NAVAL COMPROMISE

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 2 August 1928, Page 5

NAVAL COMPROMISE

EFFECT OF THE AGREEMENT. ANGLO-FRENCH CO-OPERATION. RETURN TO CLOSE ALLIANCE: (United Press Association—By Electric Telegraph Copyright.) , (Australian Press Association.) LONDON, Aug. 1 There is much speculation on both sides of the Channel concerning ' the nature of the Anglo-French agreement. It is . understood the proposals will 'most probably be submitted to the next disarmament conference. The French Foreign Office statement declared it was to allow of reopening the work of the preparatory conference, which ended in a deadlock, that France and Britain sought to compromise. It is expected that France will delay laying clown two ships permissible under the Washington Treaty. There was no leakage in London, ,bnt the French Presis and officials profess to know, a lot about the proposals. There is much talk of the revival of the entente eordiale, and a highly placed personage described it as a return to the close alliance existing before the war. and said the “scheme can be considered a sort of unified command of the naval and military forces of both countries oil the basic Erinciple that Britain and France enceforth act in co-operation. France will communicate to the British Admiralty the details of her navy programme, and any idea of war between them is absolutely out of the question. “Britain, in return, will not'object to French military reserves, and will not accuse France of militarism and of possessing the strongest army in the world, a point of which France has always been sensitive.”

FRENCH ARMY CLAIMS SATISFIED. VIEWS OF THE PRESS. PARIS, July 31. Official silence is maintained regarding the terms of the naval agreement. “Le Journal” states that in the compromise that has been readied France receives satisfaction in regard to her claims respecting*land forces by making counterbalancing concessions to British, naval claims and agreeing to limitation by category in five classes of battleshps. cruisers, auxiliary surface vessels and submarines. Great •Britain has been advocating certain abolitions since the Washington' Conference of 1922, France- insisting that submarines and light armoured vessels were essential to her defence. This difference was • primarily responsible for France and Italy not participating in the Geneva Conference of 1927. The compromise is therefore pregnant with political and financial possibilities. However, we have not reached the end of the Geneva divergence in regard to dimensions and armament of cruisers. * “Le Matin” says the discussions have been centred on each Power’s liberty to choose the types of ships within the tonnage limits under the Washington Treaty.

PREPARING FOR DISARMAMENT CONFERENCE. WORK OF PREPARATORY COMMISSION FACILITATED. (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, July 31.

Much interest has been aroused by the announcement in the House of Commons last night by Sir Austen Chamberlain regarding the result of Franco-British conversations, undertaken with a view to facilitating the progress of the work of the preparatorv commission on disarmament. The commission, it will be recalled, has been sitting for two years. Its purpose is to prepare for the disarmament conference. Britain and France put forward for consideration by the commission two draft conventions, and the discussions of the commission have been based upon the texts of these draft. As regards naval disarmament, the main divergence in the commission was on the question of whether the limitation should be by total tonnage, or by the number of ships. Early this year, at Geneva, Lord Cushendun .the leading British delegate. announced that conversations had been begun between French and British naval experts. This was taken at the time as a hopeful sign, and it is the result of these conversations to which Sir Austen Chamberlain referred in the House of Commons last night. At present the preparatory commission is not in session, hut Sir Austen said he was about to communicate to the other principal naval Powers the compromise reached, with the hope that it might he acceptable to them also, and that- this great obstacle to progress would be removed and a step made in advance. Until those proposals had been communicated to other Governments, Sir Austen snick he did not like to say more about them. He imagined the first serious discussion on them would take place in the disarmament committee itself. Tt is understood that the compromise is one of principles, which, if accepted by other great naval Powers, could he" accepted by the preparatory commission for submission to the securitv and disarmament conference.