7 JANUARY 1922, Page 10

At the Washington Conference on Wednesday, December 28th, M. Sarraut,

for France, definitely refused to agree even to a reason- able limitation of her submarine flotilla. France, he said, would- accept the proposed maximum of 175,000 tons for her capital ships, provided that she could begin replacing them from 1927 and not from 1932. But she could not accept lees than a maximum of 330,000 'tons for light craft and of -90,000 tons for submarines, though her present submarine tonnage -is barely a third as much, Mr. Hughes reminded M. Sarraut that the Conference:had met to limit armaments, not to expand them.