DISARMAMENT A DREAM.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 19203, 17 December 1925, Page 11

DISARMAMENT A DREAM.

SCHEME NOT PRACTICABLE. LEAGUE ARMY CONDEMNED. Sun. LONDON. Dec.. 15. Major-General Sir Frederick Maurice, who was director of military operations, Imperial General Staff, from 1915 to 1918, contributes an article on disarmament to the Daily News. The writer says the recent discussions ! of the question at Geneva have only emI phasised the difficulties, j "I have ceased to hope that a general j Disarmament Conference would produce j any immediate results, says General Maurice. " The complete abolition of i armaments is impracticable, and so is a I simultaneous application of a general scheme of limitation. " Britain opposes France's suggestion that the members of the League of Nations should earmark the forces which would be available against an aggressor. There are four British reasons. The first is that it would be an important step toward creating a League army, which connotes the creation of a super-State. It would be unthinkable to have military forces without control by a Government of some sort. I am convinced the people of the Empire who favour the League would immediately become opponents i,£ the league wero given power to order their sons to go to war without the consent of their parents. " Britain's second reason is that such commitments would abnost certainly entail an increase in our armaments. The third reason is that the opposition of the Dominions, particularly of Canada, would be invincible. " The fourth reason is that it would again proroke a clamour against handing the British Navy over to the League. " A general limitation of armaments remains a dream. When the atmosphere of 1914 became highly charged the situation got out of the hands of statesmen and diplomatists because the ponderous military machines had begun to move. No power could stop them. " The only way to prevent a recurrence of that situation is to replace fear by confidence and to let confidence exert its natural mfluenco. " The Ixjcarno spirit must gradually be applied to Europe's danger-spots and re' move the incentive to competition hi armaments. The taxpayers' insistence on economy is also a strong factor.