§ 22. Captain P. MACDONALDasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will consider publishing as a White Paper such information as is available as to the relative naval and military strength and expenditure of the Powers invited to the forthcoming Disarmament Conference, indicating the increase or decline in strength and expenditure over the past 20 years?
Mr. A. HENDERSONI am not prepared to consider the publication of a White Paper of the nature indicated, owing to the very considerable expense which would be involved. Full information regarding the naval and military strength and expenditure of various Powers in recent years will be found in the League of Nations Armaments Year Books, copies of which are placed in the Library of this House.
§ 23. Captain MACDONALDasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the Soviet Government has put forward any proposals in connection with 861 the arrangements for the forthcoming Disarmament Conference which can be accepted by the organisers of the Conference; and to which of the original arrangements the Soviet Government raised no objections?
Mr. A. HENDERSONThe hon. and gallant Member is, I think, under a misapprehension. No original arrangements for the Conference had been made before the recent meeting of the Council of the League. The Soviet Government have not, so far as I am aware, raised any objection to the date which has been fixed for the Conference, nor to the instructions given to the Secretary-General to begin making preparations for its work. The view of the Soviet Government that the chairman of the Conference should be selected by the Conference itself was shared by certain members of the Council, and a decision on this point was adjourned. The Soviet Government did not favour Geneva as the meeting place of the Conference, but the Council decided in principle that, subject to satisfactory guarantees for the provision of suitable accommodation and facilities, the Conference should meet at Geneva.
§ Captain MACDONALDCan the right hon. Gentleman say whether the Soviet proposal included the raising of 115,000,000 army reservists, as reported in the week-end Press?