London, Nov. 2.
'A motion for a secret independent committee enquiry to examine the state of national defence, especially AirRaid Precautions, was submitted in the House of Lords yesterday by Lord Strabolgi who emphasized that while Great Britain was in a period of emergency, it was wrong to exaggerate her weakness.
"We were not last December, and ere not now by any means, defenceless" Nevertheless, Lord Strabolgi pointed out, there was obviously something wrong somewhere. There was. a woeful deficiency in anti aircraft defences, which was inexcusable, he added.
Viscount Swinton advocated the creation of a Ministry of National Service and a Ministry of Supply without delay.
The former First Lord of the Admiralty, Viscount Bridgeman, said: "We are running the risk of overemphasizing static defence like the Air-Raid Precautions, which is worse than useless unless itis accompanied by measures of active defence."
So much capital was now being destroyed in China, he continued, that even more would be wanted when the war was over, and it was quite certain that whoever reconstructed China could not do so without some help from Great Britain.
An emphatic "No, sir" was the reply given by Mr. R. A. Butler, Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, to whether any measures were in progress or were being contemplated, to concert collective measures against Japanese aggression upon China.
The question had been asked by Mr. Samuel Vyvyan Adams, Unionist member for West Leeds.
To subsequent queries on China, Mr. Butler declared that there had been no loss of British lives, or damage to British property, in connection with the occupation of Hankow.
He said that the British Consul and the Rear-Admiral in the Yangtze were chiefly responsible for bringing the foreign areas safely through the crisis.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.