WINSTON CHURCHILL

Hokitika Guardian, 16 August 1929, Page 5

WINSTON CHURCHILL

SPEAKS ON BRITISH-AMERICAN RELATIONS.

(United Press Association—By Electric T elegr aph—Copyright).

(Received this day at 12.25. p.m.) OTTAWA, August 15.

Addressing the Canadian Club today, Mr Winston Churchill declared it had been the aim of every British Government to remove all stumbling blocks from the path of Anglo-Ameri-can friendship and success had crowned their efforts. The only live issue remaining was the question of a naval agreement. He declared the 1921 Washington Conference, was a great decision which he had looked on with faith and| hope. He added: “ Blit on looking back I begin to wonder if it did not do as much harm as good to Anglo-American relations.” Pointing out that the Washington Treaty dealt thoroughly with battle fleets, the speaker said the new agreement would be a more complicated affair. Ships varied as much (from one another as human beings. “It seems to me we are opening up fields of, immense possibilities of misunderstanding, if we try to regulate the whole of the minor construction of'two couh-1 tries in accordance with some rigi treaty instrument.” ,

He declared while Britain was dependent for food and raw material on seaboard trade, United States was a self-contained continent separated hv thousands of miles from any potential danger, while Britain was .only one hour away from Europe with its animosities and quarrels. He stated there can he no parity olf circumstances to apply a rigid numerical equality to conditions so markedly unequal. Whatever the yardstick may he, there runs a great risk of not arriving at the true goal, which is that United States and the British Empire shall be equal powers upon the seas. He said: “I wonder if this great diversity of conditions is understood by the American people and whether it will receive fair recognition in the proposals they have to make to us. If not, then a' fair agreement will be hard to reach, and if reached on paper without the real assent of the public opinion of each country, then in the years to come th,ere may again rise up tlio.se difficulties which it is, our object to sweep away. I doubt if a rigid agreement will lead to an effective reduction of expenditures.”