empire to remain geographically as at present.
Mr, A, V. Alexander, First Lord of the Admiralty, in the course of his reply for the Labour Government, dwelt on the Dominions' aspect of the base.
He said that nothing would be allowed to arise at the coming naval Jdisarmant conference in January which would deny the rights of eon stituents parts of the British Commonwealth to look after their own interests, He pointed. out that all the Dominions concerned would be Jdirectly represented at the Confer-regretted that on the Eve of Christ mas, when all should be praying for peace and goodwill, they had had 80 many unnecessary references to
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