A.—s

In conclusion, Mr. Henderson referred to the contribution which the London Naval Conference of this year had made to the cause of disarmament, and he said that it would never be possible to fulfil the purpose for which the League had been created unless its members were prepared to carry through a scheme of general disarmament by international agreement. The debate on the report of the work of the previous year was brought to a conclusion on the evening of the 16th September. Election of Members of Council. On the morning of the 17th September the Assembly proceeded to the election of the countries to fill the three non-permanent seats on the Council to be vacated by Canada, Cuba, and Finland. Before voting, however, the Assembly had first to give a decision on the application of China to be considered re-eligible under the Assembly's resolution of 1926. China, which has not sat on the Council since 1928, failed to secure the number of votes necessary for re-eligibility, and in consequence her candidature for a seat for a further term could not be considered this year. The result of the voting for the three non-permanent seats was as follows : Guatemala, forty-one votes ; Norway, thirty-eight votes ; and the Irish Free State, thirty-six votes. This is the second time that an Overseas Dominion has become a member of the Council, and the Irish Free State is to be congratulated on having been elected. Guatemala was the choice of the Central and South American Republics. Election of Judge of the Permanent Court of International Justice. It was also on the morning of the 17th September that the Assembly elected Mr. F. B. Kellogg to succeed Mr. C. E. Hughes as a Judge of the Permanent Court of International Justice, Mr. Hughes having resigned his seat owing to his having been appointed Chief Justice of the United States. Mr. Kellogg secured thirty votes in the Assembly and the unanimous votes of the Council. Election of the New Bench of Judges of the Permanent Court of International Justice. The Documents are A. 14 and four bearing the number A. 31. The present Bench will cease to function on the 31st December next; consequently the Assembly and the Council, acting as an electoral college, were called upon to elect a new Bench, with a mandate for nine years, beginning on the Ist January, 1931. The result of the first ballot was the election of the following fourteen candidates : M. Adatci, 49 votes ; M. Anzilotti, 40 votes ; M. Fromageot, 40 votes ; Sir Cecil Hurst, 40 votes ; M. Altamira y Crevea, 38 votes; M. van Eysinga, 38 votes; M. Guerrero, 38 votes; Baron Rolin-Jaequemyns, 38 votes ; Mr. Kellogg, 35 votes ; Count Rostworowski, 34 votes ; M. Schiicking, 34 votes ; M. Wang Chung-Hui, 32 votes ; M. de Bustamante y Sirven, 31 votes ; M. Negulesco, 30 votes. For the fifteenth Judge, the ballot-box was resorted to again and again owing to the failure of any one candidate to obtain a majority, and finally to the failure of the Council and the Assembly to elect the same person. The eleventh ballot resulted in M. Urrutia obtaining the necessary majority, and, as the Council also had elected him, he was declared elected. The election of the Deputy Judges was also a somewhat lengthy process, but at length the Court was completed by the election of M. Erich, M. da Matta, M. Novakovitch, and M. Redlich. Assembly Arrangements. The General Committee's Report on Assembly Arrangements (Item 4 of the agenda) was passed by the Assembly on the 25th September. (See Documents A. 22, A. 47, and A. 60.) Signing of Convention of Financial Assistance. On the 2nd October the President of the Assembly announced that Australia and Lithuania had already signed the Convention on Financial Assistance (a subject which is treated in that part of this report devoted to the work of the Third Committee), and he invited other delegations to sign. There was a roll-call, and delegates of the following States appended their signature : Abyssinia, Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Great Britain, Bulgaria, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Irish Free State, Latvia, Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Persia, Poland, Portugal, Roumania, Spain, Sweden, Yugoslavia. Simon Bolivar. It was also on the 2nd October that the following motion, of which notice had been given earlier in the session by delegates of a number of Central and South American Republics, was laid before the Assembly : — " The Assembly, recalling that, on the 17th December next, the centenary will take place of Simon Bolivar, who by his initiative and his efforts to ensure the reign of justice and peace between peoples was a precursor of the League of Nations, expresses its gratitude and admiration for the memory of Bolivar and associates itself with the tribute which the American republics will be paying him." A number of eulogistic speeches were delivered, and a resolution in the terms of the motion was enthusiastically passed by the Assembly.

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