WORLD PEACE MUST BE BUTTRESSED

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 759, 4 September 1929, Page 1

WORLD PEACE MUST BE BUTTRESSED

RAMSAY MACDONALD’S HOPES Abolition of War Atmosphere tenth assembly of league Earnest Address at Geneva British Official Wireless Received Noon. RUGBY, Tuesday. DURING the last five years many changes have taken place, nearly all of which had been for the advancement of peace and strengthening of the League’s authority,” said the Rt. Hon. Ramsay MacDonald, Prime Minister of Great Britain, addressing the Tenth Assembly of the League of Nations. "Nothing gives me greater pleasure,” he declared, "than the fact that benches which were empty in 1924 have been filled for 1929, and Germany is present to take part in our deliberations.”

What they had now to do, after these changes, was to proceed with the work of developing the authority of the League, and laying wider and more securely than eyer the foundations of international peace. As they had realised five years ago, the problem of the League was the problem of security. Since 1924 they had started on another road. The Pact of Peace had been signed in Paris, and that pact was now their starting-point. The Assembly of the League was going to buttress that pact. One of the most important contributions in this direction was the work of the conference just concluded at ,The Hague. The agreement arrived at would be signed, he believed, in a few weeks. It was, however, a proud moment for all of them to know that next week the first of the battalions would march out of the occupied area of Germany, facing homeward, never to return again. HOPEFUL AND ENCOURAGING It was a hopeful and encouraging thing that they were now met as members of the League, in the spirit of the League, with unruffled friendship, co-operating in the work of peace with the British Government, as he was sure were all the others. He was desirous that the pact of peace should not only be a declaration on paper, but should be translated into a constitution and institutions that would work for the peace of the world. Continuing, Mr. MacDonald said the League must set itself to solve the problem of disarmament. He urged the Preparatory Commission of the League, not to face the problem In the mentality of the possibility of war, but on the assumption that the risk of war is far less than the likelihood of peace being permanently observed. They had to ask their military advisers to believe that there was as much security in an agreement as in a regiment of soldiers or a battleship. BRITAIN’S CONTRIBUTION The Britisri Government's special contribution toward disarmament must lie in the field of naval armament with, in the first case, some agreement such as the one between Great Britain and the United States, which must not, and could not, be regarded as directed against any other nation, but rather as a helpful lead to the rest of the world. What they wanted was such an agreement, as having been made, fcould be the preliminary to the calling of a five Powers’ naval conference, other Powers being as free to put in their proposals and Britain as free to negotiate with them, as though no conversations had taken place between America and Britain. These negotiations were not yet completed, but the agreement had gone very far. He did not know what final form the agreement would take, but he thought they might produce a document—-it might be of 20 points—of the agreement. It won Id be a very comprehensive document for they were not out for small things, bat to establish peace. If the document ultimately ran to 20 points it could be said that only about three were outstanding at the present moment. He had hoped It might have been possible to make a definite announcement there, but he was not at all sure. The announcement might not be made before the present assembly came to an end. The British Government, however,

Egypt would be in a position to apply for membership in the League. On the subject of the Palestine disorders he repudiated the statement that it was a racial conflict. It was simply an uprising of the forces of disorder, he said, and so far as the British Government was concerned the disorder must be suppressed, ■whether it be caused by Moslems or Jews, Christians or non-Christians. No nation with any political responsibilities, co-operating with other nations, would ever yield to outbursts of disorder and criminality. He appealed to the leaders of these people to unite to repair what had been done. The first duty was to get the strife ended and order restored. However, that had practically been done. Concluding, the Prime Minister urged the assembly to face the problems of tariff barriers between producers and consumers.

had been considering: wliat it could do at the present assembly to buttress the foundation of the pact of peace. As a contribution to this it would seek to revise sections 3 and 5 of the Covenant of the League, and bring them right up to date and in line with the Kellogg Pact. It was desired to close the gap left by these sections in the event of conciliation failing and thus to harmonise the obligations of the members of the League, with the obligations under the pact. THE OPTIONAL CLAUSE Proceeding, Mr. MacDonald said he was in a position to announce that the British Government had decided to sign the optional clauses and the form of its declaration was now being prepared. It ■would be completed and put in during the, present assembly. Further, his Majesty’s Governments in other parts of the British Commonwealth, which were members of the League, had been consulted and he believed that each of them would instruct its delegates to sign the clause during this assembly, but, in accordance with their rights and their position at Geneva, they would make their own statements on the subject. His own hope was that this meeting of the Assembly might be known as the Optional Clause Assembly. PALESTINE DISORDERS Referring to the agreement offered by Britain to Egypt, Mr. MacDonald said the effect of it would be that