SWISS NEUTRALITY FOR AUSTRIA • . [To the Editor of
TIIF..SPECTATOR.1 SIR,—The declaration of Dr. Benes in favour of Austrian neutrality guaranteed on the Swiss model 'compels both Britain and the United States to consider what respon- sibilities they will accept to help peace in Central Europe. Both the English-speaking Powers desire to avoid European discords and will prefer to act like the Priest and the Levite rather than like the good Samaritan, but Dr. Benes
that the neutrality plan is probably the only way to ensure peace. The problem is to prevent Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Jugoslavia, Italy or Germany from sending troops across the Austrian frontier.
Britain• and the United States could both undertake a sea-boycott as follows : not to allow their merchant ships to visit the aggressor's ports. nor to carry the aggressor's goods, nor any goods to the aggressor, nor to allow the aggressor's ships to load or unload cargo at British or felted States ports, nor to allow cargo coming from the aggressor country to be unloaded at any British or U.S.A. ports. That would encourage other guarantors living nearer to the guaranteed frontier to oppose the violation of Austrian neutrality. .
Japan has dispelled respect for Geneva so we must fall back on the laws of neutrality set forth in the Hague Con- vention of 1907.
Neutrals cease to be neutral if they interfere with belli- gerents, so all neutrals should combine to protect all neutral rights, but should not expose themselves or other neutrals to attack by a belligerent.
No neutral should supply war material to an aggressor, for the Austrians would be rightly aggrieved if people sitting in comfort and protected by the laws of neutrality should
be making profit out of the continuance of hostilities against a fellow neutral and we still all agree that it would be repre- hensible and intolerable if Austrians were shot down by British cartridges and guns while Britain was bound by treaty to uphold Austrian neutrality.
Previous page
