Workers for Peace

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1075, 12 September 1930, Page 9

Workers for Peace

LEAGUE DELEGATES BUSY States of Europe Plan BRITAIN’S URGENT DISARMAMENT PLEA Lnited P.A.—By Telegraph—Copyright IPic -Noon. GENEVA, Thursday. VUE Assembly of the League of Nations showed an eager- * ness to get down to principal topics instead oi: wasting the earlier days on flowery platitudes from representatives ot smaller States, and this led M. Briand to take the rostrum this morning and expound his United States of Europe plan. M. Briand said all the countries that had replied to his questionnaire were favourable to the principle of a Federation of Europe.

It was logical M. Briand said, that countries which had suffered most from the recent war should work together to prevent another war. No conclusion had so far been reached save that some sort of Federation was necessary. M. Briand said there were many obstacles on the way to disarmament, but many had been surmounted already. So far as France was concerned it would not have been possible to reduce armaments in the way they had done if the League had not paved ! the way to security. He recalled the ■ work of the London Naval Conference 1 and said that as Foreign Minister he was in touch with neighbouring friendly nations, and ’ hoped accord would be reached which would com- | plete the London agreements. M. Briand said he had discussed | the scheme with leading Americans, j who said it would be an insult to their ] intelligence to suggest that the federa- | tion was aimed against America. On the contrary it would tend to ! strengthen the consumptive capacity j of Europe, which was America’s larg- | est customer. BRITAIN'S ELOQUENT PLEA I The British Foreign Secretary, Mr. j Arthur Henderson, rather increased j the view that no great results could | be expected from the plan for a Euro- ! pean Federation. He only gave the i subject passiug reference before he i delivered his prepared oration dealing ! with disarmament, which is nearer the | MacDonald Ministry’s heart. Mr. Henderson’s real message consisted of one of the strongest British pleas for real progress in disarmament that has ever been heard at Geneva. In a reference to M. Briand's speech he said the closest collaboration of the European Governments was vitally j important to European peace. The i British Government had stated its j opinion in reply to the questionnaire

and had expressed its great sympathy with the proposal. LEAGUE MUST HELP Whatever developed from the discussion of the scheme, the British Government hoped it would be carried into effect in collaboration with the League and would be consistent with the international obligations of League membership and would help forward the League’s disarmament policy. Mr. Henderson said the British Government heartily supported the majority report of the committee on the reorganisation of the League Secretariat and hoped it would he unanimously adopted. He also hoped that the optional clause would be universally adopted because ho regarded it as a first step toward the settlement of all questions by peaceable methods. Mr. Henderson maintained that of all security measures, disarmament was the most important and he trusted further progress would be made this year. The authors of the Covenant never believed disarmament could be achieved if national armaments remained unrestricted. DOMINIONS’ PART Mr. Henderson emphasised that Britain and the Dominions had already ratified the optional clause, and one of the chief tasks of the Imperial Conference would be to consider what further contribution the various members of the British Commonwealth ■rt-ould make in the cause of disarmament and world peace. At a plenary meeting of the Assembly M. Briand, in an optimistic speech declared the League was increasing in authority airtonfc; the nations of the world. It was a barrier against war. There were still difficulties regarding disarmament and France wp.s doing her best to overcome them. He realised there were obstacles to his plan for a European Federation, but with the cordial co-operation of all nations these would be surmounted.