DISARMAMENT.

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20712, 24 November 1932, Page 3

DISARMAMENT.

ATTITUDE of league OP NATIONS. ADDRESS BY DR. JAMES GIBB. At a meeting of the local branch of the League of Nations' Union held last night in the Little Theatre, Canterbury College, the Rev. Dr. James Gibb, of Wellington, Dominion president of the Union, addressed an audience of about 100 on "Disarmament and the League of Nations." Mr R. A. Cuthbert was in the chair. The League arose out of the determi nation that the folly and wickedness of war should not occur again, said Dr. Gibb. But tlie League had been bound to emerge sooner or later. It was essential even to the welfare of nationalism which, without internationalism, resulted in degradation. Nobody, himself least of all, would deny nationalism, which sprang from deep wells of emotion, but it was not in itself sufficient. The idea of nationalism must be harmonised with the idea of humanity. Each country had a vital interest in the welfare of other countries, and internationalism was being forced upon the world -whether it liked it or not. The Prevention of War. The primary object of the League of Nations was the prevention of war. But all its other functions would count for nothing if war broke out again. The League considered disarmament the chief, though not the only, method of preventing war, and without disarmament, as they had said again and again, peace could not continue. Of course, there were some fools who would quote, "If you wish peace, prepare for war." But he was in favour of Lord Grey's contention that great armaments led inevitably to war. War would conceivably not end with the abolition of armaments, but he maintained that without disarmament war was absolutely certain and inevitable. Realising all thl.- the League had striven for disarmament throughout its whole history. Meanwhile Locarno and the Kellog Pact we'e framed while the League was considering disarmament. But last year the preparatory Commission came to an agreement which the Council of the League accepted. A conference was fixed for February of this year.

Disarmament as the League Understands it. The League definition of disarmament was: The cessation of all increase of armaments and then a uniform percentage of reduction applied to man power and weapons. Ho thought that no combination of nations would ever agree to strip themselves of armaments at once. A uniform reduction must be mado, and no attempt could be successful unless it was general. Should the level be brought down to that of Germany under the Versailles Treaty! He did not think it would be wise to press so big a claim. The League asked as a start, for tho abolition of the more dangerous of the offensive weapons and a 25 per cent, reduction in budgetary preparation.". The League's Conference. The conference had opened very promisingly. Russia had made a fine speech calling for the complete stripping of armaments by all the nations. Then the whole thing had been handed over to the naval and military experts, who had played ducks find drakes with it. By tradition and interest these men were opposed to any reductions that were suggested. Hope had been revived by President Hoover's famous message, which Italy to her everlastipg credit; approved. Bat France was doubtfuf and I suspicious,- Japan openly Ji6stile_ arid Britain damned it with faint praise. Tho : resolution finally adopted dealt solely.'with the quality oi disarmament and was much less satisfactory than it shoiuld have been. But the, Conference, had been adjourned and quantitative armaments would be considered at its next meeting. - ; • ■ . Germany's Demands for The emergence of Germany's demands for equality of armaments must be noted!- She asked hither-that all nations should disarm to her level, or that she. should re-arm. "Nothing in' the World can prevent Germany arming," declared Dr. Gibb, "and if .she arms, what then? As sure as nightfollows day there, will be. war agdin'.;'' Personally, ho was gjad that ,Germany. had made this declaration, and .it had always-, seemed to. him .impossible th»t a great and puissant! nation-,"which..had kept the world at bay'for four and'a half years, should be reduced to, power-, lessncss.. "Think; of'the way thoy'V'? been fooled,'! said'the'speaker. "Tall: of scraps of paper! Think of the promise after promise they have received."? It was 'no wonders that 'Germany had begun tp assert herself. But: his'town [ satisfaction was' due to the ' fact that the .German protest would infuse some j reality into -the doings of the Leagu?. t Prospects for Disarmament.

What were Hie prospects of getting disarmament'? Tho very state of the world of finance and trade, he thought, ought to ensure the success of the conference. Did they realise that the low prie.es obtained for Now Zealand's produce was largely due to the war? It had been declared that che deepest cause of the depression was the fear that tho nations had of one another. "We have lost confidence in one another," said Dr. Gibb, "and until that fear is gone—and it will not go until disarmament comes—wo will not be on the road to success." In these days of poverty and distress the world was spending £9OO million a year on armaments. An<3 the deadliest weapons of the last war would be playthings for those of the next. He viewed the situation with mingled hope and fear, but his explanation of the League's failure over the SinoJapanesc question was that they had not the people of the world behind them. The generality of people was utterly indifferent. Britain's Part. The success of tho Sino-Japancse if ue and disarmauH-;vi\« would depen] largely on the attitude of the British Government. His j\fajesty, speaking not long ago to a branch of the Unioa, declared that public support was vital to the League. He would urge them to let nothing interfere with their zeal for the caust of disarmament. It was a people's question, and they should do something about it. H. G. Wells, commenting od the indifference of the English people, had said that the English people thought no more about the abolition of war than a warren of rabbits thought about the abolition of shotbarrelled guns o- ferrets. If, as some students of lift affirmed, there would always be war amonp men, then God Aln ightv ought to strike this plan--,t with a star, and end it all. "Wc mus have peace if we are 'o produce the fruits of peace," said Dr. Gibb in conclusion. "Then shall come the possibility of the soldier-statesman the soldier-scientist, the soldier-priest, and the soldier-man. The war-drums will throb no longer, but it will not ' a because battle had perished, but because it lias gone up to a higher plane above the clouds."