GENERAL DISARMAMENT

Taranaki Daily News, 19 November 1926, Page 7

GENERAL DISARMAMENT

PLAN QUITE PRACTICABLE VISCOUNT CECIL'S VIEWS* HOUSE OF LORDS DEBATE By Telegraph—Press Assn. —Copyright. Received Nov. 18, 7.40 p.m. London,, Nov. 17. In the House of Lords, Lord Parmoor drew attention to the questions of inaridates’and disarmament, apropos of the Geneva decisions. He urged that the attitude of Britain was an essential factor in the success of disarmament, and the Government should enlarge the area wherein it was -willing to avail itself of arbitration. Regarding mandates, Lord Parmoo.asked the Government whether it agreed with the Governor-General of New Zealand that the first consideration of a Mandatory Power was the ultimate benefit of the inhabitants of a mandated territory. Lord Oxford said that substantial efforts had been made for the cause of peace under the Washington and Locarno agreements, but Washington left land aircraft and submarines untouched. The disarmament of Germany, in the view of the signatories to the Treaty of Versailles, was regarded as the first step in general disarmament, but the advance since has been small. Lord Oxford contended that the use of chemical and bacteriological agencies in war should be prohibited, also submarines. The first thing should be to limit peace time armaments. Viscount Cecil agreed that chemical warfare and submarines should be abolished, but there was no unanimity of opinion regarding submarines. The discussions, however, showed that disarmament was quite a practicable thing, and he was sanguine about the prospects of an international disarmament scheme.