Turning to the Anglo-French naval compromise, Lord Cushendun said ; what
he had in effect said before, that Great Britain and France had merely tried to help the Disarmament Conference by reaching an agree- Ment which could be laid before the Preparatory Corn- Mission. The agreethent was purely provisional, and if Die other Powers Could not accept it, even in a modified foian; then a fresh search would have to be made for a basis of common action. Finally, Lord Cushendun spoke with most welcome enthusiasm on the Pact of Paris. He said that the full effects might not be immediate or spectacular. but that the Pact " proclaimed & new era." The generation growing up would be nur- tured in the idea that war, except in bona fide self-defence, was " not a gallant adventure but a national dishonour." Armaments beyond what was necessary for national safety would be recognized as " a costly and discreditable anachronism."
* * *
Previous page
