THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 19140, 25 October 1927, Page 11

THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS.

LORD CECIL'S CONVICTIONS

(FROM OUR OWU CORRESPONDENT.)

LONDON, September 10

Lord-Cecil, of Chelmwood, interviewed by the "Spectator," expresses some of his opinions thus:

"As regards disarmament there will certainly be important discussions, for the-future of the Three Power Conference has made League action on that subject all the more necessary. Hasty action in this grave crisis may easily do irreparable harm, but on.the other hand inaction will be assuredly fatal. It is' as true as ever that the nations must either disarm or perish. "There are two convictions which 1 hold with increasing firmness. One is that the League cannot afford to stand still. It must carry forward the tasks it has in hand to their conclusion. Without necessarily going out to seek new ones, it must at any. rate refuse no responsibility that can properly bo laid on it. The/nations composing it must co-operate in making tho twentysix articles of the Covenant a reality, and not merely an academic statement of ideal principles designed to look impressive on paper. The Covenant must form the solid basis of the relationship between States. "That is one necessity. The other, on which I would lay at least equal stress, is that public opinion in every country should be sufficiently concerned about tho League and sufficiently informed regarding tho broad outlines of the League's work, to exert an effective influence on the policies concerted and executed at Geneva. Technically tho League and the delegates who sit in the Assembly and Council must be appointed by tho Governments. If that were not so, if the responsibility of the Cabinets were not thus engaged, there could he no guarantee, it might almost bo said there would be no probability, that Government would honour any agreements concluded at Geneva. But there is all the difference between delegations which take the purely official view and nothing else, and the delegations which, while they represent Governments and bind Governments, are yet conscious of the existence behind those Governments of a popular sentiment and popular convictions cutting across Party political divisions and calculated to make the men and women who represent their countries fee] that they are actually speaking, not merely for a Government, but for a People. "It rests, of course, with the public of the different countries to see that this happens. A Government cannot be expected to cast about to try to discover what the popular sentiment on a particular issue is. The public must make itself felt through the normal constitutional means in such a way that the Government cannot fail to be conscious of its wishes. If that popular concern for the League and its principles gradually developed in different countries, then, and only then, will full advantage be taken of an international mechanism which has already shown itself capable of meeting any call made on it if only the will to use it en all proper occasions is present."