DISARMAMENT.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 27, 1 February 1934, Page 7

DISARMAMENT.

BRITISH EFFORT.

MEMORANDUM ISSUED.

Principle of Equality With

Security.

BASIS OF AGREEMENT. (British Official Wireless.) (Received 1.30 p.m.) RUGBY, January 31. In his Reichstag speech yesterday, the German Chancellor, Herr Hitler, in expressing appreciation of the efforts of the British Government to improve international relations, stated that the British memorandum was already receiving earnest consideration. The memorandum, in which, the attitude of the British Government in the present disarmament situation is defined, was published to-night in the form of a White Paper. It represents a further positive contribution to promoting a reconciliation of views, and indicates the lines of compromise which the Government believes should be generally acceptable. The memorandum states that it is recognised that a resumption of negotiations at Geneva without new directive suggestions would lead to further disappointment, and that agreement is most likely to be reached on a broad basis which combines the regulation of armaments with assurances in the political field. Discussion since last March, however, has shown that the British draft con- j vention, the underlying conceptions of | which remain the standpoint of the British Government, requires adjustment in order to attain agreement. Therefore, the Government will still work for agreement, even though, having regard to the principle of equality of rights, agreement is found to involve, alongside of disarmament in some quarters, some measure of rearmament in others. Principle of Equality. "His Majesty's Government has more than once publicly stated that international agreement, based on the admitted principle of equality of rights in the regime of security, necessarily involves that witliln the stages provided for by such agreement the situation must "be reached in which arms of the kind permitted to one State cannot continue to be denied to another. "The Government is convinced that the best prospect for the future peace of the world would be afforded by agreement which recognised and provided for this parity treatment, while it abolishes or reduces to the lowest possible level all arms of a specially offensive character, and provides by the most appropriate means available for a greater sense of security. "So far as Europe is concerned, reconciliation of the points of view of France and Germany is an essential condition of a general agreement. If a way is not found to accommodate their respective points, the view of this greater sense of security will not be promoted, and without it substantial disarmament is impossible. "On the other hand, if agreement is reached—even if the agreement at present attainable falls short of the highest hopes—the gain of reaching and observing such agreement would be immeasurable, and the fact that it has been reached and observed would form a firm foundation on "which further agreement of a more comprehensive character might be based in the future." How Agreement May be Reached. The way in which the Government believes agreement could be reached is set out in the second part of the memorandum. Adequate provision must be made under three heads —security, equality of rights, and disarmament. Firstly, tlic Government regards thepresent form of security provisions contained in the first four articles of the British draft convention as of very great importance, but it suggests the addition of three further articles, one of which will be the present article S9 of the draft convention, declaring that loyal execution of the convention is a matter of common interest to the signatories. The second is on the article providing for immediate consultation in the event of the Permanent Disarmament Commission reporting the failure by one" of the parties to exccutc loyally the convention, and the third, defining the object of such consultation which is to exchange views as to the steps to be taken to restore the situation. These provisions would emphasise the inescapable duty of signatories of the convention to prevent or remedy any violation of it, and when taken together with the German Chancellor's proposal for a conclusion of pacts of non-aggres-sion, would present a sum total of security worthy of general acceptance. Secondly, on equality of rights, His Majesty's Government declares that practical application of the principle of equality of rights is no less essential in agreement than that of the principle of security. Thirdly, regarding disarmament, attention 'is drawn to the voluntary renunciation by the German Chancellor, in the course of a recent conversation, of offensive weapons, although heavily armed States might not be willing to abandon their existing armaments. It therefore follows that a positive contribution to disarmament by heavilyarmed Powers would help to bring the 6cale down all round and should logically reduce the demands which Germany might otherwise be disposed to put forward.