TO LIMIT NAVIES

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 590, 16 February 1929, Page 9

TO LIMIT NAVIES

British Ambassador to America Prophesies a New Major Effort

EARLY PARLEY PROBABLE

(United. P.A.—By Telegraph — Copyright) (Australian and N.Z. Press Association) !i,Ttj V B d - 9 ' 40 a ‘ m - WASHINGTON, Friday. THF Fritisli Ambassador to the United States, Sir Esme 1 , Howard > predicted that a new major effort is about to be made to bring about an agreement between the world Powers on a further limitation of armaments.

Sir Esme's statement is as follows: “There would seem to be every reason to believe that now the American 15-Cruiser Bill has become law, a further effort before long will be made to reach an agreement between the principal rival Powers of the world for a limitation of naval armaments.

“As long as that Bill was under discussion, any proposal to renew the conversations on this vital subject might have been interpreted in the United States of America as an attempt to interfere with the passage of the Bill. By its passage the ground is cleared, and any discussions that take place will certainly proceed on the assumption that these ships will be built. “The British elections, which take place this summer, may, however, postpone any discussion of this kind for some months longer. “The disarmament clause of the Covenant of the League of Nations, Article VIII., makes it practically imperative that all members of the League should make further efforts toward restriction of armaments. “The United States has hitherto shown itself favourable to the idea of continuing negotiations for an agreement in this sense. It would therefore seem that everything points toward an early resumption of negotiations, and with a far better understanding of the needs of the respective parties than existed at Geneva in 1927, there should be a very good prospect of their being brought to a satisfactory conclusion.” An earlier message said that dispatches indicating the possibility of Britain submitting to the United States a proposal for a new search for a solution of the naval armaments problem were received in Washington yesterday with interest by offl-

cials. This move was not unexpected. It is reported that the United States Government is willing to summon a naval conference before 1931 if the other Governments which signed the Washington Treaty request it to do so. AMERICA’S ATTITUDE MR. KELLOGG’S OPINION NO OFFICIAL MESSAGE (Australian and N.Z. Press Association) Received 12.24 p.m. WASHINGTON, Friday. Tlie Secretary of State, Mr. F. B. Kellogg, expressed interest in Sir Esme Howard’s statement to-day. He said he had no communication or intimation from the British Gpvernment on the subject of an armaments limitation effort. Observers recalled that the State Department previously made it plain that the United States had no intention of initiating discussion before 1931, when it is oblgiated to do so. Mr. Kellogg is not able to predict the American attitude toward the possible British suggestion for an earlier conference; but he pointed out that the United States had always accepted such proposals in the past. However, he observed that the United States’ future policies would depend upon the Hoover administration.

Mr. F. A. Britten, Chairman of the Naval Committee of the House of Representatives, stated that the United States was always ready to confer on the limitation of armaments.