THE OPTIONAL CLAUSE.

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 19732, 24 September 1929, Page 11

THE OPTIONAL CLAUSE.

WHAT THE SIGNING OF IT INVOLVES. EMPIRE DISSENSION FEARED. ( -CKttZD »»9 ASSOCIAtTOK-ST tLtCTWC tslsgsaph—coPraraHTj (Received September 23rd, 7.25 p.m.) LONDON, September 22. "The signing of the optional clause of Geneva's 'leap in the dark may most disintegrating effects on the British Empire," say# Profeßsor J. H. Morgan, in an article in the "Sunday Referee." The article adds: "It will almost certainly be used by elements in two overseas Dominions and in India, which make no secret of their political objective as secession from the Empire. The terms of South Africa's subscription are obscure, but they suggest a glancing blow at the Pricy Council. "The Irish Free State has subscribed in unreserved terms, of which it is no exaggeration to say that they are calculated to deal a lethal blow at the constitutional structure of the Empire. It is true that Britain signed with the reservation of excluding inter-Imperial disputes from the jurisdiction of The Hague Court, but the fatal flaw in this reservation is that The Hague Court itself will be the sole judge of whether the dispute is an inter-Imperial one. "By adhering to the optional clause we have played into the hands of the secessionists. The Irish Free State, having signed without reservation, may summon Britain before tho Court to decide its obligations under the Anglo-Irish Agreement. Worse still, if India gets Dominion status, she may follow the Irish precedent of signing without reservation and may summon before the Court the Dominions which exclude Oriental migrants. "As was pointed out by New Zealand in 1925, our adhesion to the Court's eompulsory jurisdiction is unnecessary a undesirable, but if anything is to be gained thereby, we should have taken eare to secure that the Empire acted unitedly and agreed to identical reservations. "I fear that, in seeking peace outside the Empire, we have only succeeded in sowing seeds of dissension within it."— United Service. [Professor Morgan is professor of ConConstitutional Law at University College, London He is a recognised authority on his subject and the author of many important publications.] BINDING POWER OP CLAUSE. MR HENDERSON SATISFIED. (aamsH ortrtoax wieelbss.) RttGBV, September 22. Mr Arthur Henderson, British Foreign Secretary, who arrived in London yesterday evening from Geneva, stated to Press representatives at Victoria .Station that it was his firm bolief that the tenth Assembly of the League of Nations would be a Conspicuous milestone on the road towards the brotherhood of mankind "On the paramount questions of arbitration, seourity and disarmament tbe British delegation has, I venture to say, spoken with the voice of conviction, nor is it only by speeches that we have shown our determination to go ahead. When the Prime Minister announced that the Governments of the British Commonwealth had all decided to sign the Optional Clause before the end of the Assembly, hi* words made a tremendous impression, Mid they have had a practical result in that no fewer than twelve new signatures will have been given before the Assembly separates next week. "Remember that when the signatures have been ratified the four Great European Powers—Great Britain, France, Germany, and Italy—will ail be bound to send their legal dispute* to the Permanent Court of International Justice for settlement, and that other very important countries like Brazil, Holland, Czechoslovakia, the Scandinavian States and others, all also be similarly bound "We hare also hopes that the other great nations will follow suit. This is therefore an advance in the sphere ot arbitration, and if it is not more than the first step it is nevertheless a big one in other ways. This Assembly will be a memorable one. "There was unanimously passed a protocol, which will, it is hoped, enable the United States of America to aocept the Statute of the Permanent Court of International Justice. That alone is a great achievement. We have also endeavoured to bring the Covenant into consonance with the fact of peace so that it will be clear from both these instruments that the nations of the world lmve renounced war M an act of national policy. A committee has been set up to consider our proposals in this connexion on disarmament. "Lord Cecil, who remains as chief British delegate, _ made on Thursday, a powerful appeal intended to strengthen the hands of the Preparatory Commission in their Work. Criticism has sometimes been made that the principal naval Powers ought to give a lead >n this work. The Assembly was therefore deeply interested in the Prime Minister's account of his conversations with General Dawes, and the Preparatory Disarmament Commission is eagerly awaiting the results of our efforts and the decisions of the FivePower Naval Conference in tho hope that they may achieve effective limitation of naval armaments. "We hope also that we have laid the foundation for solid progress in economic co-operation in respect of matters that are vital to British trade. Following upon the remarkable speech made by the President of the Board of Trac.e before the Assembly, we have put forward practical proposals for a conference on hours, wages and conditions in the coal industry and for agreements for limitation, and, in the end. we hope, a reduction of the tariff barriers. Of course, in anything so controversial as tariff or wages questions. an aereement must be difficult to secure, and if we were to_ endeavour to rush our action, we mieht BDoiI all chance of success. Our proposals have nevertbe'pss had most satisfactory reunite V'e hope that in a few months a conference on the coal question will meet, nnd that an economic armistice, as it has been called, which is to be five oreliminarv to a general tariff reduction conference, will have been agreed to '