Apr. 9.
To-day"s conversations between the Jdelegates to the Naval Conference, arranged in hope that the chances lof a Five-Power agreement might thereby he revived, were somewhat impeded by the illness of Signor'
the chief Italian delegate. Nevertheless, the Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald, and the Foreign Secretary, Mr. Arthur Henderson, had a long meeting with the Italian Ambassador, Signor Antonio Bor-Jdonaro, and Signor Rossi in the course of the day and. this evening, the French and United Kingdom delegations also met.
Meanwhile progress was being! of the agreement between Britain, Japan and America were now being drafted and, would follow very closely the figures announced last} autumn during the negotiations: with Ame 2 Mr, Baldwin, the leader of the} Conservative Party, and Sir Samuel, Liberal member for Darwen (for Mr. Lloyd George), expressed their so is faction with the statement.
Saving Millions by Disarmament Apr. 11, In a speech at Sheffield to-day, Mrs A. V. Alexander, the First Lord of the Admiralty, estimated that the Three-Power Naval Agreement would mean for Britain a saving of between sixty and seventy mil pounds sterling up to 1936, He said that, compared with the [figures submitted at the abortive Geneva Conference in 1927, the present Trealy meant a total reduction for the Three Powers of 521,000 tons marines.
Agreement meant the early sera ping of five Bri th, three American, and one Japa ese battleship, and the restricting of the largest cruis-world tendency (7 not) to build the largest size cruiser permitted under the Washington Treaty. "When the Government entered ofice Inst year, the American authorized programme in eight-inch 10,000-ton ships was not less than twenty-three. In the case of Britain there were seventeen ight-inch ships built and building and one further ship authorized i a total programme which, if earth on to its "completion, would have been not less than twenty and, as Japan might quite naturally have been expected to build in proportion, these figures might not have been the maximum, To-day, he said, it had been definitely agreed amongst the Three Power that the maximum number of ships of this class should be eighteen, fifteen, and twelve respectively.
Mr, Alexander thought that the greatest value of the measure of agreement already secured was to be found in the helpful moral effect cruisers, destroyers and sub- reared in support of a general move
Mr. Alexander added that the There were also valuable economic towards' disarmament "and peace. advantages, he added.
For the period of the Agreement the most important thing for this country, he said, was the avoidance interpretation of the Covenant of the League of Nations, Mr. Godfrey Locker-Lampson, Important recommendations Jmade with other spheres of the work renee Rant, Tecommendations in jade with other spheres of the Timers to. elghleen for the United of expenditure, which woul have Teyard to the also and arcament of|0f ihe Conterenca, The Bria Seatea: fifteen, Ser" Britsia, and] fad tobe torecral inthe. tassing Naval Conference today by the|who have been examining the twelve for Japan. Under the Agree- down of new replacement of battle-
Conservative MP. for Wood Green, after much questioning: of the For ign Secretary, Mr, Arthur Henderson, in the House of Commons today on the subject of the Naval Conference, obtained leaves to move the adjournment of the House for debate "on a matter of urgent public importance, namely, the fin-Iinence of an agreement' between His Majesty's Government and an= other foreign Power as regards the interpretation of Article XVI of the Covenant of the League of Nations, without consulting the Council of the League or the House of Com-
Afier Mr, Locker-Lampson had moved the adjournment, the Premier, Mr, Ramsay MacDonald, in statement, said that Mr, Locker= Lampson had put the question who. ther, if any re-interpretation Article XVI of the League Coven-fant, involving fveah commitments, were made, he would consult. the other members of the Council of the League and give the House of Commons an opportunity of eon-sidering the matter before any yer entered into, reemtent involving such an inter-
'The Premier said he was perfect ly certain that nobody would object more strongly than Sit Austen Chamberlain if he gave such a pledge, which would mean that it Would' be quite impossible for any Government to exchange views of to express its views in regard to the meaning of the Arti Mr. Locker-Lampson knew perfect- but that others should have only well was somewhat vague, Mr. MacDonald stated that such 8 pledge would mean that and Britain or Germany Britain could not even ex chan views in resurd to the meaning of the Article without first consulting: the Council of the League. He added that he could not take that pledge (Ministerial cheers), nor had the Right Honourable gentle man opposite ever taken that pledge or acted on The Premier went on to say that the present discussions un Article XVI only amounted to one Conference Power asking another, "What. ually attach This was not a case like Locarno, where Germany's request for an assurance in regard to its obligations if it joined the League of Nations involved a new interpretation which only could be made by the Council of the League.
Mr. MacDonald said that all the Government could do was to say' that, having ascertained as far as was' humanly possible the opinion of the country and the House of on these always in mind, That was what the Government had been striving to do during the past trying two and a half months, The Premier concluded by declaring that if the leaders of the other: parties would consult him whenever they thought information la regard to the Conference was required, he would be glad to discuss with them the advisability of making a statement, Sir Samuel Hoare, Secretary for Air in the late Conservative Government, in the absence of Bf
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.