Evening star., 1942-01-08
Eden Denies Neglect
In Preparation Of
Singapore Defense
AttIee Hints Impending
Removal or Transfer
For Duff Cooper
By the Associated Press.

LONDON, Jan. 8.-Foriegn Sec
retary Anthony Eden today denied
there had been any neglect" by the
government in preparing the de-
fense of Singapore against Japanese
attack, declaring If We were wrong
it was a deliberate decision and
not one based on neglect
He said the problem Of Malayan
defense was weighed each time the
war cabinet considered sending re-
Inducements to the Middle East or
Russia. He reminded the House OF
Commons that the Singapore de-
fenses had been strengthened many
times since 1899.
Seemingly countering a charge
that the dominions were not fully
informed on the war effort. Mr..
Eden stated that while he was in
Moscow recently the dominions re-
ceived full information on CONVEX
sations he had with Joseph Stain.
Clement r. Atlee. Lord Privy Seal,
indicated impending removal or
transfer for Alfred Duff Cooper. res
ident commissioner for Far Eastern
affairs. when he said in written
reply to a Commons question that
the appointment OF a supreme
commander in chief in the South
west Pacific has necessitated re-
view of functions" assigned to Duff
Cooper there.
Different View BY Australia.
Mr.. Eden said Prime Minister w.
L. Mackenzie King of Canada and
Prime Minister Peter Fraser of New
| Zealand had expressed satisfaction
with the present representation in
war effort. but that "a different
view has been taken by Australia"
The question of Dominion rep
resentation in the Allied War Coun-
Gil must be left to Churchill" Mr..
Eden said
| He rejected suggestion that
munitions sent to Russia should
have been allocated to Singapore,
saying that ne knew that supplies
had played a very valuable part
in the Russian military effort
/ The Foreign Secretary also denied
that the earlier decision to aid
Greece was sentimental" He de-
clared that it was taken with full
concurrence of military authorities.
And he reiterated that the Yugo-
| slav coup d'etat with subsequent
resistance to the Germans. coupled
/ with the action of British troops in
Greece. had delayed the German
! attack on Russia by six weeks.
This point was cheered by the
House.
Cites Jap Fleets Power.
/ Mr.. Attlee, speaking as Mr.
Churchills deputy. told Commons
frankly that Britain did not have
sufficient resources for complete
preparation against the Japanese
who, he declared, at present have
the most powerful fleet in the
Pacific.
House members cheered. however
when he summed up accounts after
the first month of war in the Pa
cific even though they were given
little new information about the war
effort.
News of further steps to co-ordi-
nate man power md munitions of
the united nations awaited the re-
turn of the Prime Minister from
America.
The first mild criticism of the
United States role In the Far East
came from Comdr: Sir Archibald
Southby a Conservative. who de-
clared the Russian and African sue
cesses do not offset the loss OF
Guam and other islands to Japan"
1T might have been better" he
told the House. IF the United States
had augmented the defense Of those
vitality important places rather than
expend time and material in crea-
| ton Of the bases which We have
(See A1TI ZEE. Pare A-x)