LEAGUE IN SESSION

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 211, 7 September 1927, Page 7

LEAGUE IN SESSION

WORK AT GENEVA.

Failure Of Naval Conference

Discussed.

FINAL SUCCESS PREDICTED.

(By Cable.—Press Association.—Copyright.)

GENEVA, September 6,

The eighth Assembly of the League of Nations was opened yesterday. The agenda is of small interest compared with last year, when Germany was admitted a member of the League. There is also a feeling that the failore of the Arms Limitation Conference was a serious set-back and a sense of heavy personal loss caused by the absence of Viscount Cecil and M. de Jouvenal. Never had the voting for the election of President been to dose. Of 47 vote* cast Senor Guani, of Uruguay, 24, Count von Mensdorff SI, and two other candidates one c-ach.

The election of Scnor Gtuni was ■ striking success for Sir Austen Chamberlain, and dctronstrates the influence of the Great Power* in the League. The new President acted as rapporteur in the dispute over Mosul, and be bas been a hard-working supporter of the League. It wemed unlikely that Senor Guaoi would be elected, but he was saved bv a combination of the delegates from the Latin-American States and the delegates from Ciecfao-Slovakia, Yugoslavia and Rumania, who objected to Count Mcnsdorff.

Senor ViUegos found an excuse for tne apparent slowness of the League in bringing about disarmament in the breakdown of the naval conference.

"I prefer to describe the League's apparent slowness as discerning prudence, which is a condition of final sucvea* " said the speaker.

The bead of tbe PolUh detention, M. Sokal, said the malaise in Europe could be removed by agreement* for nonaggression. Such an agreement was at present under negotiation between Poland and Russia. Possibly, he said, the question would be brought up in tic Assembly in a few dav*.

SEAT FOR CANADA.

BRITISH PBEBB APPROVAL.

LONDON, September & The diplomatic correspondent of the "Daily Telegraph" remarks that It la extremely gratifying Uiat the candidature by Canada for a non-permanent scat on the League Council was due to the Canadian Government itself. This he says, shows the falsity of the report which was circulated by those who were opposed to the Candidatnre of any Dominion at Geneva, that Canada i* lukewarm in the matter. Canada will now have the united support of the Dominion delegations. The British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Sir Austen Chamberlain must, he says, be congratulated on discarding the objections to Dominion can didaturc, which were so curiously urged last year by the Home diplomats.