§ 9. Mr. George Craddockasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether at the Four-Power Meeting he will make proposals not only for disarmament but also for transfer of armaments to the United Nations from nation States.
§ Mr. NuttingMy right hon. Friend does not consider that a transfer of armaments from nation States to the United Nations would at the present time be a practicable programme or one likely to receive the support of other Governments.
§ Mr. CraddockIs the Minister aware that in 1932 Tardieu and Paul-Boncour 353 proposed that a League of Nations army should be built up at the same time as there was a reduction in the arms of nation States, and will he bear in mind that the proposals for disarmament may be rejected unless nation States can find security in some other way?
§ Mr. NuttingI have a little experience in negotiating on these disarmament questions—three months in the Disarmament Sub-Committee of the United Nations—and I have certainly heard no proposals from the Russian side on the lines suggested by the hon. Gentleman. He will have observed that since these proposals were made before the war the march of science has brought us into new and very much more dangerous realms in the field of modern weapons.