THE NAVAL DISCUSSIONS

Evening Star, Issue 19985, 1 October 1928, Page 6

THE NAVAL DISCUSSIONS

GERMAN PRESS VIEWS Proas Association —By Telegraph—Copyright. BERLIN, September 30. (Received October 1, at 10 a.m.) The political papers are keenly interested in the American Note, which they believe may lead to a new conference' on naval disarmament. The ‘ Berlinger T-'geblatt ’ says that the United States Government has built a golden bridge for England. The Conservatives should be glad to be let off so easily in view of the forthcoming General Election.—Australian Pres Association. WHAT NEXT? ANOTHER BASIS FOR DISCUSSION NECESSARY. (British Official Wireless.) Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright. RUGBY, September 30. (Received October 1, at noon.) Most of the newspapers comment this morning on the reply o* the United States Government to the AngloFrench proposals put forward to overcome difficulties encountered at the Preparatory Commission for the Disarmament Conference. All the papers agree in regarding t ie Note as frank, lucid, and friendly. Many consider it was plain from the first that even though they had been regarded sympathetically by the Japanese and the Italian Governments —to whom they were also submitted—the proposals would not be regarded favourably by America, and that as their effectiveness depended upon general acceptance, it was useless to put them forward. The main point which now has to be considered is what future steps can be taken to discover a basis for a resumption of tho work of the Preparatory Commission, which was the solo object of the Anglo-French initiative. One or two journals comment on the fact that tho far-reaching and detailed scheme of limitation pul forward by tho British delegates at the Geneva Naval Conference seems to have been forgotten. Tho British scheme, so far from leaving naval categories unlimited, actually proposed nine categories of warships, varying from capital ships down to submarines, river boats, and even coastal motor boats. Every typo of surface and under-water craft came within tho scope of the British limitation scheme.

It is also recalled in regard to the expression' of American willingness to agreo to total abolition of submarines, that British willingness to do likewise was first expressed at the Washington Conference and repeated at the Geneva Conference.

‘ The Times 7 says that the generally friendly tone of the American Note should ho fully recognised, and points out that it admits that there may bo room for some further exploration of the question of naval armaments within the limits of the American view of naval necessities. ‘The Times’ thinks: “The very least that can be said for the Anglo-French coni promise is that it was a sincere olfort to evade a-dead-lock in the Preparatory Commission. There was a strong feeding that something had to ho done to further its work, arid anxious exploration led in the end, by a process of mutual concession, to a compromise between Great Britain and France ns a basis for discussion by the other interested Powers. It is very certain that in all this transaction no offence was intended to the United States, nor could it ever have been assumed that the terms of the agreement were exclusive or that they were not subject to modification in the course of negotiations with the other naval Powers, They were frankly intended as a_ basis for discussion, and with that object they were immediately submitted to the United States Government. It m most unfortunate that what was sincerely intended as a contribution to a general solution of the disarmament problem should have been misunderstood. It is also to bo regretted that the proposed basis for discussion should have been rejected almost unconditionally. TJio best that can bo said in the meantime is that after all in the American Note there are clear indications of a desire for further consideration. Tho door is not dosed.”

MR RAMSA Y MACDONALD’S DEMAND. Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright, LONDON, September 30. (Received October 1, at 1 p.ia.) . Mr Ramsay MacDonald, speaking at Birmingham, demanded that Mr Baldwin should officially publish the French and British naval agreement correspondence comprising the preceding negotiations, and than. the Government must also act vigorously at the next meeting of the Disarmament Preparatory Committee, making positive proposals for a disarmament concfronco as quickly ns possible.—Australian Press Association.