LEAGUE OF NATIONS

Hokitika Guardian, 28 September 1932, Page 5

LEAGUE OF NATIONS

DISARMAMENT BUREAU MEETING POSTPONED / • 'jS ; - ■ - (United Press Association—By Electric Telegraph- Copyright.) -. (&JSNEVA, September 27. Following • a private meeting of the Bureau of the .Disarmament ConferMr Arthur Hendet'sonj’ithe President, at a public sitting, hnnbWnced its atijoummeft until OctoheA 10th’./ when the,dab* of the 'General ment Commissibn will be decided./ ■ , ; ( m f\' ** ■' ‘ . NEW ZEALAND OONTRIBETTON. WILL BE PAID IN FULL. //,, ' - ;• *‘-X :;>• 'WELTiINGTON, (Septembert. 27. Mr Forljes made a statement -to-diay in reference to .the cable regarding l the league, of Nations, payments//•• ‘‘The position ig,”/he said, “that recently we have .changed our methbdiiof paying our contributions to the/League. Instead of making, one lump- sum; pay- • mettt at the of thethe payments are now made-quarterly. Under this agreement, i a certain portion of i contribution for the present year . is naturally still unpaid, but the whole contribution; from New Zealand will, of course,,.be received by the League, befor® the conclusion cl, the year,' and it js qujte absurd to suggest either that New- Zealand is inarrears, or that the prospests of obtaining the full contribution from the Dominion are bad or doubtful.” ; '.,v- •'<• i AUSTRALASIAN DELEGATION; VITAL QUESTIONS IN VIEW. : 7- : —1 ' r ■ • LONDON, September 26. At Geneva to-night, ;,the Australian apd Nlew Zealand delegate^.. attended a meeting of, the Empire representatives under the chairmanship of Sir J. Simon and informally discussed -the Assembly programme,rbut it is understood, no attempt ife,,yet , made to. secure a united, front j on,,.the ; vital questions facing the League, •, namely the Sino-Japanese cohfligfj!. jDisarmament, the. German position,/,and the ■league ' Budget.,-', '/■ -aj■ < • Sir T. Ml, Wilford .represents New Zealand on all the oommiteies. r The Australian ■ Press-•. Association correspondent at Geneva saysMr Wm. Hughes will be delivering /the first speech, which was partiallv prepared in consultation with Mr Br.uco, thus while Mr Hughes makes his fir9t bow on the Geneva stage as a, temporary mouthpiece of, the Australian Government,.; his; individuality, ef style . may he cramped by-the responsibility, reducing the .opportunity . of/ ventilating strong views on -the conduct ol the League, of which Mr Hughes personally makes no secret,.;.. ,• RESIGNATION OF SECRETARY ' GENEVA, September 27. The Council has accepted Sir Eric Drummond’s resignation, and is electing his successor in November. THE PRESENT ILLS OF. THE WORLD, ADDRESS BY MR W. HUGHES. ' ' GENEVA, September 27. “I agree with Mr de Valera that the League is on trial, and inust lead the nations or confess itself unequal to the great task,” declared Mr Hughes (Australia) in a debate in the Assembly. “Although thb League is labouring diligently to fulfill its glittering promises, wars and rumours of wars are disturbing men’s minds. No scheme of disarmament devised could be regarded as an earnest to nations to tread the paths of peace.” Instead of a world fit for heroes,' he said, crisis succeeded crisis, trade was stagnant, and bankruptcy faces many nations, and revolution and" civjl turmoil is prevalent. “We cannot., expect miracles, but I believe that clisarmament is possible if approached in the right spirit. The conferences failed because the nations want security, and peace is impossible while the World is seething in industrial unrest. Tens of millions of unemployed are only saved from starvation by charity, and the world is . engaged in an insensate desperate -trade war. Communism is ceaselessly and only when the people are- decently employed under decent conditions/will the gospel of Bolshevism fall on deaf ears.