The Daily News SATURDAY, APRIL 26, 193O. THE NAVAL TREATY.

Taranaki Daily News, 26 April 1930, Page 8

The Daily News SATURDAY, APRIL 26, 193O. THE NAVAL TREATY.

The outcome of the conference of the five . chief naval Powers is quite in accordance' with the anticipations of those who have followed the trend of the limitations movement from the time of the Washington Treaty unt.il now. There has never existed a doubt that the United States would eventually come to an arrangement with Britain, while the action of Japan in consort with the two leading naval Powers was a foregone conclusion. It would, of course, have been much more pleasing if France and Italy had composed their differences, or jealousies, and thus have made the conference unanimous 'in its final decisions, but it was only too evident throughout the negotiations that these two countries would stand out by themselves, at least for the time being. There is now the Three-Power Naval Pact, which lays a foundation, as the British Prime Minister aptly remarked, ‘'on which others will build.” On such an historical occasion it invariably happens that mutual compliments and congratulations are exchanged, and the signing of the Naval Pact was no exception to this good rule. It will, no doubt, be considered that Mr. Ramsay MacDonald was absolutely sincere when he said: “We can suspend our labours and bid each other good-bye, carrying away not only the signed treaty, but the most precious of all factors of international peace —goodwill and a mutual friendly understanding and respect.” Notwithstanding the fact that France and Italy remain outside this pact, there is still the hope that in the course of time they will see the error of their policy and come into line with the present signatories. Possibly Mr. MacDonald hinted at such a happening when he used the phrase “suspend our labours.” The tone of the conference throughout was preeminently concilitory so far as the delegates were concerned, and in that respect was similar to the spirit exhibited at Locarno. After all, there was very little difference in the guiding principles of the five Powers, but the two lesser Powers were more concerned with political details than were the three major Powers. It was certainly very unfortunate that Italy’s claim to parity with France should have met with a firm refusal, especially as no African or other colonial problems are now pending between these two nations, but the naval controversy between them obviously turned chiefly upon oversea commitments and the transport of troops in the Mediterranean. In resolutely opposing the idea of a settlement based on the building programmes of the next six years Italy claimed that owing to the present low level of Italian figures an agreement with France on the programme basis would either stabilise Italian inferiority or else involve that country in a colossal naval expenditure, which she had neither the desire nor the power to incur. Moreover, it would penalise any country that had scrapped ships or, like Italy, neglected to build them. The most Italy could offer was to refrain from building any more capital ships during the next six years if France would give a similar undertaking, because Italy’s right to equality with France had been

acknowledged at the Washington Conference. France absolutely refused to meet that claim. As soon as these two nations can compose their differences they can help the cause of peace and reap the benefit of a large saving in money that, if wasted on the construction of further capital ships, will prove a great'obstacle to national advancement. There can be no question but that, the agreement which has just been signed between the three major Naval Powers is not only a further step towards the peace of the world but also direct evidence of the desire for eventual disarmament and the abolition of warfare as a means for settlement of international differences. It is only natural to assume that the process of limiting naval armaments is a prelude to a similar policy with regard to the land forces. Admittedly it will take time, but that fact need not diminish the feeling of thankfulness with which the world at large should view the outcome of the conference in London.