The Struggle For Peace

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Conference was called of the Powers which had signed the
Nine-Power Treaty, together with certain other Powers which
had important interests in the Far East, but Japan refused to
attend. She refused even to enter into informal discussions
outside the Conference. The result of that was that the
Conference failed to achieve the purpose for which it had
been convened, namely, to find some method of ending the
war by peaceful means. That result was unfortunate, but it
was not disgraceful to the Conference.
" There was only one way in which the conflict could have
been brought to an end, as it proved, and that was not by
peace, but by force. There was no mention of force in the
Nine-Power Treaty, which provided the machinery, not
taken advantage of by Japan, for consultation if a situation
should arise which threatened peace. Coercion would not
have obtained the support of any member of the Brussels
Conference. Although the outcome of the Conference was
so disappointing to the friends of peace, there was one feature
of it, at any rate, from which we may draw some satisfaction,
and that was that throughout we found ourselves in
complete and harmonious agreement with the delegation
of the United States of America on all the matters we
discussed.
" Hon. Members are familiar with the latest developments
in China, including the attack upon British ships in the
Yangtse. They are aware of the repeated representations
which we have made to the Japanese Government and the
text of the Note we sent to them after the last incident had
happened. What we are now doing is to await proof of the
determination and the ability of the Japanese Government to
prevent a recurrence of these incidents. From the beginning
we have constantly offered our services with a view to trying
to find some means of bringing this conflict to an end. We
are still anxious to serve the cause of peace hy any honourable
means that are open to us, but it must not be thought that our
desire for peace and our patience under repeated provocation
mean that we are either indifferent to our international obliga-
tions, or that we are forgetful of our duty to protect British
interests. It is now for the Japanese Government to show
that they, in their turn, are not unmindful of the rights and