The Newcastle Consulate incident ought never to have occurred, and
if it had concerned two business firms the matter would have been settled by the principals at the conference table in a couple of hours, American public opinion is stated to be dissatisfied with the British explanation, and the State Department is said to -have convinced itself that the American Consular represen- tatives were not guilty of illegitimate activity on behalf of American shipping interests. The statement attributed to Mr. D. Adams, Labour M.P. foi West Newcastle, that " the American officials were the victims of a plot con- ceived in the interests of British shipping " was widely reproduced in the American Press. As matters stand, the worst that can happen is apparently that the American Consulate at Newcastle will remain closed, that the British public, or a portion of it will believe that the American Consular officers were making use of their official position to further the interests of American shipping, and that American opinion will hold a contrary view and believe that Downing Street is over-punctilious and inelastically-minded.
Previous page
