Naval Disarmament

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 771, 18 September 1929, Page 9

Naval Disarmament

BRITISH PRESS OPTIMISTIC

Tribute to Great Statesmen

British Official Wireless Received 10.45 a.iu. RUGBY. Tuesd&v. THE naval disarmament proposals are discussed iu all the newspapers today, iu the light of the progress made in the conversations between Britain and the United States. The difference of opinion between these Powers has now been narrowed down to such a small compass that it is thought by both Governments that the time is ripe for the calling of a general conference of the five principal naval Powers, to continue the work of limitation and reduction which was begun so successfully at Washington in 192:2.

The danger ol an ultimate disa-1 greement between the two countries j has been all but eliminated. The diffi- j culties which may arise may yet prove j complicated, but the foundations have I now been well laid, and there is a very fair prospect of a general limitation of navies, which will also, it is to be hoped, lead eventually to the desirable goal of a real and substantial reduction in naval armaments. COURAGEOUS EFFORTS The "Daily Telegraph,” after congratulating Mr. Ramsay MacDonald and President Hoover on their courageous efforts, emphasises that an Anglo-American agreement is strictly a preliminary to the five-Power conference, and whether it becomes operative or not depends on the degree to which the other Powers at the conference agree to fix their standards in respect to each other and to Britain and America. GREATEST OBSTACLE The “Daily Herald” points out that hitherto the greatest obstacle has been the Anglo-American failure to agree on any schedule w'hich could be defended as establishing parity between the different requirements of the two countries. That obstacle has now almost vanished. There is not yet a final agreement, but an agreement is very near. The “Manchester Guardian” recalls that trivial differences were permitted to wreck the three-Power naval disarmament conference at Geneva in 1927, but says it is inconceivable that the present Anglo-American differences should not prove easily solved. | There has been a vital change in the conditions since 1927 owing to the Kellogg Pact and the change of Governments in both countries. PROMISING OUTCOME The “Daily Mail’' regards the outcome as most promising, and says Mr. MacDonald’s visit to the United States may open a new chapter in world history, if all the expectations based on it are fulfilled. Meanwhile, Mr. MacDonald must he congratulated on the progress already made. The “Morning Post” regards a preliminary agreement with America as probable, more especially as President Hoover and Mr. MacDonald are both set on finishing it. The “Post” adds: “We are coming to an era resembling the refinements in duelling. That is to say, we do not agree not to fight. What we agree about is the length of our rapiers and the calibre of our pistols, so that if we go to war we start with a parity of armaments. “The reflective mind will see that, as equality of arms has not prevented or decided duels, so it will not prevent or decide war. What remains as a fundamental truth is that the danger of war is not removed by measuring weapons, but only by a conciliatory spirit, by plucking out from the heart of man those envies, hatreds, desires, needs and ambitions which lie at the root of the trouble.”