TO THE LIMIT.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 160, 8 July 1932, Page 7

TO THE LIMIT.

BRITAIN'S POLICY. DISARMAMENT PLAN. Substantia! Reduction in Sea, Land and Air Strength. FURTHER THAN U.S. PROPOSALS (British Offlcial Wireless.) (Received 1.30 p.m.) RUGBY, July 7. An important declaration of the British disarmament policy was made by Mr. Stanley Baldwin in the House of Commons. He prefaced specific proposals by pointing out that the British Government cordially welcomed the Hoover declaration, because it called for a really substantial measure of disarmament and sought to apply the two principles of qualitative and quantitative limitation. Success at Geneva depended on general agreement, and fbc Hoover proposals were put forward ns a contribution to an agreed general programme. The British proposals should also be regarded as a contribution to a general agreement. Britain further agreed with President Hoover that the three problems of military, naval and air disarmament were interconnected. Britain, like the United States, found her strongest ami in the Xαvy, and although the naval contributions to disarmament on the largest scale had already been made in advance of the present conference, the British Government now offered a further contribution as part of a world settlement. Dealing with laud disarmament, Mr. Baldwin said that the British Government fiound itself very largely in accord with President Hoover's proposals. British troops in Britain, in the colonies and in India had been reduced compared with the year before the war from 259,000 to 207,000. This had been effected by the disbandinent of many unite. Reduction of Land Forces. America had proposed division of land forcee into a police component and a defence component, and upon that basis British land forces had already been reduced much below the number recognised ae necessary for the maintenance of internal order, without making allowance for the forces needed on the lines of communication within the Empire. Britain had already joined in the rejection of chemical and bacteriological warfare, and in regard to land guns had proposed the abolition of all mobile guns above ISoin.m. calibre. Regarding tanks, the Government agreed with President Hoover in desiring that specifically offensive weapons bo prohibited, and had advocated the abolition of all tanks over •JO tons, which type was especially adaptable for offensive employment. Lighter tanks, however, could not be regarded as offensive weapons, and constituted an essential compensation for the lack of numbers in a smal, volun-tarily-enlisted army. Aβ far as Britain was concerned, any n-eneral prohibition would require an increase in terms of man-power and would thus defeat its own ends as a measure of disarmament. Britain had on land already put into practice a measure of disarmament, which more than conformed with the standards proposed by President Hoover. Turning to the air proposals, Mr. Baldwin said that the Government was prepared to go to any length in agreement with the other Powers to preserve the civilian population from the horrore of air bombardment. There was no aspect of disarmament more vitally urgent. The Government proposed the complete prohibition of all bombing from the air, save within limits to be laid down us precisely as possible by international convention; attacks upon civilian population to be entirely prohibited. Britain further proposed a. strict limitation in the unladen weight of all military and naval aircraft, troop carriers and flying boats exceptcd, and "restriction in numbers of all kinds of military and naval aircraft." Concluding, Mr. Baldwin eaid that although Britain's reductions in all three arms had been beyond comparison greater than those effected elsewhere outside the countries disarmed by the Versailles Treaty, she is ready and eager to join in further measures by which the general object would be attained.