BRITISH POLICY

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 270, 9 July 1932, Page 5

BRITISH POLICY

rRritish Offlcial Wireless)

proposals go even further than hoover's iUTLINED IN COMMONS

RUGBY, Friday. Stanley Baldwin made an imit declaration 011 the British disnent policy in the House of [0ns. He said the Government ]jy welcomed Mr. Hoover's deion because it called for a realbstantial measure of disarmaand sought to apply the two fles of quantitatiye and qualitamitation. ccess at Geneva depended on a ral agreement and Mr Hoover's Dsals were put forward as a ibution to an agreed general ramiae. The British proposals [(} be similarly regarded. ;ain further agreed with Mr. !r that the three problems of ry. naval and air disarmament inter-connected. Britain, like nited. States, found her strongin the navy and although contributions to disarmament on ivgest scale had already been in advance of the present cone, the British Government now l a further contribution as a world settlement. ling with land disarmament, Mr. [in said Britain had already joinrejecting chemical and bacter|al warfare, and had proposed [olitioii of all niobile guns above I ealibre. fcrding tanks the Government | with Mr. Hoover in desiring [pecifically-offensive weapons be jited. fcin had on land already put infctice a measure of disarmament, Iniore than conformed to the [rds proposed by Mr. Hoover. I Naval Proposals |ng to naval proposals, Mr In said the numerical reduction |Briti.-h navy had already been 1 on a large scale and indeed I numbers vould require special Iration hereaft'er. It vas posiiowevei', to seeure by other |a large diminution in naval lents. ■ British proposals would seek luce the size of guns and ships ■ the standard put forward by ■nited States. If the ealibre of lin.were reduced to 12 inches, laximum size of capital ships Be reduced from 35,000 to 25,■ns. lsame principle could he apB eruisers and the maximum ■lgun t-alibre could he reduced MO0O tons and eight inches to ■n and 0.1 inches. ■ald thcn be possible to reduce * of capital ships still further 9 the maximum at 22,000 tons Sinch guns. This would nearly Ae initial cost and greatly re■intenance. Mibmarines and Aircraft !»n favoared the abolition of the %ie, which would also make [1 a rcductionjn destroyer tonabout one-third. If submar■li not be completely abolisbed *iould be a strict limitation of J*il tonnage and number of 'f to the air proposals, Mr. 1 said Ihe Government was to go to any length in an Bntwith other Powers to pre1; civilian population from air ?®nent and proposed the pro■oi boihbing from the air save *rtain limits; attacks upon the •■population to be entirely proP1 malso proposed the strict limi°ft the unladen weight of all ^.1 and naval aircraft (troop 'land flying hoats excepted), •^Irestriction of numbers of all 3 1 militarv and naval aircraft. 30§ '