WORLD PEACE.

Taranaki Daily News, 19 August 1922, Page 5

WORLD PEACE.

SOME PROGRESS MADE.

THE WASHINGTON TREATIES. PROBLEMS of the future. By. Telegraph.—Press Association. Wellington, Last Night. When the House resumed this evening, the Premier intimated that he proposed to take the debate on Sir John Salmond’s report on the Washington Conference. In opening the discussion he paid a. tribute to the manner in which New Zealand was repr» /MiteJ at the conference. To give effect to the, treaties it was necessary that they should be ratified by Parliament, and he proposed to move in that direction later on. He regarded with satisfaction the improved relations which had resulted from the meetings at the conference. One of the greatest results of the conference was the doing away with the competition between the Great Powers in building capital ships. He referred to the fact that the Battle of Jutland disclosed defects in> many of our capital ships, and to overcome the defects disclosed some nations began building ships of greater power than the world had ever seen, and it was feared Britain wou'ld have to join in that competition. This now was happily avoided. There were some things, however, the conference did not do. It had not limited the number of light cruisers any nation might build, nor had it limited the construction of submarines. This he would have liked to have seen, but the fact was the submarine was not a great menace of the future, because it was beaten before the war ended. He then dealt with the important part aircraft- was likely to play in the next war, and then passed on to discuss the Pacific Treaty as explained by Sir John Salmond. PEACE NOT YET. Continuing, Mr. Massey said he believed the time, would come when war would, be no more. That time was not yet, Lilt when it did come it would only be by a combination in which the three Great /Powers would say to those inclined? for war that their disputes must be refe/xed to an independent tribunal, namely, the League of Nations, the setting up of 'Which he regarded as the most forward step yet taken in the interests of peace. Dealing with the constitutional position of the Dominions at Washington, where the Dominions had no separate representation, he said he was rather pleased at what had taken place there, because where the Dominions had separate votes they might have differences -of opinion and vote against each other, which was not in the interests of the Empire. He entirely approved of the fact that at the Washington Conference the Dominions were there as units ot the British Empire and not as separate countries. . _ . There was ,a paragraph in bir Jonn Salmond’s report which dealt with the iinpot-tiirte of being prepared -with our scheme of defence, and he read the reempmendations of the Admiralty.as to ■what was expected of New Zealand in naval defence, and if those recommendations were carried out we had nothing to fear for the .future. New Zealand was bound to do her share in the defence oi the Empire. ■ We were committed to that iff principle. Though the deta,.s had not yet been settled, that would have to be done in the near future. The Empire existed by virtue of its sea power and once our communications were cut that was the end of the EmOur duty was clear, and he did not doubt/ that when the time came New Zealand would not be behind in matters of naval defence. When the first war Cabinet was called the Dominions were made partners in the -Empire, and while we had the privileges of partners we had the responsibilities of partners. Our domestic policy must have the first claim upon our attention, but there should be a continuity of the Imperial conference. If Imperial conferences could meet every year it would be well, but there were' difficulties in the way, and: he believed the ultimate phase would be some development of the Privy Council, which would become some sort of Imperial council, which would deal with Imperial affairs.

ESCAPES DURING WAR. He had no wish to disparage the League of Nations, but it had no power behind it, and it might lead to a sense of false security. What he would like to see was a combination lead by Britain and America, which would be powerful enough to enforce peace upon the world. Referring to the history of the past few years, he said the escapes we had during the war were simply marvellous. It looked as if we were being specially protected —not that we were better than the other peoples of the world—'but he believed we were being specially protected, and -part of the purpose for which we were being protected was to bring general peace to the world; to hasten the day when men would beat their swords into ploughshears, and their spears into pruning hooks, and learn the art of war no more. He moved: “That the House of Representatives of New Zealand in Parliament assembled, assents to the notification by His Majesty of the Washington Treaties as negotiations by the plenipotentiaries at the recent Washington Conference.” Mr. T. M. Wilford (Leader of the Opposition), in seconding the motion, said the Liberal side of the House yielded to no one when it came to supporting the British Empire. Tn his opinion the first great result of the Washington Conference was that the perils of AngloAmerican antagonism were averted by frank discussion; secondly, that different parts of the British Empire had respoiiSbilities; thirdly, that it revealed a sincere and spontaneous identity ot ■purpose bv the four Great Powers. It had got rid of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, which was a. source of ganger, ft produced a paper peace and it sboweu that the first great test of good faith was disarmament. SUBMARINE DANGERS. Dealing with submarines, Mr. Wilford pointed out that Germany at no time had more than nine to ten submarines operating in the vicinity vet Britain had to keep some 3000 cratt to combat them. He regretted the conference had not dealt with aircraft, because there could be no doubt the future development of aircraft would render uneertain the efficiency of fleets dealt

with by the treaty. He was personally satisfied with the status New Zealand had at the conference, though there were curious anomalies in the representation, New Foundland, a self-governing Dominion, not having a representative, while India, which was not selfgoverning, had one. We might congratulate ourselves, as a result of the conference, that for ten years there would be no building of capital ships and that there would be no increase in land forces, because it would be too eOfftly to do it. He favored New Zealand being represented at all Imperial and international conferences. He looked with faith on the work of the League of Nations, because it was capable of awakening the public conscience in the case of any nation seeking to break peace. There was a menace in the world to-day in the threatened entry of Constantinople by Greece, because that would offend millions of Mohammedans, who would not suffer the violation of their Holy places. There was a second menace in. the world, and that was the poverty of Germany. She had thousands of men trained to war and lacked only the engines of war. If Germany should decide on another war she would not have to fight with Russia on her flank, and therefore she might become more dangerous than she was, and his opinion was that we must at an early date either trade with Germany or fight with her. * Mr. H. E. Holland (Leader of -the Labor Party) said that- at all times The Labor Party favored restrictions on war and was prepared to support every movement favorable to world peace. He regretted the decision with regard to submarines, which, in spite of what the Premier said, was a distinct danger to the world. He believed Frapce would in future use submarines largely. Owing to the want of mental balance on the part of her statesmen he regarded France as the nation most likely to first break the peace of the world. He entirely agreed with the resolutions passed in connection with poison gases, but regretted there were no means of enforcing them. The resolution passed by the conference was not enough, but it was valuable so far as it went. In a like manner it was regrettable no limit was placed on the construction and use of aircraft, because they were going to have a terrible effect in future wars. He mentioned other inventions which would be used in the next great conflict, which he said would not 'be a war between soldiers, but a fight between chemists, and the slaughter would be terrible, in spite of our so-called civilisation. The Pacific Treaty was a good thing so far as it goes, and was an improvemeni on the Anglo-Japanese Treaty. Sir John Salmond said in his report thaw the primary object of the treaties acreed to was financial, and what was done 'had no great ethetical significance behind it. He regretted this was the ease, but it would appear from what .Sir John Salmond thought that all that had been aceompliehed was to cheapen war. There was no big moral force behind the decisions of the conference. The motion was agreed to on tne Sroieea.