ANTI-WAR PACT

Hokitika Guardian, 3 August 1928, Page 2

ANTI-WAR PACT

(United Press Association. —By Electric Telegraph.—Copyright.) LONDON, Aug. 1. There is much speculation on both sides of the Channel concerning the nature of the Anglo-French armament agreement. It is understood that the proposals "ill most probably be submitted to the next Disarmament Conference. ’file French Foreign Office in •>- statement declared that it was to allow of the reopening of the work of the Preparatory Disarmament Conference, which ended in a deadlock, “that ’France and Britain sought for a compromise.” It is expected that France will delay the laying down of two ships permissible for her under the Washington Treaty. There is no leakage of information in London but tho French press and officials profess to know a lot about tho proposals. There is much talk of a revival of tho Entente Cordiale. One highlyplaced personage described the agreement as a return to the close alliance existing before the war. He said:—“The scheme can he considered a sort of unified command of tho naval and military forces of both countries on the basic principle that Britain and France will communicate to the British Admiralty the details of her navy programme. Any idea of war between them is absolutely out of tho question. Britain, in return, will not object to the French military reserves, and not accuse France of militarism and of possessing the strongest army, in tho world, a point on which France always has been sensitive.”

WASHINGTON, July 31

Officials declare that the conclusion of the naval agreement between Britain and Franco would probably facilitate a general agreement for limitation of auxiliary naval vessels. The details of the British and French agreement have not yet reached Washington, hut whatever the actual terms, it is declared that the Amei ican naval armaments policy will not be altered, nor will the United States be likely to consent to a new Naval Conference before the 1931 meeting, set by the Washington Treaty.

FRENCH VERSION. PARIS, July 31

An official silence is maintained hero regarding the terms of the An-glo-French Naval agreement. “I/O Journal” states that a coinpromise has been readied. France receives satisfaction as to her claims respecting her land forces, making counter-balancing concessions to the British naval claims. France is agreeing to the limitation, by category of five classes of ships, namely, battleships, cruisers, auxiliary surface vessels and submarines. Britnjin ha’s been advocating that submarines and liglit-arinourcd vessels are essenial for her defence. This difference was primarily responsible for France and Italy not participating in the Geneva Conference, in 1927. The compromise is therefore, pregnant with political and financial possibilities. However, the paper says, we have not reached the end of the Geneva divergence in tho dimensions and armaments of cruisers.

“Lo Matin” says: “The discussion centred on each Power’s liberty to choose its types of ships within tlic tonnage limits.