The report of the Bi ritish Commission in. vestigating the aerial bombing of Barcelona by Nationalist aeroplanes on New Year's Eve, despite the fact that the Nationalist leaders have not been heard upon the abject, constitutes about as damning an ind etment as could possibly be imagined. It is not necessary that General Franco should be heard in the matter, for the facts are so plain that they speak for themselves, mitting of no other conclusion than that the raid was carried out for the sole purpose of destroying civilian life, and without ai real military objective whatever. About five aircraft approached the city from the north at about 7 pum, a bright moon making visibility good, and swept across the c two kilometres from the sea front shipping might have been the objective, amd crossing over the centre of the city dropped about sixty bombs on streets whi; would ordinarily have been crowded with festive crowds, festive despite all the terra: had been through during a most tragi yea The missiles were small not such as would normally be used against buildings or shipping, and the Commission came to the only possible conclusion that the d was planned solely for the purpose of mur dering civilians whom it was expected would have been gathered in large numbers in the streets. Fortunately the eight minutes which elapsed between the sounding of the warning and the a! al of the raiders et abled most of the people to rear h protection, with the result that the number of casualties was small,—139 of whom 44 were killed. No thanks are due to the raiders and those responsible for sending them over for the fact that the number med was not' greater. Bombs not designed for anything but the taking of human life used on holiday evening when the crowds in the streets would be greater than normal, far aw from any real military objective, can o mi that the raid was designed purpose of slaying civilians, and not all the explaining of General Franco and his officials can uproot that conclusion.
It is a characteristic of civil wars that they are fought with a bitterness rarely to be seen in an international struggle. Spain has demonstrated that fact in an appalling manner during the past two years, would seem that with all the blood w hich has been shed, with all the brutality which has been displayed, there are still fiends in human shape w a not yet reached their surfeit of hoi If it shown that the fliers were not Span error is even greater, for the picture of innocent civilian: slaughtered during an evening of innocent amusement, at a Mna. dunny which the thoughts of mankind are directed towards goodwill and peace has about it &ll the hideousness which passes the power of the pen to describe. This bombing opens up an unpleasant series of thoughts of what may yet happen in Spain. The refusal of General Franco to consider the question of an armistice over the Chri; mas season, was in itself an indication of the bitterness which proval! He would have none of it, lest it led to a compromise which might have brought peace to stricken Spain. He has announced that nothing but the complete subjugation of republican Spain will satisfy him. Yet he is doing nothing to bring about the surrender he desires but rather to stiffen the supporters of the Government in their determination to sist.
Tt can be no cause for astonishment if the Repi blicans continue their stubborn coni old. If this murder at Barcelona nce of the territories which they
means anything at all it must mean that Genera n 1 Franco and his followers are bent upon completing a war of extermination, and if this is so the Republicans have nothing to lose more than they are already predestined to lose should eventual defeat be theirs. They can do nothing but fight on, hoping against hope for some sort of victory, phantastic as that may seem, for defeat seems to mean nothing but the greater certainty of death which this wanton raid of murder promises them.
Yet it is all so futile. Bombings such as these during the past two years have completely failed to destroy the morale of Republican Spain. The aeroplane's value as a psychological weapon has been proved not io be so impressive as it was thought only a few years ago. Those who believe in its efficacy for striking the sharp, swift blow calculated to bring a nation to its knees by the murder of the civilian population, inspired by the doctrine that a short war is more merciful than a long, must by now have had to modify their views. Such raids may produce temporary panic, but it is fortunate indeed that human fortitude rises above such things and can manage to carry on despite the terror which has been spread. That has been the lesson in Spain, particularly in Madrid where the city has managed to carry on despite the onslaughts which have been made upon it, and it is a comforting thought that what the Spaniard can stand can be endured by most other races. There are, despite the horror that this wantonness must inspire, nevertheless two important lessons to be learned from this raid. The first is that so short a period of time as eight minutes enables people to Teach some degree of safety: the other is that the more shelters a city is provided with the better is the civilian population protected. The latter adds some point to the contention that cities in England should be thoroughly well provided with easily accessible shelters, and that while the evacuation of the populations of cities may prove a successful means of affording protection, immediate refuge will still be necessary while that process is being carried out. Whether the world likes it or not, war in Spain, and in China clearly demonstrates that the civilian himself is rapidly coming to be looked upon as an ordinary military objective. There is certainly nothing in the nature of a convention to protect him, for whatever original understandings thi might have been in the matter are being more and more disregarded. But even so the world is not yet so calloused as willingly to accept such an unhappy doctrine, and there can be nothing but and detestation of such murderous that which Barcelona saw on New Eve.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.