THREE-POWER TREATY

Manawatu Standard, Volume L, Issue 115, 11 April 1930, Page 9

THREE-POWER TREATY

BRITAIN-AM ERICA-JAPAN. AGREEMENT REACHED. CONFERENCE TO ADJOURN. (United Press Association—By- Electric Telegraph—Copyright). (British Official Wireless.) Received April 11, 11.45 a.m. RUGBY, April 10. The Prime Minister stated in the House of Commons to-day:— “I am happy to announce that this forenoon an agreement was finally reached, between the United States, Japan and Great Britain on the naval programme, including all categories of ships. “The terms of the agreement are now being drafted. They will follow very closely the figures announced last September and October during the negotiations with the United States, and they will show substantial reductions. “From time to time since the opening of the conference various points of disagreement which have held up progress toward disarmament have been settled, and these, it is hoped, brought together in one instrument will be signed by the five Powers. “The differences in the naval requirements of France and Italy have not so far been resolved. “At a meeting early this evening between tho French, Italian and United Kingdom delegations, it was decided that as such a substantial agreement had been come to it was both unnecessary and undesirable to keep, the full body of delegates sitting in London for the settlement of difficulties which primarily concerned those three deelgations., and so we shall propose that at the plenary session to be held early next week the agreement now come to shall be signed and the conference adjourned on the understanding that France, Italy and Britain will continue the efforts to reach an agreement in conjunction with that between America, Japan and Britain.”

NUMBER OF TECHNICAL MATTERS. FIVE POWERS IN AGREEMENT. TREATY FORM- SUGGESTED. (British Official Wireless.) Received April 11, 11.10 a.m. RUGBY, April 10. Efforts to secure a full five-Power ■agreement have not been abandoned. On a number of technical matters the five Powers are in agreement, and it is understood that the question of whether these should be embodied in treaty form, to be signed by all the Powers represented at the conference, was discussed in conference quarters to-day. The newspapers state that the broad outlines of the form which such an agreement might take were considered to-day at the headquarters of the French delegation, when Mr H. L. Stimson, accompanied by his colleague, Mr Dwight Morrow, met M. Briand. The proposal which is. of course, purely tentative; and is one of several which are under consideration, is said to comprise three parts, of which parts one and two might be signed by all the five Powers and part three by Britain, United States and Japan. It is suggested that part one should preserve the agreement reached. between the delegations on the subject of what is called the “naval holiday” in capital ships and large aircraft carriers, and tho speeding up of scrapping should embody a tabic which represents tho agreed compromise oetween the category and global methods of limiting naval tonnage, and should apply definitions of exempt and special snips which lie outside these categories. Part two, it is stated, relates .to methods for “humanising” submarine warfare, upon which an agreement was reached in committee among the representatives of the five Powers this week. Within this framework it is suggested that a tliree-Power agreement might be embodied, and this would be dealt with in part three of the proposed draft. Efforts to secure a more far-reaching agreement as the outcome of the conference, however, continued throughout the day and lasted until late tfiis evening. The French and British delegations met before noon: Shortly after noon Mr MacDonald and Mr Henderson were in conversation with the Italian Ambassador and Signor Rossi. The British delegation had a meeting later and at 6.30 o’clock to-night, M. Briand visited Mr Mad Donald at his Downing Street residence to review once more the position of the conference. Ail official communique says: “The French, Italian and United Kingdom delegations met at 70 Downing Street this evening. The present state, of the negotiations was considered with a view to a report to the heads of the delegations on Friday morning.” What will probably be the final plenary meeting apart from that for signing the treaty will be held on Monday or Tuesday.

LAST DIFFERENCES DISAPPEAR. LONDON, April 10. The English, American and Italian delegations admit that little hope remains of a five-Power pact. One observer described it as a corpse, though the announcement of its death is still withheld. The last differences in tho way of a complete tlrree-Power agreement disappeared to-day, England and A.merica agreeing to Japan’s request to accelerate cruiser and destroyer building in order to keen her dockyards employed, and Japan undertaking not to accelerate her submarine programme. _ , r Mr Arthur Henderson, Foreign- Secretary, stated in the House ,of Commons to-day that Viscount Cecil would represent the British Government at the next meeting of tlie Preparatory Commission for Disarmament at Geneva. AMERICA’S PREDICTION. * Received Aoril 11, 12.35 p.m. WASHINGTON, April 10. After discussing the general naval situation with President Hoover, Mr French (Idaho) chairman of the Appropriations Naval Sub-committee of the House of Representatives, predicted to-day that the Naval Treaty would stop naval construction competition among the nations.