WORK FOR PEACE.

Press, Volume XLIV, Issue 19388, 14 August 1928, Page 9

WORK FOR PEACE.

BRITISH INITIATIVE.

READY TO DO STILL MORE.

(BRITISH OFFICIAL WIBBMS6B.) " RUGBY, August 12. Referring to disarmament questions, the First Lord of the Admiralty, Mr William Bridgeman, at Helliiield, Yorkshire, last night said that Britain had done : more in this direction than any other Power and she was prepared to> dp still more. The. proposal for ; a ftiulti-lniteral pact was in fact only Another way of proposing what, on behalf of the British Government, he. proposed at Geneva a year ago, when Mr Kellogg explained what lie meant by the outlawry of war. .He showed that his idea was that no nation which signed the Pact should use wax as an instrument of national policy. That was a perfectly, plain- statement, with which he cordially agrfeed. It meant that each nation could take what measure it thought fit for its own defence, but that each was bound in honour, not to appeal to armaments in l order to,carry out an .aggressive policy; It was almost exactly the same thing in principle as what Britain had proposed at Geneva, namely, that aggressive naval warfare should be considered entirely out ot court and that the Powers should come to an agreement on what vessels each wanted for its own self-defence. The Pact was a very long step.in the right direction.

- Referring to the Anglo-French compromise regarding proposals for a basis of naval limitation, he said: "At previous meetings or the Preparatory Committee for a Disarmament Conference, a good deal of difference was revealed between c the French view and the ■ British., Since then we hav& had conversations with the French, and by concession on both sides we have arrived at an agreement which we hope will be accepted ;by all. other nations. It is nothing to do with'the American, multi-lateral pact, but it will make it perhaps easier in future to arrive at some agreement;at the -Disarmament Conference at Geheva.