ROTHMERE’S WARNING

Hokitika Guardian, 29 April 1929, Page 8

ROTHMERE’S WARNING

OX U.S.—BRITISH RELATIONS

(.from Viscount Rothermeme)

NEW YORK, .March 10

With much reluctance 1 turn aside from urgent business a (hairs lieue to warn my fellow countrymen at home of the really serious danger of allowing the present increasing estrangement of Anglo-American relations to develop. In some inexplicable way the British foreign Office, under its present chief, lias failed to grasp the paramount importance of what, alter all, must be the basis of our Inreign policy —the maintenance of a most cordial understanding between ourselves and the United States.

In its relations with America, blunder has sin needed blunder. There was first the failure of the Geneva Naval Conference. If ever there was an opportunity to [dace the relationship ol the two countries on an enduring basis of friendship, it was the Geneva Conference of If)i27 summoned by President Coolidge to bring about agreement for the further limitation of naval armaments.

The 'failure of this conference bewildered the British public. Sir Austen Chamberlain’s only reply to the, grave criticisms subsequently levelled against his department for the unfortunate outcome was that there had been a “want of preparation” on the part of the British Government for this all-important dicussiou. BIGGER AMERICAN NAVY.

Instead of at once endeavouring to ’.'•'•aice a furl !>'•]• conference tin* British Foreign Office entered into what was in effect a seer t pact, with France covering almost the identical ground that was set down for negotiation with America at Geneva. Was anything mire likelv to establish an atmosphere of distrust and' mistrust between the Governments of London and Washington ?

Not having succeeded in bringing about an agreement with ourselves, the United States Government immediately developed its programme for an increased American Navy. One of die last acts of President Coolidgc’s •enure of office has been to give his signature to the Navy Bill, which orovides for a notable increase in * merican naval armaments.

Right up to the present time the bungling of the British Government lias continued. The most recent example of it was the repudiation by Sir Austen Chamberlain of the happy announcement made in a speech by the. British Ambassador in Washington (Sir Esine Howard) that the British Government favoured the holding of another naval conference. THE RIGHT PATH.

We are now at a turning-point in our relations with the United States, and I wisli to indicate most clearly the course which l would urge the people of Britain to 'follow. For tho first time for something like half a century British foreign policy is going to play ail important part in a general election. No one regrets it no re than I do. For this the British public can lay the blame upon the present Government.

Now that the electorate has been aroused, it should insist upon an immediate clarification of our relations with the foreign Power for which, above all the people of Great Britain I't'cl the profouiidest regard and esteem, and with whom they have the closest possible blood ties. ] make the suggestion that this Government, even before it goes out »f office, should approach the United States with a clear pronouncement that it is willing to discuss not only the relative sizes of the British and \ merican fleets, but international naritime law in all its phases, including the question of blockade and contraband.

BLOCKADE DANGER. 1 urge this the more strongly because, as Great Britain is situated today, f believe that the present law ol blockade, if applied in a war between ourselves and another naval Powei, might he extremely prejudicial, even perilous, to the people.of our islands, for it would entitle a naval Power at war with us to cut off our resources of over-seas food.

It should he the main principle of all future naval agreements that, in flic vital interests of Great Britain nersell, the blockade should not be applicable to foodstuffs carried in neutral bottoms, but that such food ships should have the right to discharge their cargoes at any port, whether subject to blockade or not. Largely owing to neglect by a suc•es'sion of British Governments of the nrimary duty of maintaining our national agriculture, Great Britain is today dependent to the exeat of more than SO per cent, of her requirements, upon imported supplies. There is rarely enough food in our islands to feed the country for more than sixweeks. At one period during the world war there was grave danger that Great Britain would he starved into acceptance of defeat.

A very well-known admiral once remarked to me that if the German Admiralty, instead of competing against

other Bowers by building monster warships, had devoted its naval expenditure to the building of submarines and bad been able at the outbreak ol war tu station 301) or 400 of these vessels on all the trade routes of the world few British food ships could have escaped being torpedoed, and a 1 amine in Britain would have been the inevitable result.

SIGN! FIC ANT J 3 Y-ELECT lONS. The extraordinary decline in the number of votes cast lor the Government at recent by-elections in Britain has tome as a surprise to many people. It is no surprise to me. 1 have always believed that, apart from other causes, the misgiving and anxiety engendered by what looks like a gradual alienation between Great Britain and the United States would prove to be a factor ol increasing potency in parliamentary elections.

The Government must expect to see a still further striking decline in the number of their supporters if they go to the country in the next few weeks leaving Anglo-American relations in their present unsatisfactory state. I urge our Government —even at this later tlian the eleventh hour—to make a complete transformation in its policy, and to prove to every right-thinking man and woman, notwithstanding its record to date, that its deliberate policy is to maintain and develop for whatever period of office remains to it the most cordial and friendly relations with Lhe great’kindred nation of the West.

ny personal observation dnrins my frequent visils to the United States, I am able to vouch for the fact that the American people deplored as strongly as we do the misunderstandings which have been allowed to arise, and would sincerely welcome any development that opened the way to closer friendship with Britain. Jt is the turn of Great Britain to propose a new conference. Such a step is dictated by the most elementary common sense, for real competition in naval stength i.etween our country and America is economically impossible.

FLOATING factories. The United States now Inis probably more than half the wealth of the world, and this is increasing with unbelievable rapidity. Warships to-day are more like floating factories than anything else. Quite lately 1 saw a plan drawn up by a naval engineer,"which seemed to show that by the use of all kinds of mechanical device* and contrivances it would be possible to reduce the personiial of war vessels by about oO per cent. With some such scheme in operation the manning difficulty of the American Navy would largely disappear.

The British nation as a whole feels very grave concern at the injury which the narrow and shortsighted conduct of the present Government lias done to Anglo-American relations in its handling of this grave naval question. Little enough time remains to remedy the foolish mistakes which have been committed, but the Conservative rank and file are entitled to expect that before tiie Government engages in the critical coming general election it should do what it can to repair the blunders of its misguided American policy.