BRITISH PARLIAMENT.

Hokitika Guardian, 9 February 1928, Page 3

BRITISH PARLIAMENT.

(Australian Press Association & Sun.) HOME PARLIAMENT. (Received this day at 11.5 a.in.) LONDON. Fch. 8. In the dehate on the Address-in-Repl.y, Sir Austen Channherlain gratefully recognised the unanimity of the House in respect to the declaration of the policy in reference to China. The, Government would not object to a tariff autonomy in China, based on a uniform tariff which would not discriminate against British merchants, hut they must object to illegal levies over and above the two and a half per cent of the surtaxes now in force. The total withdrawal of the troops was not yet possible, hut there was ljcginning to he a better appreciation of the real goodwill of the British Government.

Tie regretted the programme wlueu Air Uridgeinan and Lord Cecil took to Genova was never allowed a fair discussion at the Conference. Personally he now thought it better if there had been confidential semi-official exchanges of views between the Governments before the Conference. If the failure of the Conference had brought Mr MacDoni.ald to recognise a rush public discussion is not always the best method of arriving at an agreement, then he had learnt something.

Thete .-'were other negotiations in progress with the United States in regard to an arbitration treaty. lie could not speak fully, hut the treaty the United States submitted to us the same as submitted to I* ranee, lie could also say like the old root of the Bryce Treaty, if not an unlimited treaty and arbitration on every difference, it is confined to what are called justifiable disputes. Like llie old treaty it excepted certain questions and agreement is subject, to alteiations and reservations. The Government will have to enter into the fullest correspondence nnld consultation with the Dominion Governments before an answer could he given to Ihe proposal made. Sir A. Chamberlain did not agree that every dispute between nations should Tie referred to a judicial tribunal. He recalled the Bryan-Spring-Rice Treaty, which provided any dispute between two nations should he referred to a committee of conciliation whose report should he awaited before taking arms. 110 was not sure in the present stage of Europe the next advance might not be along lines of that treaty, rather than along strict lines of arbitral agreements.

On behalf of the Government he could say our Naval Building was noncompetitive Our programmes were framed with a. view to neecssarv protection of British interests alone. The failure of the Conference had not lessened the desire of Government that the Naval Programmes should he modified as was shown by the Government’s lessoning advance programme for two years.