NEARING THE END

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 114, 4 August 1927, Page 16

NEARING THE END

GENEVA DISCUSSIONS EFFORT TO LIMIT NAVIES ELEVENTH-HOUR SCHEME (British Official Wireless.) Reed. 11.40 a.m. RUGBY, Wednesday. Exchanges of views between the delegates to the Geneva naval limitation conference continued throughout yesterday, and this is regarded as an indication at least of a refusal to take for granted America’s demand for parity, by enabling her to build up to Britain’s cruiser strength, that it would preserve naval status, “which was the original Japanese demand, and would result in considerable economy." ■a Should such arrangement result, it ■ would to aome extent mitigate the ■ disappointment felt in Britain at the ■ failure of the < „„f,-r, to realise the tnoud failure of the conference.

Although the negotiations have hitherto failed to compose major differences, all the delegates are eager to reach some agreement, and yesterday’s discussions are understood to have been centred around a proposal evolved by the Japanese delegation out of the debates and past discussions. It is claimed for the proposal in its new form that it would satisfy the purpose sought in the original British proposals, which in fact had been carefully elaborated even before Mr. Coolidge’s invitation to the conference was received. It is a comprehensive scheme, dealing with capital ships, cruisers, flotilla leaders, destroyers, and submarines. It contemplates an economy estimated at £SO millions in the course of a few years, and it makes a definite contribution to progressive limitation of offensive armaments, on the model of the Washington Treaty. The provisional agreement regarding submarines, although falling far short of Britain’s proposal, was reached in the early stages of the conference, and would at least have put an end to competition in this class of vessel. The differences on the cruiser question, however, have jeop ardised the prospect of the final adoption of these minor provisional agreel merits. —A. and N.Z,