BRITISH BURDENS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 83, 8 April 1930, Page 7

BRITISH BURDENS.

DISCUSSION BALKED. Obligations Under League 9 Pacts. " NO MORE COMMITMENTS. (British Official Wireless.) (Received 12 noon.) RUGBY, April 7. Commander Godfrey Locker-Lamp-ion, Under-Seeretary for Foreign Affairs in the late Conservative Government, moved this evening in the House of Commons an adjournment of the House "On a definite matter of urgent public importance, namely, the imminence of the agreement between the Government and foreign Powers regarding the interpretation to be placed on Article XVI. of the Covenant of the League of Nations, without any consultation with the Council of the League and thereby engendering suspicion and endangering good relations with other Powers." The Prime Minister, replying, said he was being asked whether, if there was any reinterpretation of Article XVI. of the Covenant involving fresh commitments, and if a reinterpretation was to be made, he would consult the other members of the Council of the League and give the House an opportunity of considering the matter before any agreement involving such reinterpretation was entered into. If he gave a pledge of that character it would amount to this, that it would be quite impossible for this Government or any other Government to exchange its views or express its views regarding the meaning of the article, which was somewhat vague in its meaning as between France and ourselves, Germany and ourselves, or Czecho-Slovakia and ourselves. He could not make such a pledge. What was more, there could not be such a pledge.

The Prime Minister continued: "Reference has been made to certain work that we have in hand just now. If we do discuss Article XVI. all that it amounts to is that one says to the other: 'What meaning do we individually* attach to Article XVI ?' At Locarno that was not the case. At Locarno. "At Locarno Germany wanted assurance as to what obligations it would be undertaking if it joined the League of Nations. That is a very serious thing. That is the absolute interpretation which, I say straight away, can only be made by the Council of the League, if it is going to have any binding authority at all. "At Locarno, however, that interpretation was given by Powers other than Germany represented there, and the interpretation was a new one in its language, which was not found in the Covenant of the League. It was handed to Germany as a guarantee, and initialled and approved as an annex treaty. "I am not raising that in any controversial spirit, but as a matter of history. No one knows better than Commander Locker-Lampson that no Prime Minister or Foreign Secretary can give the pledge which he asks for. All we can do is to say that having ascertained as far as we humanly can the opinion of the country and the opinion of the House, negotiations and discussions on -these subjects will be conducted with that opinion well in mind and never forgotten at any stage. We have been doing our best during the last two and a half months." Mr. Mac Donald added that if the leaders of the parties consulted him he would tell them exactly the state of affairs. This would not commit either of them to support him but they would understand his difficulties. Sir Samuel Hoare, former Minister of Air, said he would convey the Prime Minister's suggestion to Mr. Baldwin. The Liberal Leader, Mr. Lloyd George, also accepted the proposal because it was very desirable that the foreign policy should not be a subject of controversy between the parties. Commander Locker-Lampson consequently withdrew his motion.