REUNUCIATION OF WAR

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20385, 17 April 1928, Page 9

REUNUCIATION OF WAR

AMERICAN NOTE TO POWERS. PUBLICATION OF TEXT. "A GREAT STEP FORWARD." (British Official Wireless.) (United Press Association.) (By Electric Telegraph—Copyright.) RUGBY, April 15. The newspapers publish to-day the text of the idautic Note communicated to t;ie Governments of the Great Powers by the Umle'il States on the question of a possible international renunciation of war. The Note is accompanied by a preliminary draft treaty representing in a general way the form of a multilateral treaty which the United States Government is prepared to sign. The Note refers to the correspondence on the proposal-: with France, whose Government pointed out certain considerations which in a multilateral treaty must be home in mind by the Powers which are ! members of the League of Nations, and pu'lies to the treaties of Locarno and to other treaties guaranteeing neutrality. The United States propose: >s iveii received by the press, and it is recognised that ft warrants immediate, careful, and sympatheti" examination. The Tim?:* says : - ' Mr Keliogg's proposal, as now Hddressed to the five Powers, lias taken a much more precise and definite form Uian had seemed possible at the stago reached in the discussion with France aione. It is. indeed, a very remarkable fact that the' United States, after long abstention from any general commitments in world politics, now submits for acceptance to ':;ie other five Powers a treaty which --vould bind them to the absoluto renunciation of war as an instrument of policy in their mutual dealings. if these six Powers alone found it possible to bind themselves solemnly in such an engagement, after the fullest consideration of all that it would imply in tho possible vicissitudes ot the coming years, it would, of course, mean a tremendous step forward in the pacification of the .world. The United States has .-rcnerously assumed a great responsibility in making an offsr of a scope so far-reaching. That responsibility is shared now by those to whom the otfer is formally made. The Powers upon whom such depends are invited to commit themselves to a continuous policy of peace, and delinitely to put war out of consideration in their mutual intercourse, on tho assumption, upon which the United States Government lays great stress, that a ho3t of lesser nations would be eager to follow so notable an example. For the British Government the task presents little difficulty. Peace, which means tho prevention of war, is for the whole British Empire a dominant issue. The chief commitments assumed by the British Government since the war'have been assumed with the object of ensuring peace, and of building up alternatives to war as an instrument of policy." Referring to M\ Briand's reference to tho bearing of the League and Locarno on the proposed pact, The Times says: " It cannot be forgotten that both the League and Locarno admit the possibility of war in the last resort as a means of maintaining peace. In no sense can those commitments be regarded as implying that tho States undertaking them regard war as a means of furthering their national aims. If that is admitted tiiey are not incompatible with acceptance of the American proposal, always provided that acceptance, while apparently' enlarging the scope, does not actually weiken the effect of such serious commitments as these." The Times concludes by welcoming the prospect of tho great power of the United States being brought into service in such a cause, but it adds: " The British conception of tho solemn engagement permits of no looking back, and we must know exactly to what we are committed. If, thereiore, we ask whether renunciation of war covers purely defensive or police measures, whether it includes or excludes the League sanctions, whether the readiness of the United States Government to sign ypuch a treaty commits the American people in the same degree as the other Powers would be committed by the signature of their Governments, it is because we are sincerely anxious that the enterprise should succeed.'' BRITISH PRESS COMMENT. PROPOSALS WARMLY WELCOMED AN INSPIRING CONCEPTION. RUGBY, April 15. (Received April 1(5, at 7 p.m.) Tho Manchester Guardian, commenting on the United States Note, emphasises the need for a clear definition of what the pledge is intended to imply. "To make the pledge effective, you must have at least two things. You must define what war is, or at any rate d-'fferentiate between the kinds of war which you really mean to renounce and those which you do not, and you must establish effective machinery for .the acific settlement of disputes, without whicn 'var would otherwise be probable or the only alternative. Without those two things the pledge becomes no more than a rather empty assertion of a peaceable disposition. It might have its uses, but it would also have its dangers. Nevertheless, that the United States should, with little encouragement, have persisted in this attempt to frame a treaty open for all the world to sign for the renunciation of war is altogether to be >velcomed. It marks a real attempt to collaborate in the work which the League, from a different angle, is trying to do in the cause of peace." The Daily Telegraph, after pointing out similar difficulties and drawing attention to Mr Keliogg's declaration that he does not consider that the treaty advocated would afford a certain guarantee agaiust all wars, says: "The question now is whether the proposed treaty can be so strengthened by textual amendments which the United States Government can be persuaded to recognise, not only as indispensable from the point of view of other Powers, but as admissible or even valuable from its own."

Other newspapers also direct attention to these points, but all a/flee i" warmly welcoming the American proposals. The significance of the proposal is fully recognised, and the American Note is regarded as signalising at th. very least the reentranee o: the United States into that international area which she quitted when she refused association with the League of Nations. Her return is heartily welcomed, and it is taken for granted that the proposals will be examined and responded to with goodwill, particularly in Britain, where, as the Sunday Times points out, no Government sut'pectco of aggressiveness or a desire for war could last for a week. The Sunday Times adds that examination of the proposals must, however, be thorough, for, once given, Britain's word will always be honoured for this reason —it cannot be given lightly. Discussing some of the considerations which the Note raises it examines the questions already put by the French Foreign Minister, M. Briand, as to whether the new proposals in any way conflict with the liabilities assumed under the covenant of the League of Nations and Locarno, which, while seeking to guard against war, envisage its possibility in certain circumstances. Tt recalls, too. that even in America, free from the tangle of European affairs, difficulties must be faced, including the apparent limitation now proposed to be put on the rights of the Legislature to declare war. u The Sunday Times concludes: 'On both sides of the Atlantic, therefore, there is need for deep consideration and ar ever-present sense of realities if substance is to be given to Mr Kellogg's inspiring conception." The Observer admits the existence o£ difficulties, but declares that " no difficulties can diminish the significance of the forward movement of the American policy. Locarno marked a stage, and the very limitation of its aims widened the scope of its effect. We see it now as an indispensable prelude to a renewal of American interest in Old World affairs. Mr Kellogg's Note completes the logic of Locarno. The ideals which inspire it are implicit in every word of the two operative clauses of the draft Treaty, and are* explicitly stated in its preamble. The co-operation for which the world has waited for so many years is at last forthcoming, and Britain, equipped as she is historically and geographically to further its intentions, welcomes it with thankfulness." THE BRITISH DECISION. DOMINIONS TO BE CONSULTED. LONDON. A-, ril 16. (Received April 16, at 11 p.m.) The diplomatic correspondent of the Daily Telograph says that British official circles express the oivnion Mat theBritish decision regarding Mr Kellogg's plan for the abolition of war will be determined not on teclniicalititea but on a broacl appraisement of the political and moral values invo.ived after the fullest conatiitatinn between the Home and iJomiTnfans' Governments. The latter are bound to carry the greatest weight. It is a safe assumption that as most of tho dominions were unwilling to sign even a Khinc-land pact dominion opinion will bo found in close agreement with Washington's plea that the conclusion of a multilateral pact should not be obstructed or frustrated by the claims of military alliances. The opinion is universal in British circles that renewed collaboration between America and J'Juropo is worth generous concessions.—Australian Press Association.