PEACE PACT FAVOURED

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 351, 11 May 1928, Page 9

PEACE PACT FAVOURED

Britain and Kellogg Plan

CAREFUL THOUGHT GIVEN

Dominions’ Replies Awaited

BRITAIN is favourable to the war-outlawry pact proposed by the American Secretary of State. The British Foreign Secretary outlined the Government’s viewpoint yesterday. He expressed a hope that the negotiations would be successfully concluded, and said that Britain only awaited now the replies of the Dominions to the proposal.

British Official Wireless

Reed. 11.50 a.m. RUGBY. Thursday. Dealing with the American Secretary of State, Mr. F. B. Kellogg’s peace proposals, Sir Austen Chamberlain, Foreign Secretary, said in the House of Commons that while there had been some nations in the past which had deliberately worked for war at a moment convenient to themselves, in order to solve some problem in their favour, war had never been an instrument of policy in this country within any time that we could contemplate when discussing the Europe of to-day. Both because it was in consonance with the general policy of all the

British Governments, and because it was a move forward in a direction to which the present British Government had devoted all its energies evei* since it came into power, in international relations, the British Government welcomed the American proposal and hoped it would be brought to a successful conclusion. It had been asked why there had been delay. The Government had to consult—and he was sure the Government of the United States recognised this and would take no umbrage at it—the Governments of the British Dominions in other parts of the world. In a matter of this kind, the policy of the whole Empire must be one. We want all to sign the engagement, and not leave one portion of his Majestry’s Dominions out. HOW DOES LEAGUE STAND? That is not all. We, like other nations and like Germany, which has already replied, have undertaken certain engagements already in the conference at Geneva. It was so easy to make large and generous declarations, to propose high-sounding resolutions, and then to vote for them: but if they supported one, it was found sometimes that they had voted only with mental reservations, which made their intentions quite other than the verbal form which had been publicly accepted. Peace could not be preserved by signing a declaration, which, because it was signed with different interpretations and meanings, would lead to misunderstandings. Realising the new obligations which they were asked to undertake in the service of peace, was it not obvious that they should take a little time for consideration? SPIRIT OF THE PACT

Our object and the object of the United States was to negotiate a document which all signed in the same spirit, which all signed meaning the same thing, and which all signed with the same goodwill, the same heartiness and the same intention to maintain it. He did not think time had been wasted. The Government had been greatly helped in its consideration of this problem by the remarkable and very interesting speech recently delivered by Mr. Kellogg himself, before an American audience. That speech showed quite clearly that it was not the desire of the United States Government to impair the engagements of those who had already laid the foundations of peace and reconciliation in Europe, either by the League Covenant, with its larger obligations, or by the Treaty of Locarno, and that it was quite possible to reconcile our

: obligations under these instruments i with the new declaration wliich Mr. Kellogg invited us to make. VIEWS OF DOMINIONS “The present position of the matter,” continued Sir Austen Chamberlain, “is that his Majesty’s Government has concluded its examination of the proposals. Its comments and their suggestions for the reply to be made to the Government of the United States, are, I suppose, on their way to the Dominions at the moment when I am speaking. “Having regard to the number of i Powers already addressed by the | United States, to the difficulty of | bringing by correspondence six Powers ! readily and easily into agreement, and j to the tendency which often arose in j correspondence of magnifying differences instead of diminishing them, he ' had thought some other procedure would perhaps have led more quickly and most surely to the end they desired. His mind reverted naturally to the procedure which was employed so successfully before and at the conference of Locarno, and he had tentatively suggested that as in the case of Locarno the way might be smoothed for them, and the differences, if there were any, reduced to a minimum, if a meeting of jurists took place, in which they could exchange opinions and arguments; but as soon as he learned that the proposal did not commend itself to one of the Governments concerned, he withdrew it and they now proceeded, therefore, by the ordinary diplomatic channels. REPLIES AWAITED

“As soon, therefore,” concluded Sir Austen, “as the replies of the Dominions have been received by us, we shall hope to deliver an answer to the Government of the United States, and I need scarcely say after my opening words on this point that our answer will be to the effect that our desire is to co-operate in the conclusion of such a pact as is proposed, and to engage with the interested Governments in the negotiations required for that purpose.”