CO129-552-6 Traffic of arms to China 2-1-1935 - 27-12-1935 — Page 81

80

quantities of arms and munitions of war, the dispersal of which

would constitute a danger to peace and public order", and the

Preamble then goes on to state that "in certain parts of the

world it is necessary to exercise special supervision over the

trade in, and the possession of, arms and ammunition". The

maintenance of the arms export licensing system, when other

forms of prohibition on export disappeared after the War

appears to have had as its main aims the prevention of arms

reaching native races, subversive elements and disarmed

ex-enemt countries. The system has since found other uses

such as facilitating the imposition of embargoes on exports of

arms and assistin foreign goverments in regulating arms

imports.

Open General

Licences.

29. Under the existing system open general licences allow the export, without specific licences, of some categories of arms and ammunition and also of aircraft and aircraft

engines, to any destination except certain areas in Asia and Africa. It will have been gathered from the historical

section of this Memorandum that this roundabout method of

providing for the licensing of the articles in question when destined to the special areas was maintained because of the limitations of existing legislation under which prohibitions relating to the export of arms in peace time must be general in character. Hence in order to give effect

to the Ethiopian Arms Treaty a general prohibition had to

be put into force.

30. Three Open General Licences have been issued by the Board of Trade. The first (Annex C) has the effect of requiring the issue of a specific licence for the export to Abyssinia of (a) aircraft, assembled or dismantled, and

aircraft engines, and (b) bayonets,

swords and lances, and

-13-