BRITAIN’S REDUCED FORCES

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 650, 30 April 1929, Page 11

BRITAIN’S REDUCED FORCES

“Contemptible Little Amy”

POWERS’ DISARMAMENT PARLEY

T H her land to the at Geneva by Lord Cushe^dun 116 C ° Venant was P ointed out mg- caused laughter by expressing a conference for mutual

(United P.A.—By Telegraph-Copyright) (Australian and N.Z. Press Association)

Reed. 11 a.m. GENEVA, Monday. The China delegation to the Pro paratory Disarmament Conference consented to the question of the abolil!°' 1 conscription being deferred to the Disarmament Conference proper because the other delegations consider it to be outside the scope of the present commission. China, however, reserved the right if necessary to adopt conscription Count von Bernstorff (Germany) said they were not asking the Powers

which already were disarmed to disarm. He hoped the future conference would not degenerate into a conference for mutual protection against disarmament. (Laughter.) Lord Cushendun pointed out that the question of limitation and reduction was already settled. He did not know what reductions others had made, but Britain’s “contemptible little army” had greatly been reduced and was now a very small force, consisting

of nine cavalry regiments, 21 battalions of infantry, 61 batteries of artillei7* Her military budget had been reduced as follows: The expenditure 1925 was £36,250,000; 1926, £34,500,000; 1927, £33,333,000; 1928, £02,750,000. Britain already had reduced her land forces to the limit provided by Article VIII. of the Covenant. Lord Cushendun said it was quite true, as the French delegate had said, that the question of the distinction between limitation and reduction had already been discussed and settled. Nevertheless, it was very important to bear in mind the distinction between the two, because if reduction were to be substituted for limitation in this convention, they might very well be going beyond the obligations of Article VIII. of the Covenant, which laid down that there should be a reduction to a level compatible with national safety. One could not tell at present what nations, if any, had already reduced to that level. Consequently, if they were to insist upon reduction as well as limitation in the present Convention, they might very well be going beyond pie obligations of Article VIII. Great Britain had carried out consistently for many years a continuous reduction of land armaments. At the end of the war Britain had a very large military force, produced by compulsory service, which was an exceptional system for her. Britain immediately returned to voluntary service, but even on that small level which, compared with conscriptionist nations, was a very small army, Britain had been continually reducing.