EYES ON GENEVA

Evening Star, Issue 22448, 19 September 1936, Page 15

EYES ON GENEVA

LEAGUE COUNCIL MEETING ASSEMBLY OF DELEGATES M. LITVINOV AVOIDS GERMANY Press Association —By Telegraph—Copyright GENEVA, September 18. A large number of delegates have already assembled for the League Council meeting this afternoon, the first in the new £1,000,000 League building. Two of the League’s most prominent figures, Senor Madariaga and M. Titulescu, will be missing, the former on account of the Spanish civil war and the latter because he has been dropped from the Rumanian Cabinet and is at present seriously ill St, JVloritZj occasioning groundless rumours that he has been poisoned. M. Litvinov travelled via Warsaw and Vienna to avoid crossing German territory. The Spanish Foreign Minister has arrived at Marseilles, en route to Geneva. He flew from Madrid in a Government aeroplane, which had several bullet holes in the wings. The Geneva correspondent of ‘ The Times’ says: “The very composition of the Council is in the melting pot, and there has Jong been dissatisfaction with the system of permanently excluding certain ungrouped Powers from representation thereon. The creation of an extra non-permanent seat is not regarded as going sufficiently far.” The ‘ Manchester Guardian’s ’ Geneva correspondent says: “There has been much comment on the mysterious lastminute addition to the agenda of the League of the question of prohibiting, under the provisions of the Covenant, the supply of arms and war material to belligerents. Everyone is asking why the question has been suddenly taken up after two years of inaction, and at whose instance it was raised.”CASE OF ETHIOPIA SPECIAL SESSION APPLIED FOR. LONDON, September 17. Emperor Selassie’s solicitors telegraphed to the League Court stating that they have been authorised to apply for the convening of an extraordinary session to hear the case of Ethiopia on the matter of a breach of international law by Italy. SUPPORT FOR ABYSSINIA LONDON, September 18. (Received Septeber 19, at 10 am.) The League of Nations Union passed a resolution trusting that Britain would resist any proposal depriving Ethiopia of the right of representation at the League. COUNCIL MEETING OPENS SENOR VIEUNA THE PRESIDENT. (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, September 18. (Received September 19, at noon.) The ninety-third session of the Council of the League of Nations opened at Geneva under the presidency of Senor Vienna (Child). It was decided to forward to the Assembly communications received from 18 governments regarding the application of the principles of the Covenant. M. Avenol then made a statement on the circumstances in which he had recently visited Italy, and informed the Council of his conversations in Rome with the Italian Foreign Minister and the head of the Government. He informed the Council that Signor Mussolini had made it a condition in Italy’s participation in the work of the present Assembly that no Abyssinian delegation should be present, and reported that he had told Signor Mussolini that this was a question to be decided by the Credentials Committee of the Assembly of the Council. Ho had held no discussion on this point. ABYSSINIAN TANGLE LEGAL EXPERTS CLAIM WAY OUT. GENEVA, September 18. (Received September 19, at 1 p.m.) The League’s legal experts have reported that they have found a way out of the Abyssinian tangle. Abyssinia will remain a full member. The League will not recognise Italian conquest, but Abyssinia will not be allowed to send a delegation, owing to her credentials being invalid, as the Emperor and Government who signed them are no longer in Abyssinia.