LEAGUE OF NATIONS

Taranaki Daily News, 18 February 1919, Page 5

LEAGUE OF NATIONS

' c'ALS OF THE NATIONS. PRESIDENT WILSON'S IMPRESSIVE SPEECH. i Received Feb. 17, 9.40 p.m. Paris, Feb. 14. The draft of the covenant was laid be- ( fore the third plenary session. It was \ not attended by special surroundings. ] There was a small assemblage of the , public at the Quai d' Orsay. Lord Slilner ] was present. i If. Clemenceau, with characteristic brevity, called on President Wilson, ivho , immediately read the draft, occupying j thirty minutes. i President Wilson, in a subsequent ( speech, made an impressive statement j of the ideals of fourteen nations whose , representatives had unanimously approved of the draft. Other speakers were Signor Orlando. SI. Bourgeois, SI. Venizelos, Sir. Barnes, and the Arabian. Chinese, and Japanese delegates. All the speeches were brief and simple expressions of faith in the scheme, with occasional hints at the e possibility of amending the details when a fully under examination. President Wilson described the sim- s plicity and elasticity of the constitution, r and dwelt upon the importance of labor C provision to the laboring people of the c world, who would come into the fore- 1: ground of life. He added, significantly: <• "We have done with annexation of the d helpless. The people in conditions suit- (. able fur annexation were really an ;i obligation upon us." Hence his insist- i ei.re upon the mandatory principle. He added that although armed force was in the background it was in the background.—Aus. N.Z. Cale Assoc. A NEW ERA. Received Feb. 17, 7.10 p.m. ' London, Feb. 15. f The League of Nations scheme had a J most friendly reception in London. The * press regarded it, almost without execpi lion, as marking a new era of thought. It is considered President Wilson's I special triumph, but much of the credit is given to General Smuts.—Aus. N.Z. Cable Assoc. BRITISH PRESS COSIMENTS. London, Feb. 15. Though the earliest comment on the League of N-Uions scheme is generally optimistic the press is still overwhelm- i ed by the magnitude and strangeness of the experiment and postpones definite judgment on various points. The Times refers approvingly to the bicameral plan as an attempt to solve the difficulty arising from the technical equality of the big and little nations, but prophesies that disputes between the, lower house and the executive will largely mark the history of the league. [ The Westminster Gazette says the scheme is clear, boldly outlined and ingenious and awaits the great world de- | bate in which the.be»t brains of all coun- ; | tries should assist at the conference. The Standard adheres to the viewthat the mandatories will prove a disruptive influence, especially when em- i bittercd Germany is admitted to the league. Treaty safeguards accompanying full possession of the colonies would be far preferable.—United Service.