ABOLISH ALL.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 283, 30 November 1933, Page 7

ABOLISH ALL.

R AEROPLANES. BRITAIN'S EFFORTS. Other Powers Will Not Agree To Proposals. SA.r. MUST BE STRENGTHENED (British Official Wireless.) (Received 1 p.m.) RUGBY, November 29. The British Government's determination to continue to pursue a policy aimed at achieving effective disarmament in the air, was repeated jn the House of Lords by the Marquess of Londonderry, Air Minister. He added emphatically that the Government could not permit a continuance of Britain's present inferiority.

The Minister said that the policy the Government had consistently followed in connection with air disarmament, was a sufficient indication that it regarded the problem as of vital moment. When the wa r closed Britain was the first air Power in the world, but after the Armistice she dispersed the greater part of the vast air fleets, until the country was to-dav fifth only of the world's air Powers in terms of first line strength.

All countries had not made public statements of their current strengths, but official figures were available for France and Britain. In Britain's ease the figure was approximately 850 aeroplanes, aid in the French Air Force the corresponding figure was about 1650. According to available information the Soviet°Republic figure was between! 1400 and 1500, the United States between 1000 and 1100, and Italy between 1000 and 1100. It was clear that Britain's example had unhappily elicited no response whatever in any quarter of the world. This was a path which could no longer be followed and tliev must, however reluctantly, abandon the policy of .unilateral disarmament. The Government had made it plain, in its successive announcements at Geneva, that it recognised the need for a one-Power standard in the air for this country. It had offered to go to any length if other nations would do the same. It had, indeed, stated its willingness to consent to the complete abolition of military and naval aviation, provided only that there could be devised an effective scheme for international control of civil aviation which would prevent all possibility of the misuse of civil aircraft for military purposes. Nations Not Prepared to Agree. It now appeared that there were nations which were not prepared to agree to such abolition, and it was impossible to deny that there were great practical difficulties in the way of such a far-reaching measure, but Britain could not accept a continuance of the present inferiority.

If parity could not bo sccured by I reductions elsewhere, then the converse of the propositi'on must follow, and there ,would be 110 option but to begin to build upwards while continuing the efforts to secure international agreement in fixing parity at the lowest level to which other nations would subscribe.

The speaker said that they must hope it would be possible to fix a first-line strength for principal air Powers which would neither be a threat to the peace of the world, nor impose an intolerable financial burden on Britain and the Empire as the whole must be made safe in the air. . A race in air armaments should be avoided at all costs.