THE NAVAL CONFERENCE

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17231, 10 April 1930, Page 5

THE NAVAL CONFERENCE

DISCUSSIONS REVIEWED WORK OF COMMITTEE .1A PA N ESE R F.SERV ATI ON S. (British Official Wireless.) Roc. noon. RLGI'O. April 9. To-day’s conversations between Die naval delegates, arranged in t ho hope Unit the chances of a live-power agreement might thereby be reviewed, were somewhat impeded by the illness ol Signor Grandi. Nevertheless, the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary hail a long meeting with the Italian Ambassador, Signor Bordonano, and Signor Rossi, in the course of the day, and this evening the French and United Kingdom delegations also met. Alter the latter meeting. whHi was held in the Prime Minister’s room at the House of Commons, a brief com mnnique announced that the development. of the conversations of the last 24 hours had been examined, and that a further meeting would take place tomorrow. It is understood that ibis meeting dealt mainly with statistics, as did also a, conversation earlier in the day between .Mr. A. V. Alexander and M. Ditinesnil, heads respectively of the British and French admiralties. Meanwhile, progress was being made with other spheres of the conference work. The British. American, and Japanese experts who have been ex amining the reservations of the Japanese Government to the proposals sent to Tokio as part of the potential livepower pact, reached a general agreement on most points at the meeting today, and will to-morrow deal with one or two matters still outstanding.

The special sub-committee appointed by the first committee to consider the question of aircraft carriers also met today under the chairmanship of Mr. Alexander. It was agreed “that the generic term, aircraft carrier, tor the purposes of tho present agreement should comprehend, firstly, aircraft carriers of over 10.000 tons standard displacement, as defined in the treaty between the United States, the British Umpire, France, Italy, and Japan, limiting naval armament and signed tit Washington on February 6. 1922; and. secondly, other surface vessels of war of a standard displacement not exceeding 10. COO tons designed for the specific and exclusive purposes of conveying aircraft, and so constructed that aircraft ran lie launched therefrom and landed thereon; such vessels shall not carry guns with a calibre in excess of 6in.” These vessels will go into the aircraft carrier category, while all other vessels built to carry aeroplanes or seaplanes are to be charged against the appropriate combatant category,, according to size and armaments.