GENUINE BENEFIT

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17234, 14 April 1930, Page 7

GENUINE BENEFIT

ADVANCE TO WORLD PEACE.

THREE-POWER TREATY NAVAL REDUCTIONS BRITISH PRESS COMMENT (British Oflioiul Wireless.) Ree. noon. RUGBY, April 1.1. The results of the'Naval Conference, on which .Mr. A. V. Alexander, First Lord of the Admiralty, made a detailed statement last night, are the subject of leading articles in the newspapers this morning. The Times leniarks that it is probable that these results would loom larger today if they had not been discounted lor some little time as certain of achievement and obscured by an effort to add to them long alter ail hope ol doing so had vanished "in a. word, the powers concerned have come to an agreement as to the number and type of warships of nil kinds they will build during the next five years, rnd the programmes upon which they have agreed are very much smaller than anything contemplated at Washington, or even at' Geneva three years ago. "They have thus, as between themselves, ex'ended and completed the work of the Washington Conference, and abolished competition in naval armaments. The saving effected, however important hs it- is for every nation in the economic circumstances of the present day. is not the main benefit which may be expected to result from the agreement. With the elimination of competitive naval construction there will also disappear a prolific source of mutual suspicion, misunderstanding, and friction, and the way will be prved for further progressive reductions at fntire conferences. COM PLICATIONS A VOIDED Regretting that Prance and Italy are not in the agreement, the Times says: ''Theoretically it would be possible for either so to increase her construction as to make it impossible for the three powers which have entered into the agreement to keep within its limits, but in actual practice there is very little likelihood that this will ever arise. An outbreak of shipbuilding zeal in Prance and Italy, such as would be required to modify the contemplated British, American, and Japanese programmes, would have been less improbable if the threepower agreement had been concluded without every effort being made to bring them in to it.' That is the true justification for the long-drawn negotiations of the latter days of the conference." The conservative Daily Telegraph says : "Among ourselves there is virtual unanimity in welcoming the substantial achievement of the three-power treaty, anil there is a general agreement, not less heartfelt if not so openly expressed, in all quarters on the point that we ought to be thankful for the escape from those grave complications with which the country was threatened while the political discussions of the past few weeks were in progress.

The Daily Telegraph expresses satisfaction that dangerous dalliance with the notion of purchasing a reduction of France's programme with new British commitments in the .Mediterranean is finally disposed of, and hopes that the memory of its collapse will tell against a revival of it in another form in future discussions at Geneva.

The Liberal Dairy Chronicle declares that (he three-power agreement is, above nil. a personal triumph lor Mr. MacDonald. It is not .inly better than nothing, but is a very genuine benefit, and a far-reaching achievement. !'• marks a definite point in the process of disentangling ourselves from Europe, and puts the relations of the three leading naval powers on a sensible and enduring basis.

FIRST COMMITTEE'S REPORT. A communique says the First Committee of the conference unanimously adopted the experts' report as to the disposal of war vessels. The three powers agreed upon a. definition of the characteristics of destroyers; i'dopled rules for replacement in the draft agreement regarding capital ships; and gave a definition of the aireraf" carrier. It was officially explained that France and .Italy reserve the right to build capital ships whereto they were entitled by the Washington Treaty.

Under the scrapping agreement, the United States will scrap the Florida and Utah within two years of the ratification, and the British' Empire will scrap the Marlborough, Emperor of India Benbow and Tiger; ;two within two years and Iwo within 131 years. The following can be retained for training purposes only: America, the Arkansas; British Empire, the Iron Duke; Japan, the Hivsi.

This means the early scrapping of five British battleships, three American, and one Japanese. To-day it has been definitely agreed amongst the three powers that the maximum number of ships of this class should be PS, 15, and 12 respectively. Japan raised the question of the transference upwards or downwards of the 15 .per cent, of light cruiser and destroyer tonnage. This was referred to the heads of the delegations.

The Daily Telegraph's political corrt‘spoiu’l out understands that in view of the result of Iho conference two of tlu> cancelled cruisers will probah'ly now lie built to’raise the cruiser strength to ofl. At present there are o2 cruisers, but four are obsolete. CURIOUSLY MIXED COMMENT IN AMERICA THE POLITICAL ASPECT NEW YORK, April 13. American reaction to the naval derisions io London is curiously mixed. It cannot bo said that, popularly, the tbree-l’ovver arrangement has aroused much interest, chiefly because of the ingrained insularity and provincialism of the great bulk of ilie American people. President Hoover’s explanatory statement, moreover, caused hardly a ripple of excitement. The international meaning of the London conference's work does not seem to he generally understood. Although there is an attempt to outline the important considerations and sacrifices behind the British decisions to permit American parity, thero is even less understanding of the necessity for a five-l’ower agreement, before Britain can feel secure in making reductions. A few American observers, however, do point out that the British are “world minded.” and must (regard European troubles with clear eyes, and, as a result, must express some dissatisfaction with the announced agreement. These observers do try to make clear that, without a definite assurance of the limitation of French and Italian forces, the British must always see at least a strategic threat to their vital lines of communication in the Mediterranean. The fact that only a limited comprehension of the true state of affairs exists in connection witlr the conference can bp seen in certain kinds of editorial opinion which, avoiding discussion on the important elements of the situation, belabors the “parity” issue.

The New York Herald-Tribune, one of the leading journals of the Republican opinion of the country, takes up ".Military Merchant Ships” as the subject for to-morrow’s leader. It stresses that Britain therein is superior, and concludes: “Parity with Britain seems clearly in sight as far as fleets are concerned ; parity in sea power is still far away.” The New York -Times, in a carefully prepared leader, pursues its traditional attitude as concerns Anglo-American affairs, namely, that anything which advances the friendship of the two countries advances world peace. Indi eating that details of the agreement are not yet announced, it adds: “Frankly, they do not greatly matter. The naval experts, to be sure, will seize upon them with avidity,” and concludes: “The principle of establishing and maintaining friendly relations between Britain and the United States should result in benefits not only to our two peoples, but to others.” The fate of the impending treaty in the Senate, however, receives more detailed treatment here. As yet, anything that may be said concerning Senatorial reaction would purely be. conjectural Senator Borah, who would not represent the United States as a delegate, so that he might maintain freedom of action, has not yet spoken, and the London announcements, coming towards the end of the week, with the Senato not sitting, few facts are available. It, however, seems indicated to-night that at the Congressional elections this year. Hie President will make every effort to keep the treaty out of politics until early in 1931. The present session of Congress will probably end in June, and next- session will not be convened until December. Meantime there is a possibility that the political complexion of Congress may change radically. It has done so in tho past at the middle term elections. What the fate of the treaty would lie if the Republican majority in (lie Senate were seriously reduced, it is impossible to predict. RELIEF IN FRANCE ITALY BLAMED FOR FAILURE PARIS, April 11. The decision to end the Naval Conference is greeted with relief by French newspapers, which blame Italy for the failure to conclude a fivo-Power pact, but emphasise that France lias emerged with her naval programme intact and her freedom of action unimpaired, especially in respect of submarines.