DISARMAMENT PLANS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 51, Issue 133, 18 March 1931, Page 5

DISARMAMENT PLANS.

ARMS TRAFFIC CONVENTION. . (United Press Association —Copyright). LONDON, March 17. In the House of Commons the Secretary for Foreign Affairs (Mr Arthur Henderson), said that at the session of the Cpuncil of the League of Nations last May the British Government had proposed convening a conference of the signatories to the Arms Traffic Convention to consider the question of bringing it into force as soon as possible. This proposal had iesulted in a postponement of consideration of the question until the Preparatory Commission for the Disarmament Conference bad completed its work. Now this condition had been fulfilled and he proposed to'raise the question again at the next meeting of the Council. Viscount Cecil, speaking; in London on disarmament expressed the opinion that the international weather had very markedly improved, and was still improving, i Instead of hostility between countries there was a changed feeling, and witliiu the skeleton of the document that had been drawn up at the Preparatory Commission on. Disarmament he firmly believed it would be possible to carry out international disarmament to the most drastic degree. They were anxious that the coming conference should result not merely in a limitation of armaments. If they could only induce the nations to agree, the result of .their deliberations next year would lie to bring down the costs of armament by a definite percentage—he honed by as much p 2;"> per cent. They should get a really convenient and simule test whether they were progressing towards a reduction or only towards a limitation.