The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News and The Echo. FRIDAY, JUNE 11, 1926. A LEAGUE SETBACK.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 137, 11 June 1926, Page 6

The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News and The Echo.

FRIDAY, JUNE 11, 1926. A LEAGUE SETBACK.

For the cause that lucks assistance, For the torong that needs resistance. For the future in the distance, And the good that we can do.

General Primo de Riviera, the Prime Minister of Spain, has intimated in a Press interview that if the position of Spain is not recognised she will terminate her membership of the League of Nations. There is also a widespread fear that Brazil will follow suit, and that the Argentine will also recede from her intention to rejoin the League. If these three nations withdraw, others may follow suit, and the League at present is confronted with a very serious position. Previous to the signing of the Treaty of Locarno, Brazil had sent word to Germany that she intended to apply for a permanent seat on the Council. This fact was not disclosed to the other members of the Council until the meeting in March last. Four years ago, Great Britain had piven an undertaking to Spain that she would support Spanish claims for a permanent seat, and Sir Austen Chamberlain had also given a verbal promise to M. Briand, the French Premier, that he would favourably consider an application from Poland for a seat on the Council. But neither in the case of Spain, nor in that of Poland, was any definite time fixed for considering their applications. When the Assembly met on March S, the five Locarno Powers had several meetings from which the other members of the Council were excluded, and the Brazilian delegates, when they made application to be admitted to these meetings, were peremptorily refused. At first the application of Spain was considered, and this was postponed till some other time. The application of Poland for a seat on the Council could not be postponed, and M. Unden, the delegate from Sweden, offered to resign his seat on the Council in favour of Poland. Objection was made to this on the ground that Sweden was a useful neutral, while the admission of Poland would merely strengthen the Allied position. M. Benes. the delegate from Czecho-Slovakia, then offered to resign his seat also in order that Poland might take the place of Czechoslovakia and Holland or some other neutral might take the place of Sweden. This had been virtually agreed to when the Brazilian delegate declared that Brazil must he given a permanent seat on the Council, or elee she would veto Germany's application. As all decisions of the Council have to be unanimous, the action of Brazil effectively blocked the whole proceeding?. A curious feature connected with this lias n.ver boon satisfactorily explained. The cvher ten South American states represented at the Assembly held a meeting, nnd sent a cable to the Premier of Brazil, stating that they entirely dbsociatc'l themselves from his altitude, and they desired that Brazil should withdraw her veto and facilitate Germany's application for a permanent seat. Before a reply could be received to this cable, M. Briand went to the Assembly and announced that negotiations were at an end, and Germany's application had been vetoed by Brazil. Visqput Ishii, of Japan, then proposed that a Commission should be set up to inquire into the composition of the Council, and that this Commiseion should report to the next' meeting of the Assembly in September. This motion was agreed to, and at the

I'Commission Lord Cecil proposed a com-; promise hy which certain non-permanent seats should be held for three years, instead of one year as at present. It was later reported that Brazil had with-' drawn her application for a permanent ! seat, and would not oppose Germany's application. Since then a dispatch from j Rio Janeiro has been received announcing I Brazil's intention to withdraw from the ; League. | The Council of the League is lieing i made a bargaining counter by the Powers, inetead of being the executive jof the Assembly. The Assembly has full i powers, but it only meets once a year, unless some very exceptional occasion occurs. The members of the Assembly were very emphatic in their condemnation of the tactics at the Council in I March last, and probably when the next, 'meeting i? held in September, the; I Assembly will take some very definite! steps to rectify the present position.. There may be withdrawals, but countries withdrawing , from the League lose many benefits, and possibly Brazil, Spain, and the Argentine are merely seeing what effect their threats will produce. At any ; rate the Assembly may be depended on to take a firm stand, and quite possibly the whole composition of the Council may be materially altered.