NON-AGGRESSION

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 3, Issue 717, 18 December 1933, Page 5

NON-AGGRESSION

(British Official Wireless.)

european pacts" may pave the way to understanding by powers . PRESS OPINION

Rugby, Dec. 15. A leading article in the TimeS reinarks that the immediate purpose of the present diplomatic activity in the various capitals, and almost the sole purpose of Britain, is to bring about a basis for ' negotihtions between France and Germany, to which the Times thinks a fresh pact of nonaggression might conceivably be useful. The article continues : "Cynics may argue that if pacts of non-aggi-ession could secure European peace it has h'lready been secured one-hundred-fol'd, since mo'st of the nations of Europe have actually signed a whole series of thein, in addition to such major instrufnents as the Covenant of the League of Natioh's, the Kellogg Pact, and the Treaty of Locarno. But the answer is that in the first place war has not been started again anywhere in Europe with which these many treaties may have had something to do. In the second place, Herr Hitler is a revolutionary, who has broken with his party. A solemn pledge by a leader who is known to bea man of his word, that he would not go to war with France, could in fact, hardly fail to pave the way to a better understanding between the two great countries, whose present disagreement absolutely prevents the conclusion of a general disarmament convention." Lack of Confidence After an analysis of the causes of

the mutual Franco-German want of confidence, and in particular France's anxiety regarding the apparent determination of the German Government to impart intermediary military training to every citizen, the Times argues that the real cause of the apprehension of Germany's neighbours rnust be not the existence of their voluntary unarmed militia, since con.scription is general on the Continent, but coincident with it, of a highlytrained long-service professional army and the absence of any form of organised international control. It adds: "Both these points are met in the draft convention. Herr Hitler's Government had agreed to transform the professional Reichswehr into a short-service army, and Germany agreed with the other delegations at the Disarmament Conference to an automatic investigation by an international commission of both these extremely valuable points which are in suspense so long as the draft convention remains inoperative. The moral is, 'get back to tbe draft convention'." The Times emphasises that a collective peace system, with equal rights and international supervision, oifers the only hope of agreement and the only alternative to the dangers of unrestricted competition.