The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. MONDAY, APRIL 14th, 1930.

Hokitika Guardian, 14 April 1930, Page 4

The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. MONDAY, APRIL 14th, 1930.

THE GREAT CONFERENCE. The groat conference regarding naval disarmauent us nearing its end. it lias been sitting since mid-January, and it is expected the final plenary sitting will be reached to-day or tomorrow. The cable news has prepared the public for the result, there will be no Five Power agreement unless the unexpected happens at the last-unom-nent. France and Italy are standing out, one jealous of the other, and each apparently not rushing the other powers. There were great expectations and high hopes when the Conference launched, and it was hoped with Great Britain and the United States paving the way with their preliminary meetings that all would be well. But it would appear we shall have to he satisfied with a half way agreement in the way of a, Three Power treaty. Tt has been announced hy Mr Hugh Gibson, one of the American delegates to the Naval Conference, that definite agreement on naval construction and disnrnuuient has been reached hy the United States, Britain and Japan. Considering the gloomy predictions of absolute failure that have been circulated about the Conference of late, this optimistic message comes as a pleasant surprise. No doubt say the Auckland “Sta' 1 ”, Mr Gibson is anxious to justify the action of his Government in enrfici"at'.ii"; in this Conference in the face of a Strom- bodv of host do public '■'union in the United Slates. But ns lie has supplied fell particulars of the noo-noniont in his broadcast message to the Amorioan people, wo may assume thnte iln' statement is nutlioni’c and that to this extent the Naval Conference has achieved success. The terms n;f (lie compact as indicated by Mr Gibson are both rigorous and enmprehon-

sive. The three contracting Powers are to scrap nine battleships with out replacement. This will reduce Japan's battleships to nine, and this means that “the reduction of combined battleships in the three countries will equal in numbers the third largest fleet in the world.” Furthermore, in 1922, by the Washington Treaty it was agreed that Britain, Japan and the United States might collectively lay down 2(5 new battleships by 1936. But this new agreement prevents any of the three Powers from laying down any battleships within the next six years. These figures are certainly impressive, am! they go a long way towards establishing Mr Gibson’s claim that, .in spite of all the difficulties that had to he overcome, the Conference has been a sneess. Bigt it must not be forgotten that, unless all the Great Powers are unanimous, agreements of this sort are really at the mercy of any recalcitrant Power which chooses to repudiate the disarmament principle on its own account. As the “Observer” puts it, “if any practical or far-reaching agreement on naval reductions is to be achieved, France must be a party to it.” Yet France refuses to make terms with the other Powers, and we are even told that “the Anglo-French security formula talks have hpen almost abandoned.’-’ France ran hardly be blamed for insisting that a disarmanent policy must module some definite guarantee of security. But if France is left to her own devices she will hm'iu a stronger fleet, to ensure her own safety : iust as the American threaten to build a he ge fleet if they cannot socrlre “the Freedom of the Reas.” There certainly seems to he no hope of n I'h've Power compact a present.: and so long as anv one of the Great Powers '"Hs aloof, it is to be feared that even (his Three Power agreement ran only 1,0 regarded as contingent and provisional.