10 NOVEMBER 1928, Page 2

In the House of Lords on Tuesday Lord Salisbury, unlike

Mr. Baldwin, made some remarks on foreign policy. In regard to the Rhineland he made an important state- ment, which we must quote :— " The noble lord asked me whether reparations were conditional upon the evacuation of the Rhine. It is perfectly true that, as a matter of practical politics, there is a certain connexion between the two, but so far as His Majesty's Government are concerned we have always been in favour of the evacuation of the Rhine, and very anxious to persuade the French Government to go forward in that direction. We reserve, of course, to ourselves the right to push forward that policy, even independently of reparations, if it should seem the proper course to pursue."

The Government apparently recognize that the evacua- tion of the Rhineland is one of the first proofs which we can give that we intend to act fully in the spirit of the Kellogg Pact. Lord Salisbury's statement is in advance of anything that has yet been said on this subject, and is most welcome. * *