EXPERTS CONSIDER VARIOUS POINTS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19033, 31 March 1930, Page 1

EXPERTS CONSIDER VARIOUS POINTS.

ATTEMPTS BEING MADE TO APPEASE FRANCE. (United Press Assn.—By Electric Telegraph—Copyright.) (Received March 31, 12.30 a.m.) RUGBY, March 30. Although no meetings between the chief delegates to the Naval Conference have been arranged before Monday, when the heads will again meet, various points, which the newspapers umderstand are related to the scope of the Articles 11 and 16 of the Covenant, have been referred by the respective delegations to their experts for investigation and advice. The main purpose of these examinations is apparently to discover whether it is possible to devise a formula which would provide France with the measure of additional security which she desires, as a prelude to the reduction of her naval tonnage, without involving Great Britain in additional military commitments. Other instruments besides the League Covenant are embraced in their examination, including the Locarno Treaty and the Kellogg Pact, and the experts are considering the general question, without having before them any specific consideration in the waj- of a Mediterranean Pact. The British Government have always taken the view that no question of a Mediterranean Pact could be settled at the Conference, where several interested Mediterranean Powers are unrepresented. It is suggested that when the plenary session is held next Friday the American delegation may take the opportunity of clarifying the United States attitude towards a consultative pact, about which the Press, at least, seems in .some doubt. According to “ The Times,” the Daily Herald ” and other journals, the position at the moment is that the American delegation would not consider participation in a consultative pact ijntil after the European Powers had reached an agreement regarding the Mediterranean problem, and until a Five-Power Treaty embodying naval reductions has been signed.

AMERICAN OBJECTS TO FIVE-POWER PACT.

URGES U.S. ,TO ENTER LEAGUE OF NATIONS. (United Press Assn,—-By Electric Telegraph.—Copyright.) WASHINGTON, March 29. Senator C. A. Swanson stated that a consultative pact, such as was being suggested in London as a basis for a naval disarmament treaty, would be “a return to the old concept of the power that controlled Europe for many years, and which was the cause of many wars and many injustices.” He declared that such a pact would either involve the United States in political obligations in Europe, or would be “a snare and a delusion.” He continued: “How will Spain, Greece, Jugo-Slavia, Turkey and Egypt, bordering on the Mediterranean, view the five-power pact thus entered into, excluding them? It will be better for the United States to enter the League of Nations, where all the nations can meet and consult for peace and the betterment of the world. It will be better to do this than enter into a special arrangement with four European powers. Special arrangements with other nations are contrary to. the policy Mr Wilson advocated, and it seems to me it will be fraught with trouble.”

UNITED STATES ISSUES OFFICIAL STATEMENT.

NEW YORK, March 29. The Washington correspondent of the “ Herald-Tribune ” says that the State Department has issued the following statement: “ There is no difference in view between the President and our delegation in London. The delegation always had, and now has, his unqualified support and authority. The delegation is patiently seeking to explore every suggestion made, and every possibility that leads to the great purpose of the Conference, that is, the reduction and limitation of naval arms, and the preservation of the peace of the world. It is our high hope that a plan for so doing can be developed which will meet with the approval of the American people, and which will be consonant with our traditional policies and ideals.” While the statement makes no mention of the consultative pact, it seems clearly to rule out more formally than ever the hope of France, if it exists, that the American delegation will affix the United States signature to such a pact. In the opinion of some observers here, it proceeds beyond this strongly to indicate, in the event of the failure to obtain a five-power pact, that the United States will be able to avoid the charge of contributing to its failure. Mr F. B. Kellogg, addressing the League of Political Education in New York, stated: “I know that the people of this country are doubtful of the success of the London Conference. But I believe it will be unfortunate if there should be a general increase of armaments in the world instead of a decrease. As a matter of fact, the greatest security lies in reducing all navies to the point where aggression is impossible. As long as the people of the world continue to believe that war must be prevented and that armaments must be reduced, conferences will continue. We should not be discouraged if this conference does not accomplish everything that the advocates of disarmament wish. No evil as .old as civilisation itself can be eliminated in one or even ten years.”