A.-—sa

" This Committee, exercising its functions on behalf of and under the supervision of the Assembly, shall be instructed — " (1) To report as soon as possible on the cessation of hostilities and the conclusion of arrangements which shall render definitive the said cessation, and shall regulate the withdrawal of the Japanese forces in conformity with the Assembly resolution of March 4th, 1932 ; " (2) To follow the execution of the resolutions adopted by the Council on September 30th and December 10th, 1931 ; " (3) To endeavour to prepare the settlement of the dispute in agreement with the parties, in accordance with Article 15, paragraph 3, of the Covenant, and to submit a statement to the Assembly ; " (4) To propose, if necessary, that the Assembly submit to the Permanent Court of International Justice a request for an advisory opinion ; " (5) To prepare, if need be, the draft of the report provided for in Article 15, paragraph 4, of the Covenant; " (6) To propose any urgent measure which may appear necessary ; " (7) To submit a first progress report to the Assembly as soon as possible and at latest on May Ist, 1932. " The Assembly requests the Council to communicate to the Committee, together with any observations it may have to make, any documentation that it may think fit to transmit to the Assembly. " The Assembly shall remain in session and its President may convene it as soon as he may deem this necessary." It remained for the Assembly to complete the Committee of Nineteen provided for by Part 111 of the resolution. It elected Switzerland, Czechoslovakia, Columbia, Portugal, Hungary, and Sweden. Twenty-four votes were required for election, and it is significant that South Africa succeeded in obtaining the support of twenty-two States. The Assembly then adjourned. What will be the result ? Time will show. It is easy for the unconverted to scofi at the League, but whatever the result of the Assembly's action may be, no one can help being impressed by the picture of two great nations, both with ancient civilizations, one strong on land and at sea and in commerce and trade, the other torn by internal dissensions, but still possessing the will to defend its native soil, arguing their case before representatives of most of the nations of the world. I should like to say that the Government of the United States of America has given strong support to the League throughout the crisis. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your obedient servant, Thomas M. Wilford, High Commissioner for New Zealand. The Eight Honourable the Prime Minister, Wellington, New Zealand.

New Zealand Government Offices, 415 Strand, London W.C. 2, 26th July, 1932. Sib, — In my letter of the 30th March last I gave an account of the proceedings of the special session of the Assembly of the League of Nations called to deal with the Sino-Japanese dispute relating to Shanghai. That account concluded with the adjournment of the Assembly on the 11th March after it had appointed a Committee of Nineteen to act in the name of the Assembly. The representative of New Zealand not having been appointed a member of the Committee, I am unable to deal with its deliberations, so I confine myself to a brief account of the various stages leading to a solution of the trouble. On the 30th April the Assembly met for the purpose of receiving and considering the first progress report of the Committee of Nineteen (Document A. 108). Beyond an occasional skirmish, hostilities had virtually ceased some weeks before, and the efforts of the Committee had been directed towards securing a withdrawal of the Japanese forces. Shortly after the adjournment of the Assembly, negotiations for an armistice were begun in Shanghai, but difficulties arose, and the effort proved abortive. The scene was then shifted to Geneva, but although, after a time, the outlook was distinctly promising, complete success was not achieved. Again the Chinese and Japanese representatives in Shanghai, aided by the representatives of the four Powers having special interests in the city, entered into negotiations, this time with satisfactory results, culminating in a draft agreement, the principal provisions of which were (1) an undertaking by the Japanese Government to carry out the withdrawal of its forces to the International Settlement and the roads outside the

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