A letter from Lord Cecil liublished in the Times of
Wednesday might profitably be read in parallel columns with Sir Austen Chamberlain's speech. Lord Cecil points out that he has never advocated the reduction of our Navy irrespective of what other countries might do. He hopes for a general and simultaneous reduction of armaments by international agreement, but he recognizes that until such an agreement is reached British armaments must depend upon the necessities of defence. Meanwhile he sees clearly what British policy ought to be. It ought to stand for the furtherance of international arbitration, for the unreserved support of the efforts of the League Commission towards dis- armament, for the study of ways and means of joint defence against aggression, and for the expansion of the authority of the League. In other words our policy ought to be that of the resolutions passed by the League Assembly. * * * *
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