THE PEACE MIND.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 247, 18 October 1929, Page 7

THE PEACE MIND.

MacDONALD'S AIM

Pacification Of The World Labour's Objective.

arms problem first.

(Australian Press Assn. —United Service.

(Received 0.30 a.m.)

OTTAWA, October 17.

Canada will be represented at the ft Te -Power Naval Conference by her oWD delegates, as "will the other entities of the British Commonwealth, MacDouald said in an interview on Thursday. No arrangements, in binding Canada, could be entered into without the knowledge and consent of this Dominion. The final agreements in respect to disarmament would depend entirely on the London fivePower conference.

jjr. Mac Donald reiterated that the purpose of his visit was not to come to atrreements but to create an atmosphere favourable to further conferences on naval disarmament.

The question embraced much more than the attitude of two Powers. What the Labour Government wanted was a world agreement on disarmament which would result in world pacification. Mr. Mac Donald will be the guest at Government House for three days.

Asked why he went to the United States rather than approaching one of the other Powers. Mr. Mac Donald replied that uiitil Britain could obtain some assurance on disarmament with the United States there was no use calling a general conference. In 1924 the world had been confronted with the problem of a European settlement. Now it was confronted with a larger issue, the problem of -world settlement. One thing which must be settled at present was the condition of the world mind on disarmament. He declined, politely, to discuss such questions as the holding of an Imperial Economic Conference at Ottawa. He said ha was at present specialising in peace. There were Departments of the Government working at full steam with problems of a domestic nature. When his attention was drawn to dispatches intimating that he would discuss the demilitarisation .of the Halifax naval base with Mr. Mackenzie King, he replied: "I would suggest that you take those dispatches with a large grain of salt." The Prime Minister was very fagged at the end of the Toronto programme, but was refreshed by a night's sleep. He will have a less strenuous programme here. Trance Welcomes Conference. The French Government, in accepting the invitation to the naval conference in London, points out that it is keenly interested in the Anglo-American provisional agreement, and is glad to think that Ihe methods suggested during the deliberations of the Preparatory Disarmament Commission, have taken such a . favourable turn, and also that the Kellogg Pact proved for the AngloAmerican Governments such a valuable element for realising an understanding in principle. Eegarding naval disarmament, the French -Government has given many proofs of its desire to see the completion of the Preparatory Commission's labours in accordance with the League of Nations' Covenant, therefore, France is happy to accept the invitation. It is unnecessary to recall the principles which long have guided the French policy concerning the limitation of armaments in general, as well as the special problem of naval limitation, and the French Government welcomes the conference, which will enable it to define its attitude towards naval limitation and the general questions arising therefrom. I