NATIONS’ NAVAL PARLEY

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 701, 28 June 1929, Page 9

NATIONS’ NAVAL PARLEY

CONFERENCE IN LONDON INDICATED QUEST FOR “YARD STICK” iAustralian and N.Z. Press Association) NEW YORK, Thursday. The Washington correspondent of the “New York Times” says all the indications are that a conference between representatives of the five big naval Powers will be arranged to be held shortly in London. Diplomatic representatives of the French, Italian and Japanese Governments are said to be taking part in the present discussions with Messrs. Ramsay MacDonald, Prime Minister of Britain, C. G. Daw es, United States

Ambassador to Britain, and Hugh Gibson, United States representative at Geneva. It is understood that the questions now being considered are: (1) Shall there first be a meeting of civilian negotiators to determine the scope and character of the conference, or shall naval experts meet first to discuss the so-called naval “yardstick?” (2) Shall the scope of the conference be limited to cruisers, or to battleships and cruisers, or to all classes of combatant vessels? It is believed that Mr. MacDonald's visit to the United States may be expedited by the speed w'ith which the present discussions in London are proceeding. The expectation is that the new naval conference may be called within three to seven months. Another message from Washington s &ys Japan’s approval of the Kellogg Pact has been greeted there with deep satisfaction, particularly as it means ’hat with the deposit of her ratification, which is expected within a month, the treaty will come into force.