"The Edifice of Peace Which We are Trying to Build": Fear Pens Us Up Speltbound—MacDonald London. Jan. 20.
The largest banquet ever given by the British Goverament was held at the Savoy Hotel this evening in honour of the delegates to the Naval Confegence, 450 guests being present, 'The Premier, Mr. Ramsay Mac-Donald, presided, with Colonel 'Stimson, the United States Secretary of State and head of the 'American delegation, on his right, and Mf. Andre Tardieu, the French Premier and head of' the French delegation, on his lett.
Mx, MacDonald, toasting the de-Jegates, said he was perfectly certain that they had come to strive, with heart and soul, to make th Conference a conspicuous success. He expressed the opinion that if the Gclegates behaved during the Conference, as they had done that day, it would be the happiest, most harjonious and pleasantest time of his.
Difficulties, the Premier continued, wore apparent, but so were the great Diessings to the world of a successful issue of the Conferené
Mr. MacDonald paid a high tribute, successively, to Of. Tardieu; MIN. Briand, the French Foreign inister, Signor Grandi, the Italian Foreign Secretary and head of the Italian delegation,—ex-Premier Wakatauki, who heads the Japanese Aelegation; and to the representa tives of the Dominions.
Replying, Colonel Stimson. laid stress on the importance of the occasion and urged mutual goodwill and an honest effort to understand the circumstances and difficulties of sister nations.
Economy, the United States Secretary of State declared, was merely a by-product of the' Conference, the real aim of which was to remove secrecy, rivalry and mutual irritation and leave each motion an adequate national defence, which yet, would not be a source of worry and suspicion to Jan, 21.
In opening, the Conference ils Majesty the King said:—"Te is with sincere satisfaction that I am pre-out to welcome the delegates of the: five principal Naval Powers assem-died with the object of eliminating the evil results. of wasteful com tion in naval acmements.
""Byery nation represented here ly proud of its Navy, proud of that Navy's: past achievements and me expiring traditions. Tt is not the Sault of these traditions, nor of our navies if competition in naval con struction, due. to the supposed necessities of policy, has Ted to a feeling of Insecurity between rations, even to the risk of war.
"Since the great War all peoples fare determined that human. statecraft shall leave nothing undone to prevent a repetition of that grim immense tragedy.
"In the edifice of peace which we fare seeking to build," continued His Majesty, "one of the most important columns is. the ent Between "the maritime nations on abe limitation of naval strength ard its veduetion to a point consistent national security. The prac al application of the' principle. of reduction in naval armament has, the pest, proved a matter of supreme difficulty. A' great success was achieved in the conclusion of the Washington Treaty of 1922, "which imposed certain. limitations on the constraction of capital ships ang aircraft-carriers, but up to the present all efforts to advance beyond Ghat point have failed.
'"t believe that you to whom your Governments have entrusted the igh mission of continuing the task begun at Washington, are animated with' the single-minded intention of working, not with any selfish and exclusively nationalistic purpose, but with noble inspiration and cive, to remove once and for al this" particular obstacle from the path-of ordered civilized progress. SwAIL nations," said His Biajesty, have varying Schemes demanding special: consideration, bat if each equally determined to make some sacrifice 05 a contribution: to. the common. good I feel cure-that-your rations will confer a great and benefit not only upon the upon ind generally.
Phish you represent, but
earnestly trust the results of this conference will lead to an immediate alleviation of the heavy burdens of armaments now weighing upon the peoples of the world and that also, by facilitating the future work of the League Preparatory Comffission on Disarmament, will hasten the time when a general Disarmament Conference can deal with this problem in an even more comprehensive manner. In this hope I shall follow your de-Iiberations with the closest interest and attention
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.