NAVAL SECURITY

Manawatu Standard, Volume L, Issue 110, 5 April 1930, Page 9

NAVAL SECURITY

FRENCH FEARS. SEARCH FOR A FORMULA. HOPES STILL ENTERTAINED. (United Press Association —By Electric Telegraph—Copyright). (British Official Wireless.) Received April 5, 10.50 a.mT RUGBY, April 4. The British and French delegates to the Naval Conference and their expert advisers again spent several hours today in a search for a formula setting out the agreed interpretation of certain article,? of the League Covenant. Although their efforts have' not been successful, the task has not been abandoned, and hopes are still entertained that a formula may be found ■which will so increase France’s sense of security as to enable her to make an appreciable reduction in her naval tonnage requirements without explicitly or implicitly extending the obligations to which Britain is committed under the League Covenant and the Locarno Treaty.. The submarine experts met this afternoon on the subject of proposals for the “humanising” of submarine warfare and limiting the size of the submarine.-It is expected that the report of these experts will be forthcoming in the course of the next few .days. ITALIAN INTIMATION. A NEW PROBLEM. Received April 5, 10.0 a.m. LONDON, April 4. A new difficulty in the search for a formula is contained in Signor Grandi’s intimation to Mr MacDonald that the interpretation of the Covenant of the League and Locarno concerned other Powers besides France, and that the best place to discuss it was Geneva. In any case, a problem remained. Even if France reduced her figures she still denied Italy parity. . The American, Britislj and Japanese naval advisers continue consideration of the latest communication from Tokio.