DISARMAMENT

Greymouth Evening Star, 14 April 1927, Page 10

DISARMAMENT

A PRELIMINARY FAILURE. (Auatralian & N.Z. Cable Abbd.i GENEVA, April 13. Abandoning all hopes of an agreement on the matter of naval disarmament, the League Preparatory Committee have decided to adjourn on Thursday for a week, after which thdy will resume the task of drafting their report, setting out therein the points of the agreement and disagreement. Lord Cecil has announced that Britain is willing to accept the French proposal for the limitation of naval and aerial effectives, subject to an agreement by all parties and to a reservation that the decision regarding the British Dominions’ effectives should be allowed to rest with the Dominions.

M. Boncour (France) has abandoned the distinction as between home and Colonial fleets, which Signor Demarinis (Italy) previously opposed. BRITISH ATTITUDE. LONDON, April 13. The “Daily Telegraph’s” diplomatic correspondent says: The British Government believes that progress of naval disarmament will be achieved, rather by the limited Coolidge conference than by endless, largely-theoreti-cal and often insincere discussions in which the Powers without navies would not hesitate to solemnly record their votes. Britain cannot be expected to sacrifice real possibilities to rhetorical abstractions and to prejudices of exclusively land Powers. AMERICAN EXPECTATIONS. WASHINGTON, April 13. Pessimistic reports from Geneva state that there is impending the adjournment of the Preparatory Commission on disarmament with its reconvention not until November, thus indicating that its work is on the verge of a collapse. The reports have met with a more optimistic reception here amongst the interested officials. It is pointed out that a long recess would be helpful and would be the natural concomitant of the great activity and intensity of work of its members during March. It is believed that the getting of the three-power naval conferences Ln the interim would greatly aid the work of the commission upon the resumption ot its sessions, since it is. expected that many questions of naval armaments will be answered by the Three-Power Conference. The commission would therefore have the benfit of such conclusions in arriving at an agreement towards the end of the year.