PROGRESS AT GENEVA.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19675, 29 June 1927, Page 10

PROGRESS AT GENEVA.

Great as is the difficulty of reconciling the different proposals of the three Powers in conference at Geneva concerning naval.armaments, it is reassuring that the leading representatives there agree in saying that there is no deadlock. Even if this be an instance of the wish being father to the thought, it should not be dismissed as worth less. Wishes count for more than thoughts in such international parleys. They produce the thoughts, whereas thoughts alone arc inert. If all that is meant by the reassuring words is ;i determination to overcome obstacles to agreement, there is enough to justify expectation of a further naval limitations treaty. At present it. appears that America will be unable to compel acceptance of her proposals in their initial form. She has reckoned on Japan's support against Britain's plea that the Washington agreement about capital ships should be reviewed. To this support Japan's delegation was implicitly committed bv the terms used in accepting America's invitation to the conference. Now, however, although the Japanese delegation cannot depart from this understanding without fresh instructions from Tokio, it is apparent that the delegation desires to support Britain and is seeking liberty to do so. There emerges from the preliminary discussions also the fact that Japan is as unwilling as Britain to accept the battleship ratio of 5 —5—3 for cruisers and other auxiliary craft. The effect of these Japanese declarations is to present America with the alternative of either receding from her initial position or else withdrawing from the conference she has summoned. The latter course may he chosen by those under whose precise instructions the American delegation has gone to Geneva, but it would reflect such discredit on them that they are bound to hesitate before breaking up the conference. Unpalatable as a suggestion of retreat from their first stand may be, they seem morally bound to agree to it in the face of collaboration between Britain and Japan. The unanimous statement that there is no deadlock is probably a forecast of America's yielding to pressure to enlarge the scope of the conference and to allow unhampered discussion of auxiliary craft according to the needs of the several Powers. Japan's attitude, if correctly anticipated as one of support to Britain, probably means, therefore, a more fruitful conference than America had in view.