The decision to cancel the Conference at Hangchow arranged by the Institute of Pacific Relations will be sound, in the present circumstances. The membersgof the gsi] Council who will be at, Yokohama on Saturday are pected to come to that decision, in the light of the views of the Japanese and Chinese groups who fare: unanimously in favour of abandoning the Conference. Re-423 presentatives of groups from the more distant countries dre here already or way. They will, understood, be able by informal discus sion to secure much of those bene fits of personal intercourse and first-hand acquaintance with other: groups. There are several aube Jets which can be fruitfully token in hand in this manner. To begin with the grant by the Rockefeller Institute of 6.$260,000 for a five-year programme of research wi demand consideration and plans for its employment. The Institute ig deserving of sympathy in this upset to its plans. Its inherent qualities will, however, enable to make good uso of the—object. essen afforded by the present vivid credence of the delieaty of Paclfe problems, 'The Arms Traffic The request which the British Foreign Office has very properly given to Lloyds to refuse insurance to ships carrying arms to China is, from a practical point of view, more 'a gesture than a development' likely great change in the No doubt: Lloyds will regard the request as in effect _an order which must be obeyed. The t is that by far the large majority of the arms carried into China come from the Continent,—and Lloyds' refusal to be associated with reinsurance contracts on their|- account will not affect that traffic, owing to the enormous profits which it carries, Great Britain is showing her good will to China in making. this gesture. If it were widely adopted in other countries the practical effect would be far greater than appears likely at present. The League of Nations has before now given attention to this matter of farms traffic, and there, possibly, fame solution of the difficulty may be found, although the question of definition is obviously an important stumlingblock,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.