DISARMAMENT.

Auckland Star, Volume LIII, Issue 230, 28 September 1922, Page 5

DISARMAMENT.

I COMMITTEE'S PROPOSALS. j NOT DRASTIC ENOUGH. SIR J. COOK URGES SPEED. |B.» ruble. -Tree* Association.—Copyright.j i Received II a.m.i GENEVA September 27. Sir Joseph Cook said that he did not want, to throw cold water on the efforts ,of the Disarmament;) Committep. Kev«rjthelesa. lie was not satiefled. It seemed !to be assumed that material disarmament. i was dependent on moral disarmament. (That policy would not help the financial problem, exchanges, etc. If no better progress were possible than t.h» disarmament report proposed disarmament , was far away, and it would take a decade before anything subtttantial was done tinder the present proposals. Though progress was slow he hoped it would he correspondingly sure. He praised Lord Cecil's work, hut vigorous and prompt action was needed. Disarmament was the very cnix of the league's existence. If it failed in this it would fail in the principles constituting the very reason for its existence. He admitted that the : .-lutluok was not clear, but they must go ! forward with greater energy and determination. I He was disappointed by the Italian ! speakers, who eeemed disposed to make 'the economic situation the supreme quenI 1 i<lll of the moment. He was afraid that ■it was not generally recognised that the J Allies had handicapped themselves against tlieir erstwhile enemies by disarming the latter, who were thereby unduly favoured in the economic j struggle. If the Allies continued to carry the burden of armaments they would handicap themselves. Disarming (lermany relieved her of that burden, while we still carried ours, thereby giving Orniany a tremendous economic advantage. Before the war Germany averaged a million conscripted men, . which were now released for industry. ! The taxpayer was correspondingly relieved, and by the time we voluntarily disarmed under these proposals Germany j would have already achieved enornioiis • progress industrially, and it would be I dinVn'l for u<> to overtake her. If half J >■!' our economic competitors were relieved of armaments burden*, while we st&flgfred J under them, they must achieve a leading 1 industrial position. Therefore there was j greater obligation upon us to urgently J address ourselves to this tagtc. ] The French delegate, M. •leuvenal, , urged that the large States should safe|^a.r<l i the smaller. The large SUtet j really needed relief. Some of the largest i ytatee wrre more* heavily burdened proportionately ihan the «null, «.n<t ho *uggeated fJia.t they ohould not wait for the lulfihucnt of tiie whole scheme of disarmaments, but should try experiments while earring out international in--i|iirie« for tnc purpose of evolving a. larger *chenu>. llr. H. A. 1- Pinner pointed out that Britain had taken risk" in ilinarminfr. and the overee&e Dominions w<-re follow" inp her example. The Australian Kudget was thi* year redwing the defenep vote by 25 per cent on thd total, and doing that without awaiting larger nciiemes. Auatrali* «•«>, therefore, taking isoine ricks in the intere»t» if the general cau»e of dimirnMtmeiit. Weill 1 anylwdy else take i-imilar ri»ksj If -"ome of the Kuropean States would do so. disarmament would begin to progress immediately. He commenced Mi Haiti and Austrelia* example to otner nations. Aft#r four years of war the! world had the tragic spectacle of nations spending ■_'."> per wnt of their revenues on preparation* to destroy e.a«li othfr. He counselled the nation* to abandon tlie war fpirit, otherwise armamental burden would me»n clow bul sure nnd steady suicide. (Applauae.l