London, Mar. 1. The administration of the Nationalist leader in Spain, Gen. Francisco Franco, has afforded an explanation of the sinking of the British merchant man Alcira, in the Mediterrancan early last month, which the British Government considers unsatisfactory.
The British agent in Salamanca has, therefore, been instructed to express his Government's opinion that the attack was entirely unjustifiable and that the Salamanca authorities will be held responsible for full compensation for the sinking of the ship and for the losses sustained by the crew.
Regarding other incidents in the mediterranean, the Salamanca authorities have objected to the strong terms of the British communications, which they consider are not justified 'The British agent in Salamanca has been instructed to reply to this protest, justifying the language employed' in the British communications.
The Alcira was bombed and sunk by two Nationalist aeroplanes twenty miles off Barcelona, early last month. Two of the crew were slightly wounded. Before this attack, the British steamer Endymion. was tor-pedeed off Cartagena, the Republican naval base, by a submarine. She sonk in four minutes with a lose of ten lives.—Reuter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.