WORLD CONFERENCE

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 73, 27 March 1931, Page 9

WORLD CONFERENCE

BRITAIN'S POLICY

PROMISE OF SUPPORT

SPEECHES IN COMMONS

United Press Association —By Electric Telegraph—Copyright. (Received 27th March, 11 a.m.) RUGBY, 26th March. The question of next year's World Disarmament Conference was raised in the House of Commons by Sir Donald Maclean. In debate many members emphasised the great importance of achieving agreement, and assured the Government of their support in an active policy to ensure its success. ' Sir Donald first referred to tho proposal of Germany and Austria to enter into a customs union and welcomed the gesture made by the Foreign Secretary at Paris that the matter should be taken up and discussed in a friendly spirit by the League of Nations. lie hoped that we might see a beginning of: tho cessation of tho devastating war of tariffs between nations which was nioro productive of competition in armaments than the whole range of national antipathies put together. On disarmament Sir Donald said that a revival of trade and mitigation of unemployment depended very largely on getting rid of competitive armaments. A tremendous task was imposed on next year's Conference, and he believed that the whole country would be behind tho British delegates. If the Conference failed, humanity would be placed on a descending scale leading to destruction of civilisation. MINISTER'S STATEMENT. The Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Dr. DaKon, replying for the Government, said that, with regard to the proposed Austrian-German Customs agreement, ho had no more information to give. He could only say that the Foreign Secretary, Mr. Henderson, was very anxious that no movement promising a reduction of European tariffs should bo jeopardised by misunderstanding or mishandling. They were following a policy which they . had always pursued, namely, that any question in which susceptibilities might be aroused should be considered in a friendly atmosphere by the Council of the League of Nations. As to disarmament, he was very glad to notice a growing feeling in all the parties on tho need for a check to the continual increase of armaments. The Government could go forward in the knowledge that all parties were behind them. Sill AUSTEN CHAMBERLAIN. Sir Austen Chamberlain (C), after saying that the Conservatives fully shared the hope for the success of the Disarmament Conference, referred to the Austrian-German Customs proposal, and said that, whatever view we took, wo and other nations who had been engaged in conferences for the proposed tariff truce, or in conversations and conferences which had taken place for somo closer union among European States had reason to complain when a project o£ that kind was secretly matured while those conversations were proceeding and was suddenly sprung on the other parties. Ho could not help feeling that it showed a want of diplomatic tact on the part of the two countries not to have taken other nations earlier into their confidence. He was wholly with the Foreign Secretary iri the course ho had decided to take of bringing this matter before the Council of the League of Nations. He was very glad Mr. Henderson had done that.