LIMITING WAR WEAPONS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVIII, Issue 17956, 5 December 1921, Page 7

LIMITING WAR WEAPONS

♦ SUBMARINES AND AIRCRAFT. THE BRITISH POINT OF VIEW United Service. LONDON. Dec. 2. The special representative of the United Service at the Washington Confer- ' ence learns that much of the British objection to submarines also applies to poison ga6 and bombing aeroplanes, but one practical difficulty is that the nations cannot abolish in peace the manufacture of chemicals which in war could be turned i to warlike purposes. Commercial aeroplanes could also be used in war, but submarines could not be turned to peaceful commercial account. Human nature is such that an agreement forbidding the nations to use submarines against merchant ships could not be enforced, and would not have as good effect as prohibiting submarines entirely. Although they could be speedily manufactured, war trained crews would not be available, thus militating against their use as weapons. It has been ascertained that the British view is that land armaments should not be finally considered at the present conference, because the greater number of the armed nations are not represented.. Several of those represented do not employ conscription, and until the nations that employ conscription are adequately represented it will be difficult to settle the conscription problem, which will be one of I the greatest difficulties in connection with land armament.