PEACE DRAFTING A BIG JOB

Chronicle (Levin), 12 July 1946, Page 3

PEACE DRAFTING A BIG JOB

many difficulties have to BE OVERCOME U. (Speci.-il Correapondciit.) LONDON, July 10. Altkough tlicrc ia general satiai'uctiou tliat Uie poacc conferenec will be held, instead of being postponed aguiii, Ihe opinioa in liritaiu is tliat there is stiil little chaneo of it, under Ihe existing rulea of procedure, departing radieH.11 y from the deeiaions already reached by the Big Four. The Manchester Guardian remarks: "ILanging over the nations will bc the knowledge tliat the drafts of the peaco treaties xuust go back to the Big Four for llnal approval and siguature. Any radical altcrations would therefore be a waste of time nnless approved by the Big Four. Something useful may be done and a few improvements may be made, but for tho most: part the eonierenee will have to muke tlie best of a bad job. That it has a job few will deny. "As they stand, the draft treaties are deplorable. They follow no aeeepted politieal or economic principle. and they aro both nnjust and inconsistent. No attempt has been made to discover tne facts or to eonsult the will of the inhabitants by eommlssions of inquiry or plebiscite. Each one is a eoinpromise among the rival Powers, who opeuly fear and distrust each other. Even. so, they represent Ihe best tliat can be done by a patient and enduring' diplomacy and, as sncli, they will be welcomed by a wearv Europe. Blessed are the peacemakers — even if the peaee j in this case is one whicli passeth all I understanding. •' * There are v.nious estiinaLes as to |

how long the conference will Just. Oue Is that tho proceodings may be as protracled as the Versailles discussions, whicli went on for four moutlis. The Uniled Kingdom delegation is expoded to be aunounced shortly. II is not at present tliouglit that Mr. Attlee will assumc the role that M r. Lloyd Georgo took at Versailles, bocausc of the pressurc of his polilical responsibilities. Mr. Bevin will be the chief Eritish representative, witli probably the Minister of Stale (Mr. Noel-Haker) as his innfiediate eolleague. One report suggests that Mr. Attlee may invito klr. Churchill to be a member of the delegation. Some eoinment is made of Ihe system of votiug tliat will be followed. In the pleuary conference all the 21 nations will vote, and both in the conference and tho commissions the tvvothirds majority will apply. "\Vlien a uiotion or recommendation is carried by two-tliirds, the minority will have the right to submit their views to the full conference. If a two-tliirds majority is not obtained, tho commission concerned will report the conflicting view to the plenarv conference, and it inust be adopted by a two-tliirds vote before the 'Foreign Ministers' fmal session to decide.the last steps. The Times, in a Ieader, says: "The notion that crucial decisions can be imposed on major Powers agaiust their will by a majority vote, or even a twotliirds vote in intei'iiational assenibly, implics the substitution for the present system of sovereign States of a system of unitary world government. The ini1 plications of such a cliange, however i desirable it may seem in itself, would I'be accepted at present by no leading IPower,'3 _