DISARMAMENT CONFERENCE

Greymouth Evening Star, 12 April 1932, Page 9

DISARMAMENT CONFERENCE

MR STIMSON’S PACT.

[BY CABLE—PBESS ASSN. —COPYBIGHT.]

LONDON, April 11.

There will be one week of intense diplomatic activity before the opening at Geneva of the General Committee of the Disarmament Conference under Mr Arthur Henderson’s chairmanship. It will meet daily until it has straightened out principles and definitions, and has embodied them in a draft convention.

The American Delegation has rented a villa on the outskirts of Geneva, thus indicating that Mr Stimson is contemplating a lengthy stay. The “Daily Telegraph’s” diplomatic correspondent says: “There is a good deal of speculation with regard to the scope of Mr Stimson’s visit to Geneva, which will, perhaps, be extended to certain European capitals. His object is to secure that something concrete shall emerge from the deliberations of the Disarmament Conference. Mr Stimson does not at pre sent contemplate direct personal intervention in the Far Eastern debates at Geneva, and he is not empowered to deal with the reparations and war debts, except as a listener, who transmits his impression to President Hoover.” MEASURE OF~AGREEMENT. LONDON, April 11. The Disarmament Conference’s General Committee resumed. Mr. Henderson summarising the progress said that the delegates were, generally agreed on the abolition of warships exceeding 10,000 tons. Many States favoured the total abolition of submarines, while interest had been shown in the prohibition of air raids and bacteriological warfare. Mr. Gibson moved a resolution in (favour of scrapping tanks, heavy mobile guns, and poison gas, and suggested that an agreement be drafted thereanent. He emphasised that there was insufficient support to adopt the resolution principle. They needed a definite final agreement. He intimated a readiness later to advocate the abolition of bombing planes. Sir J. Simon supported him. M. Tardieu criticising Mr Gibson, contended that the French proposals'went much further. The American proposal applied solely to land weapons, and was contrary to the French argument concerning the inter-dependence of armaments. Moreover, it disregarded control of sanctions.

THE RUSSIAN BEAR’S HUG.

GENEVA, February 25.

As anticipated, the General Committee of the Disarmament Conference today rejected the Soviet proposal for complete disarmament. Senor Madariaga (Spain), however, proposed that to avoid the complete shelving of the plan it should be amalgamated with the British In the course of his speech he related a fable whose author, he said, was a statesman of the British Empire. (It is understood that he is Mr. Winston Churchill). “Once upon a time,” said the speaker, “tho lion, the tiger, the eagle, the bull, and the bear met and agreed to disarm. The lion, with its eyes on the eagle, said: ‘We must abolish wings.’ The eagle, glacing at the bull, declared that horns must be done away with. The bull, turning to the tiger, urged that claws should be abolished.’ “Then,” added Senor Madariaga, looking towards the Russian delegate, “the bear closed the debate with the words: ‘Let us abolish all

these things so that I may take everybody into my loving embrace.’ ” There was loud laughter, in which M. Litvinoff joined heartily. Senor Madariaga’s suggestion was then negatived.