DISARMAMENT

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 224, 16 May 1932, Page 5

DISARMAMENT

(British Officiai Wireless)

BRITISH ATTITUDE IMPORTANT STATEMENT I& COMMONS BY FOREIGN SECRETARY ■ • » ' w • / FRENCH PLAN DISCUSSED

RUGBY, Saturday. , Sir John Simon, Secretary of State For Foreign Affairs, made an important statement when disarmament was discussed in. the House of Commons. He . said he sfiareci the view that- it was most important to combine qUantitative disarmament with qualitative methods, as a cross check. The objeet which qualitative disarmament put before them was primarily to outlaw the use of predominantly oifensive weapons to weaken attack at the expense of defence, and make it more difficult for the invader to deliver a knock-out blow. They must endeavour to reach not only quantitative but palitative disarmament. They were approaehing in the conference a discussion on the German thesis of security. The German thesis was not only technical, but fundamentally political. Germany said that she entered the conference with equal status with everyone else, and this status issue was very important, for it raised the question of the future basis of German armaments. Internationalised Force Regarding the French memorandum, proposing an internationalised force, Sir John Simon said it seemed to liim — and he thought he spoke for the Government — that whatever qiight be said in its favour, an international force essentially involved an international commander, an international general staff, and an international Cabinet. While it was perfectly true that all these would be international, nevertheless they had to remember that the individuals who composed the international general staff would not be international, but national. He thought that probably there were very serious difficulties to be analysed, because, after all, it was the essence of the work of an international general staff that it should set iteslf the hypothetical problem of defence. He did not know how they were going to deal with international general staff plans, put together by em inent members of particular nations, with mnch hope that the plans would remain secret until they were put into operation, or, ipdeed, that they could, without much reconsideration and modification, be worked out. Difficulties of Control They would have to decide what was the conception they embraced of the future of this immense international force. Did they conceive the League of Nations developing along the lines of an international police force or as growing in strength jnd autliority of an increasingly sensiftive and powerful organ — namely, Sthe organ of world opinion. : I He conceived that when a diffi- • Rulty arose either public opinion of ■ fthe world would be so deeply stirred Kmd so clearly expressed that it ■vould be overwhelming in its effect -Br an honest difference of view might ..ftrise, in which case it would be found e ■xeeedingly difficult to give an ineMer national police force consistent Sind intelligent direction. I Sir John Simon concluded by deifBning the attitude he wished to take ssftp, and which the Government and Khe House of Commons should adopt, gs one of qualified optimism as readMavds the result of the Disarmament issKonference, but unqualified detera®iination to pursue th'e good result fl) the end.