RENUNCIATION OF WAR

Dominion, Volume 21, Issue 228, 27 June 1928, Page 11

RENUNCIATION OF WAR

MR KELLOGG’S NEW NOTE FAVOURABLE PRESS COMMENTS IN BRITAIN SYMPATHETIC CONSIDERATION BY GOVERNMENT The new Note from Mr. F. B. Kellogg on the proposed renunciation of war treaty is receiving the most sympathetic ( consideration by the British Government. The Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs, replying to a question in the House of Commons, said the new Note marked a considerable advance. (British Official Wireless.)

Rugby, June 25. A new Note from Mr. F. B. Kellogg, United States Secretary of State, in pursuance of his proposals for the renunciation of war as an instrument of national policy, is now published. Provision is made for participation in a treaty to that effect by all the signatories of the Treaties of Locarno and by the British Dominions, thus bringing the number of participants to fifteen, namely, the United States, Great Britain, India, the Irish Free State, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Union of South Africa, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Belgium, Poland, and Czecho-Slovakia. Modification in Present Pact. The terms of the Articles of the Pact' are identical with those which were originally presented on April 30, but modifications are made in the present Pact to meet the views of other Governments and to give recognition to the principle that, if a State resorts to war in violation of the Treaty, other parties are released from their obligations to that State. It is pointed out that the participation of Locarno signatories makes it certain that a resort to war in violate > of those agreements would also v .ate the present Treaty and release the parties to the Locarno Pacts. Mr. Kellogg says: “This single procedure will bring - mankind’s age-long aspiration to universal peace nearer to practical fulfilment than ever before in the history of the world.” He hopes that the nations “will be able promptly to indicate their readiness to accept without qualification or reservation the form of treaty now suggested by the United States.” Note Shows Tact and Good Sense. i British Press comments on the new Note are generally favourable. The

“Daily Telegraph” thinks that it shows tact and good sense. It points out that “Mr. Kellogg has made no reference to the observations made by Sir Austen Chamberlain in respect of certain regions, the welfare and integrity of which constitute a special and vital interest for the peace and safety of the British Empire. His silence can only be interpreted to mean that he has recognised the facts as clearly as we do. There was no need for him to refer to them any more than to the special position which the United States holds in respect of Central and South America. In other respects, too, the American Note is all that could be desired, since the method of compromir" suggested by Sir Austen Chamberlain between the French and American views has been adopted and improved upon.” Splendid Gesture. The “Daily News,” which hopes that the Pact will be accepted by the great nations, says that the splendid gesture has caught the imagination here as in the United States, and it reminds France that Senator Borah has stated that it is most inconceivable that the United States would stand by in the case of a gross breach of the multilateral treaty to which it is a party. The Kellogg Note on the proposed renunciation of war treaty is receiving the most sympathetic consideration by the British Government. Questioned in the House of Commons, Mr. G. Locker-Lampson, Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, said that the new Note marked a considerable advance. Public opinion, as reflected in the Press, strongly favours the aims of the American Secretary of State, and it is assumed that, should any further communications pass between London and Washington, they will be directed towards strengthening the working of the Kellogg plan.