London, June 29.
France intends to open a wide range of discussion at the forthcom~ ing. preliminary Naval Limitations Conference in London, it became Known to-day.
The " discussions _will commence when M. Louis Barthou, French Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Signor Pletri Italian delegate, arrive here on July 8.
France's decision to widen the scope of the discussions to include political questions is a direct challenge to the Japanese desire to restrict the conversations to the purely technical naval aspects. was understood that Mr. Quo Tal-chi, Chinese Minister to the Court of St, James, told Mr. Norman Davis, American diplomat, that Nanking Tin an earlier reply to Lord Elibank. Lord Londonderry emphasized that the Dominions and the government felt it was incompatible with the self-government. of each and the Interest of all that any attempt should be made to establish a central defence force for the Empire.
Every effort, however, was being made to link the air forces of th Empire as closely as possible, Lord Londonderry concluded—Reuter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.