“TOO MANY FINE PHRASES.”

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 18502, 25 February 1930, Page 9

“TOO MANY FINE PHRASES.”

Naval Conference Outlook. NEWSPAPER FORECASTS COLLAPSE. (United Press Association—By Electric Telegraph—Copyright. > (Received February 24, 6.40 p.m.) LONDON, February 24. The Conference continues to mark time. The only event of importance during the week-end was the announced departure for America on Wednesday of Rear-Admiral H. P. Jones, chief naval adviser to the American delegation. The official spokesman declares that the departure is due solely to illness, and there is no reason why it should in any way effect the Conference. The “Daily Express,” which throughout has taken a somewhat despairing view, to-day features a story from its Conference representative, headed “Naval Conference Collapse,” in which the correspondent declares that the Conference is closing down until 1935. The paper adds that the statement will probably be denied by the British spokesman, but nevertheless it is a fact that the Conference has failed for the same reason as the Geneva Conference in 1927, namely, insufficient preparation and too many fine phrases. Awaiting Return of French. The French Prime Minister, M. Chautemps, completed his Cabinet last night,, and presented the new Ministers to .the President. The new Government will meet in the Chamber on Tuesday, and it is anticipated that the delegation to the Naval Conference will leave for London on Wednesday. The Minister for Foreign Affairs, M. Aristide Briand, will head the delegation, which, as before, will comprise the Ministers for Marine and Colonies. The new holders of these offices are M. Sarraut and M. Famoureux. It was stated by the Prime Minister that the Government will take the necessary steps to assure continuity of policy at the London Conference. Until the arrival of the French delegates the Conference stands adjourned. The only progress that has been possible in the interval is a preliminary survey of certain aspects of the submarine question, which has been referred to the legal experts. Speeches made at the plenary session indicated a strong desire on the part of all delegations to do what was possible to , humanise the use of submarines. No question of limitation of the size of vessels is before these experts, who had a further informal meeting yesterday, when the Root Convention, signed in Washington, in 1922, which, owing to non-ratification By France, never came into operation, was taken as the starting point for their review. The Convention declared that belligerent submarines are not in any circumstances exempt from the rules applicable to surface vessels, and that any submarine commander who violates any of these rules should be liable to trial .md punishment for an act of piracy, and that the prohibition of the use of the submarines as commerce destroyers hould be universally accepted as part )f the law of nations. In view of the practical impossibility of using them in this way and at the same time giving due protection to the lives of neutrals md non-combatants, the legal experts are now considering whether any modification of these principles is considered desirable. The Chancellor Pleased. Mr Philip Snowden, Chancellor of the Exchequer, in a speech last night at Huddersfield, referred to the work of the Naval Conference. He said that probably some people thought that by this time the Conference ought to have arrived at some conclusion, but international conferences never worked very quickly. From all he heard the outlook at the Conference was distinctly promising and seemed to point to there being some arangement made by which the tremendous burden of naval expenditure would be considerably lightened. Delegate Returning. Rear-Admiral Hilary Jones, chief Naval Adviser to the American delegation, is returning to the United States owing to illness.