The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times SATURDAY DECEMBER 10, 1932. NOTABLE STATESMAN.

Hokitika Guardian, 10 December 1932, Page 4

The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times SATURDAY DECEMBER 10, 1932. NOTABLE STATESMAN.

The recent recognition of the -work done by Viscount Cecil by the unveiling of his portrait, is a tribute to the services he has rendered. Lord Robert Cecil!, later Viscount Cecil, of Cue I wood, was born in October, 1864. He was educated at Eton and University College, arid was a prominent -speaker at the Oxford, Union. He read Law and, was culled to the Bar in 1887, Inter becoming a successful barrister, arid K.C. He entered Parliament as u Conservative in 1606 and by 1910" he hod made his mark in the House cf "Commons. During the War he became Under-Sec-retary of -State for Foreign Affairs. He held the two posts of Blockade Minister and UndeivHeere.tary in Lloyd George’s Government of Deoernjer. 1916, and in 1918 he became Assistant Foreign Secretary. From the outset he was an ardent supporter of the League of Nations and in 1919 went to Pari-s as a private individual to co-operate in launching it. From that moment he never ceased to make propaganda for the League and to urge the inclusion of all the nations opposed to the Allies in -the War. In 1920 he acted as South Africa’s representative at the League Assembly at the request of General Smuts. Meanwhile, in Parliament, he, gradually swerved round to opposition to the Government, largely on account of its enormous Budgets and its policy cf reprisals in Ireland, and by 1-921 lie was sitting on the Opposition front bench. In May, 1923, however, he was created Viscount Cecil of Choi wood and entered the Baldwin Cabinet as Lord Privy -Seal his chief task being to -act as laison officer with the League of Nations. Awarded the Woodrow Wilson Foundation Pence Prize in 1924, he gave part of it for researches into peace promotion methods. In November 1925, hn mad? a gift of £lfOO to the League Secretariate as a reward for their strenuous woi*k for peace. In Mr Baldwin’s Gabiret which took office in November, 1924, 'Cecil was Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. In A u,crust, 1927, lie resigned from the : Cabinet owing to a serious disagreement ever disarmament policy, which came to -a head with the failure of the Naval Conference at Geneva. According to Cecil this could have been averted, without -sacrificing any essential British interest. Tn bis memorandum, to the Prime Minister, giving reasons for his action 1 ," he state 1 that, while serving a= delegate on the Preparatory Commission lie was “over and over again compelled by his instructions to maintain pronosit ions vMeli wer • difficult to reconcile with any serious desire for plie success of 't.» labours.” ITo therefore, found bimse!'’ out- of sympn+hv with the instructions he received. Recalling “the refusal to accent tlm T'-n-'v of Mutual Ass's’a-r-e, the 1111cn>idilim>n,l rejection of the Protnon’. •he Ministerial cMnrnPnu ngn?"-* compidsorv arbitration, the partial failure pf tlm Prenarato-.y CominVsion and the breakdown of the Hut"-Pov—-•Conference.” he said: “Tn each c r.? n the policy 1 advocated, ham been more or less comr' ’t-elv overruled. In these matters mv colleagues do not agree with me.” In n ’‘ |r '”ad ''let he declare!,! that ho had resigned to

get full freedom to advocate disarmament, wlikm he he.d to be the paramount iimportance, adding, that this step did licit imply any weakening of his faith m the League. In October lie inaugurated a country-wide campaign in favour of world disarmament and of the League of Nations. Lord Cbcil lias continued to take ail active interest in the League of Nations, and has not relaxed his efforts to secure the greatest degree of disarmament and the greatest degree of internation-al'co-operation.