LEAGUE OF RATIONS.
DOING IMPORTANT WORK. ITS VALUE TO SMALL NATION? SIR F. BELL’S IMPRESSIONS. By Telegraph.—Press Association. Wellington, Last Night. Sir Francis Bell (Attorney-General) was a passenger by the steamer Tahiti, which arrived from San Francisco to-day. "Sir Francis has been on a visit to England. While in Europe he attended the third plenary conference of the assembly of the League of Nations at Geneva. “There is great misunderstanding about the League of Nations,” remarked Sir Francis Bell. “It is really a congregation of important statesmen from every country of Europe. The Prime Ministers of a number of countries are there, and when the Prime Ministers do not attend, men like Lord Balfour from England and M. Hanobaux from France attend. Matters get disposed of at the League assembly at Geneva, chiefly in committee, by reason of the presence of such men and the opportunity of conference.
“I myself saw one serious question between Poles and Lithuanians which it was almost impossible to settle by correspondence, which was practically disposed of by a meeting of distinguished Polish statesmen and members of the Lithuanian Government. 111-feeling is removed. Then, such matters as the provision of money to restore Austria could not possibly have been managed by correspondence between the countries, but poipts of difference were settled by discussion. The idealism of the creation of world peace, through the League is quite another matter. It is probably talk rather than action. It is an ideal more than a hope, but settlement of questions such as I have mentioned, and difficulties between new nations and tbeir neighbours, is really effectively completed through the League. “The League is a very great assembly of statesmen of nations, but I- do not think I it can be an engine for universal peace unless America and Germany are members. I think there are very great hopes of America taking some part, at all events, in the affairs of Europe in that way, because of her immense commercial interests. Then the League of Nations has particular relation to us, because we are a mandator}’ Power. It is an entirely distinct function of the League to be the controlling body of the mandatory Powers, and it is that part of the function of the. League which mostly concerns us in New Zealand, and which enforces the necessity of our representation at the League, not as an independent so- ereing State, but as a country responsible first to England and then to the League for the administration of mandated territory. , It was in that relation that I had to raise my voice against methods adopted.
“Even if the League was dissolved as a body constituted to settle the differences of Nations,” added Sir Francis, “it would still have to continue its existence as a body to which the mandatories are responsible.” Sir Francis mentioned that the conference of the League Assembly lasted about a month, most of the work being done by committees, of which there are six. Asked whether the League would go steadily ahead whether Washington came in or not, Sir Francis replied: “Absolutely, because the minor nations are determined to maintain the League and the Covenant of the League. It is their only security. The League could not cease, partly because of the mandates and partly because, as I have said, of the determination of the minor nations to insist on the guarantee that they have under the League.”
Sir Francis said a great discussion had taken place on the terms of that part of the covenant which guaranteed the minor nations. It was supposed those conditions wore the stumbling block for America, because America would not take part in a guarantee pgainst aggress’on of the new nations. An attempt was made during the last assembly to modify that clause in the covenant, but it failed because the minor nations would not abandon a jot of it.
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Taranaki Daily News, 2 December 1922, Page 5
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651LEAGUE OF RATIONS. Taranaki Daily News, 2 December 1922, Page 5
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