Trafficking in Arms

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 777, 25 September 1929, Page 9

Trafficking in Arms

SECURITY OF PEACE Britain to Ratify Convention (United P.A. — By Telegraph — Copyright) Australian and .V.Z. Press Association) (United Service) Received 10 a.m. GENEVA, Tuesday. THE League of Nations Assembly adopted the report and » resolution of the Disarmament Committee.

Viscount Cecil announced that Britain had decided to ratify the Arms Convention dealing with traffic in arms. Lord Cecil expressed astonishment at the suggestion that he was trying to diminish security. He said: “I am amazed that any member of this Assembly should think such a thing. I should be the first to oppose such a course. I have only one thing in mind, and that is peace. Peace is the greatest security. “You can get peace only by a reduction of armaments, and you cannot get a reduction of armaments without a limitation of war material.” He announced that Great Britain intended to ratify the convention on the private manufacture of arms and munitions. No country, he said, was anxious to pledge itself until it saw that the other countries will do the same. It was possible, therefore, that Great Britain might ratify the convention with a reservation demanding the signatures of the other countries.

LEAGUE AND DISARMAMENT On the broad question of disarmament, Lord Cecil said he realised that the Assembly for the time being could do nothing directly in this matter. It had appointed the Preparatory Commission, and it was for that Commission to take positive steps and to draft a Convention. UNJUST CHARGES Critics of his resolution had attributed varying motives to it. Some thought it was designed to postpone the work of disarmament, and others that it was intended to obstruct. Both charges were unjust and unfounded. He simply sought to emphasise certain general principles which he believed to be of vast importance. Lord Cecil repeated the points in his resolution, namely, the application of the same principles to the reduction and limitation of personnel and material, whether land, sea or air, limitation of the strength of forces, either by numbers or by the period of training, or both, and limitation of material.