THE MAIN TASK

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17185, 15 February 1930, Page 6

THE MAIN TASK

NAVAL LIMITATION

ALLOCATION OF TONNAGE

CONVERSATIONS CON TIN UEID

(British Official Wireless.) Kec. 2 p.m. JIUG-BY, Feb. 14. With the appearance of the French memorandum, issued last night, some hours after that from the Japanese, four out of the five powers at the naval conference have made statements of their naval requirements. The Italians have no immediate intention of presenting any detailed outline of their requirements, but. maintain their claim to the principle of parity with every Continental naval power, while disclaiming any wish actually to build up to the strength of the French navy. To-day’s proceedings at the conference will mainly consist of further private* conversations between the delegates and a continuation by experts of ship classification and other technical matters connected with the compromise scheme of tonnage limitation.

The conference is now closely engaged on its main task, that of determining tli(> tonnage figures to he allotted to the different powers in the various categories of ships, from which a skeleton table has been prepared by experts working under the direction'of the first committee of the conference. There have been important contributions to consideration of the problem of supplying these figures in the memoranda published within tile past eight days by the American, British, French, and Japanese delegations, and these statements have been undergoing a close scrutiny this week by the delegates. It is recognised that when an agreement lias been reached regarding these figures the work of the conference will be practically over, for on other outstanding matters, good progress is being made. QUIET WEEK-END EXPECTED

The French memorandum which was supplied to the various delegations yesterday was the main basis of a long discussion to-day between the principal British, American, and French delegates. Mr. Ramsay MacDonald was accompanied by the Foreign Secretary, Mr. A. Henderson, anti the First Lord of the Admiralty, Mr. A. V. Alexander. Others present were the United States Secretary of State, 'Mr. Stimson, Senator Robinson, and Mr. Dwight Morrow; the French Prime Minister, M. Tardieu, and tho French Foreign Minister, M. Briand. Tho discussion was a continuation of the conversations begun on Wednesday and resumed yesterday, and tho general position which the conference has reached on the question arising out of the production of tonnage figures, and classification was reviewed. 'The discussions will bo taken up again early next week. Meanwhile "the experts to-day continued to explore tho question of ships which it is proposed should be exempt from limitation. It is understood that it lias practically been decided to adopt, with some small alterations, the categories of exempt classes provisionally agreed upon at the Geneva Conference in 1927. The experts then proceeded to discuss the position regarding special vessels, such, for example, as patrol boats, seaplane carriers, which, unlike aircraft carriers, are not equipped for vessels landing or taking off from their decks, hulks used for training ships, and monitors mounting heavy guns. It is probablo that the examination of the position of this special class of vessel will occupy some considerable time. No important developments in connection with the conference are expected during the week-end. The Prime Minister left this afternoon for Chequers. MM. Tardieu and Briand have returned to Paris, Mr. Stimson will spend the week-end in the country, and the Italian defegate, Signor Grandi, has gone to Brighton. FRANCE’S CONCESSIONS.

Prospects of the disarmament conference resulting in a five-power, instead of a three-power, treaty, as was at one time feared, seem more favorable owing to the modification of France’s original attitude, combined with a tendency on the part of Italy to be guided by the decisions of the other powers. Well-informed circles consider that Franc© has made a considerable concession wholly apart from what may lie done in connection with actual tonnage reductions. Originally she demanded limitation purely on a global basis—that is to say, France said there should be a total tonnage fixed, within which limit any nation might, build ships as it saw fit.—as opposed to the British, American, and Japanese theory of a reduction, by categories. France at the beaming of the conference made important concessions in the directum of the so-called transactional proposals, which offered 4 blend of the global and categorical theories. The second proposal contemplated th(>. transfer from one category to another with one year’s notice. A table has now been drafted by the five powers, with Italy’s reservation to withhold a decision until the ratios are laid down. This table leaves only a, shadow of the global theory, and, furthermore, there is also within the global theory limitation regarding the categories as to /.one, to which the global theory of transfers is npw applicable is very limited. liven more indicative of France’s accommodating spirit is the fact that she now agrees to waive the right to transfer on one year’s notice in favor of a movement of tonnage from one category to another only after six years’ notice.