GENEVA DEADLOCK

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21359, 7 December 1932, Page 11

GENEVA DEADLOCK

arms conference dinner that failed CLAIM OF GEBMANY equality problem FRANCE OBDURATE JJy Tflo-'rnl'li —Press Association —Copyright (Received December G. 5.35 p.m.) LONDON, Dec. C dinner parly given last evening by the British Prime Minister, Mr. MacDonald, at Geneva, was without result. Indeed, cynics suggest that the festival W as i" ilie nature of a funeral wake with 0,0 Disarmament Conference as the corpse. latest advices from Geneva show that nil day efforts on the part of Mr. MacDonald, Sir John Simon and Mr. Norman Davis (United States), to induce the French Prime Minister, M. Herriot, to meet Germany's claim for equality were 0 f little avail. However, France and Italy now are inclined to favour Mr. Davis' idea that the existing results of the conference should be embodied in a protocol. Baron von Neurath, German Foreign Minister, had an hour's interview with Mr Mac Donald directly bo arrived at Geneva. This was most cordial, but except fi t the dinner party, M. Herriot and Baron von Neurath seem to be avoiding each other. Jf. Herriot intends to leave Geneva this evening. He has offered to return on Saturday if necessary. NAVAL REDUCTIONS

JAPAN SUBMITS PLAN

GEOGRAPHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

(Received December C, 5.35 p.m.) GENEVA. -Dec. G Japan's naval disarmament plan has been submitted confidentially to the four • Powers represented at the Disarmament Conference. Japan suggests that naval reductions must respect the geographical situation of each country and not destroy the feeling of security of any country. Hence Powers with superior naval forces must reduce proportionately more than Powers with smaller navies. The plan proposes that the maximum \ tonnage of cruisers should be 8000, but that Sin. guns should be retained on cruisers. , Britain, the United States, France, Italy and Japan should fix thenrespective maximum global tonnages of small cruisers, destroyers and other small units. The actual amount of such tonnage which each navy should possess would j be determined by a regional agreement. J For this purpose the nations of the world j would be divided into such units as the J Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans, Euro- I pean waters, South American waters, etc. I