A—s

There were a good many more speakers on the subject, most of whom were willing to support the British delegation's proposal in its modified form, while the Netherlands' delegate suggested a middle course —namely, the setting-up of a small body, consisting of three members only, to do similar work to that which had been done by the temporary Slavery Commission. When the list of speakers had come to an end, a sub-committee was formed to go further into the matter. The representatives of eleven countries were appointed, and New Zealand was included, but as I was the sole representative of my Government, and it was necessary for ine to attend to all the other committees, I begged leave to be excused. As a result of the labours of the sub-committee, a report was drafted and submitted to the full committee. It contained the following resolution : — " The Assembly requests the Council to appoint for one year a small Committee of Experts to examine the material upon slavery which has been supplied or transmitted by Governments since the signature of the convention of 1926. This committee will submit to the Council suggestions with a view to recommending to the next Assembly the measures of assistance which the League of Nations could render to those countries which have agreed to abolish slavery, and which request such assistance." This was adopted by the Sixth Committee, but great fears were evinced as to what would be its fate when it reached the Fourth Committee, for, naturally, there would be a certain amount of expenditure involved ; so the Chairman instructed the Rapporteur to defend the draft resolution when it came before the Fourth Committee. However, the members of this Committee were not severely antagonistic, and a grant of 10,000 Swiss francs was voted, with the proviso that should any further money be required for the Committee of Experts, it should be obtained voluntarily or through private channels. The resolution above quoted came before the Assembly on the 25th September, and was passed {Document A. 83). Refugees. The report of the Governing Body of the Nansen International Office for Refugees is Document A. 27. You will recollect that this office was constituted by resolution of the Eleventh Assembly, and that to it is entrusted the political and legal protection of the refugees, a task which for many years had been undertaken by the late Dr. Nansen. The Eleventh Assembly also approved a motion submitted to it by its Fourth Committee, requiring the new organization to present in 1931 a methodical plan for winding up the Refugees Organization by a date not later than the 31st December, 1939. Document A. 27 gives an account of the work of the Refugees Organization since its creation, and also contains a scheme for the liquidation of the office. It was to this scheme that M. Huber, the President of the Governing Body of the Nansen International Office for Refugees, particularly referred in the speech with which he opened the debate in the Sixth Committee. You will see that this scheme provides for a gradual decrease of expenditure, which will come to an end in 1938, although, naturally, the world-wide depression has affected the activities of the office, since unemployment has increased and opportunities for placing refugees have consequently diminished. The Sixth Committee was glad to learn that the Government of Erivan had agreed to repatriate 10,000 Armenian refugees from Greece if transport were provided. For this purpose money has been forthcoming from private sources. Such an arrangement, if carried out, would ease the problem which, however, will still present difficulties. For instance, it is said that there are in China 100,000 Russian refugees. These it is proposed to settle in American countries. Generally speaking, the debate was concentrated on the report of the Refugees Organization, although the question of framing a convention ensuring the protection of refugees on the liquidation of the office was raised. Action in this direction is not contemplated, however, for the present. The Sixth Committee's report to the Assembly (Document A. 85) concludes with a draft resolution dealing with a number of points, and recommending the adoption of the plan for liquidation to which I have referred above. This resolution received the approval of the Assembly at its meeting on the 25th September. Intellectual Co-operation. Two documents were before the Sixth Committee —i.e., the report of the International Committee of Intellectual Co-operation (Document A. 23) and the report of the Governing Body of the International Institute of Intellectual Co-operation (Document A. 24). The Sixth Committee's report to the Assembly (Document A. 69) summarizes the work performed by the International Committee and the International Institute ; but, for a proper understanding of the activities of the organization, it is necessary to read the reports mentioned above and the various publications issued by the League on the subject of intellectual co-operation. Committee of Inquiry for European Union. In the section of this report devoted to the Second Committee I have given a brief account of the consideration given by that committee to the work of the Commission of Inquiry for European Union in the economic sphere. Certain of the political aspects of the various questions which are the subject of inquiry were more properly within the competency of the Sixth Committee of the Assembly, and to this Committee were referred various documents bearing on the suggested European union. Of these documents, the more important are A. 17 (the report of the Secretary-General on

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