STRIKE FOR PEACE

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 463, 19 September 1928, Page 9

STRIKE FOR PEACE

“Time Has Arrived to Test Principles of the League” DRAMATIC GENEVA DEBATE (Australian and N.Z . Press Association) (United Service) Received 10 a.m. GENEVA, Tuesday. A DRAMATIC debate arose in the Third Committee of the League Assembly regarding the date of the Preparatory Disarmament Commission’s next meeting. Dr. Edward Benes (Czeeho-Slovakia) declared that the psychological moment had arrived to put the League’s principles to the test. The conference should be called without delay. He was confident that a disarmament convention would result.

Dr. Loudon (Holland), chairman of the Commission, who emphasised a desire for an early meeting, said convening it would be useless unless the Governments disagreeing on points of the draft convention reached an understanding. He proposed to ask England, France, Italy, Japan, and the United States to instruct their delegates to meet him in Paris to discuss it. M. Paul Boncour (France) who presumably had delayed his speech to enable the others to speak first, moved urging a solution of the differences between the Powers, in order to allow the Com-

mission to meet late in 1928 or early in 1929.

A British Official Wireless message says the report of the Third Committee, providing for financial assistance to States which are the victims of aggression, was unanimously adopted by the League Assembly today.

The Finance Committee of the League was instructed to draft a Convention, including rules for its application and the fixing of a maximum annual liability for each guarantor State, and the amount up to which it might have to guarantee a loan.