AN OPEN SECRET

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 18 March 1925, Page 5

AN OPEN SECRET

CABINET DIFFERENCES

0 OVER GENEVA PROTOCOL. •v • ACUTE STAGE NOT REACHED. liY CABLE —PRESS ASSOCIATION—COP YRIGHT Received March IS, 9 a.m. IAiiNDOiN, Muicll 17. The Daily News says that it is an open secret that members of the Cabinet differed over tn-e question ol security, out this did not reach an acute stage. There is not the slightest foundation for the Matin’s assertion that Mr Chamberlain was on the verge of resigning.-—Sydney Sun Cable. SECXI KIT Y PR OB LEMS. PARIS NEGOTIATIONS. MATTER IN STATE OF FLUX. LONDON, March 17. Mr Austen Chamberlain (Secretary for Foreign Affairs) reached London this morning. The conclusion of the Paris conversations naturally l,oosed a mass of speculation, but few facts are available for the adequate reason that the whole matter is in a state of flux. Subsequent events depend on diplomatic negotiation and the precise nature of President Coolidge’s proposal, which as yet is not clear here. Meantime a lengthy article in the Paris Matin alleging that differences in the British Cabinet led to Mr Chamberlain going to Geneva without any policy caused a considerable stir. The Daily Telegraph’s diplomatic correspondent says the article is partly accurate and partly inaccurate. It is no secret that Lord Curzon (Leader of the House of Lords) and Mr L. C. M. S'. Amery (Colonial Secretary) were among the resolute opponents of the Anglo-Belgian-Franco pact, but what clinched the discussions in the Cabinet was Lord Balfour’s advocacy of a wider mutual pact, including Italy and Germany. The only difference between Mr Chamberlain and his colleagues was that lie upheld the tripartite pact as ah. alternative to the protocol as the first stage, Germany’s entry being the second, whereas the majority favoured merging the stages. The Matin suggests that at one time Mr Chamberlain was on the point of resigning. The correspondent admits that there have been rumours of this nature, not only in connection with Mr Chamberlain, but others, but Ministerial resignations over mere divergencies of opinion within the Cabinet are now out of date.