Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 1935. THE GERMAN REPLY.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 55, Issue 109, 18 February 1935, Page 4

Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 1935. THE GERMAN REPLY.

The reply by the German Government to the Anglo-French proposals for securing the peace of Europe is couched in typical vein, for while accepting the scheme in principle, it puts forward the reservation that on certain questions. separate conversations are desirable. Britain, with that single-minded striving after concord that has become traditional, is already reported as not viewing the reply as rejection of the terms offered and as being ready to enter into further negotiations as soon as practicable. The proposals relate exclusively to defence against attack from the air, and the limitation is a wise one because this kind of attack is the most sudden and most terrible of all, and because air warfare lends itself more readily to international co-operation than, any other kind. A reciprocal regional agreement between certain Powers, is proposed as the best way of meeting this danger, each of the Powers undertaking the protection of its air forces "to whichever of them might be the victim of an unprovoked aerial aggression by one of the contracting Powers.” Having arrived at this conclusion in their recent conversations in London, the British and French Ministers, on behalf of their respective Governments, decided to invite Italy, Germany, and Belgium to consider whether such a convention should not be promptly negotiated. The object is to promote peace in the world by closer co-operation in a spirit of most friendly confidence, and to remove those tendencies which, it unchecked, are calculated to lead to a race in armaments. The statesmen agreed that nothing would contribute more to a restoration of confidence in the prospects of peace among the nations than a general settlement, freely negotiated, between Germany and the other Powers. A very significant feature of the statement issued on behalf of the two Governments is the admission by France, in guarded but unmistakable terms, that the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles, by which rearmament in Germany is theoretically restricted, are no longer tenable. France clung tenaciously, to the letter of the treaty even after j Germany had mote or less overtly defied it, and the cautious suggestion that armament ratios should now be revised on a basis which takes full account of the actual facts represents a marked concession to German J**" 41 .' ment on the subject. As Thelim said: The agreement may be the most valuables contribution to buro pean peace since the Locarno Pact, as it has boldly faced the twm problems of German equality and Frenc security. There is good will toward Germany is every paragraph.