The British retirement east of Benghazi is being carried out in orderly fashion, "with a view to subsequent operations in due course," declared 'a British military spokes. man yesterday.
"We are contracting the enemy east Jot Benghazi," the spokesman added, Beyond this, a veil of secrecy still Jsurrounds the situation there, The wa. Front On the East African front, it is learned, British and Free French Horees are, now carrying out oper tions against the Eritrean port of [Massawa, following the refusal of the Ballan governor of the town, after protracted negotiations, to accept the British conditions for surrender, is. believed the Italians are playing for time in order to carry out demolltion work, particularly among' the port installations.
Escape of the Italians from Debra [Markos was followed by adherence of the Abyssinian chiot, Ras Hall, to the British forces. This is expected to result in an immediate large in-[crease in the strength of patriot forces around Addis Ababa, Tas Sayum, who has also come over to the British following the fall of [Asmara, has thousands of followers in Tigre province, The British dre gradually assuming complete control at Asmara—Reuter, they have avoided, for the mass of the people, the evil effects of une checked inflation. Hitherto, the j creases. in taxation have not fallen short of necessities of the case. There have been no inflationary dangers in bur system up to the pres ent"
Referring to the fulure, the Chaucellor said'a now and important fac-for had been introduced by the Lease and-Lend Act, He could not estimate the value of supplies to be received from the United States. He estimat-fed the vote of credit required, ex-inding supplies from and payments the United States at £3,500,000,000.
Ihe estimates of the Chancellor of Exchequer were:
The R. A. F. raided Brest again on Sunday night and dropped a number of high explosive bombs on the dode stea. The Alr Ministry sad yestr~
The announcement did not say whether the German raiders Scharn-Hhorst and Gneisenau were still there, 'A Coastal Command plane of the Beaufort type, torpedoed a German destroyer off the const of north-west Franco on Sunday, after beating off an attack by two Messerschmitt Aghters, the Air Ministry said.
"Another Beaufort damaged a second destroyer, it was announeed—United Press,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.