MAKING THE LEAGUE EFFECTIVE

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 109, 1 February 1940, Page 11

MAKING THE LEAGUE EFFECTIVE

Curtailment Of National Sovereignty

MR. BRASH’S ADDRESS TO UNION CONFERENCE

“Because I recognize the weakness of human nature, its reaction to propaganda, its blind following of mob instincts, I maintain that the League of Nations cannot be made effective without some curtailment of the sovereignty of individual nations, including your own. Some of you no doubt disagree with me, and this I will admit, that such an ideal is not easy of attainment” said Mr. T. C. Brash in his presidential address at the opening of the annual conference of the League of Nations Union of New Zealand in Lower Hutt yesterday.

“War. death, and destruction on a scale unparalleled or undreamed of, physical, mental, and spiritual bankruptcy, is the atmosphere in which we moot,” he said. “‘There is no wealth but life,’ Ruskin wrote years ago. Nominally we all subscribed to that, but in action individuals and nations have made self-interest: the objective. “By the beginning of 1937 the hopes that had boon centred in the League of Nations, of a world made safe for democracy, were definitely stultified. Japan had Hunted it with impunity when she took Alanchuria; it failed to protect Abyssinia from the rape of her independence by Italy; and the collapse of the Disarmament Conference had started a race in armaments which had resulted in the present tragedy. When Peace Returns. “In face of all this, what should be our attitude as a League of Nations Union? As ‘Headway’ recently said: ‘Some day peace will return. Even today no service to humanity can be more valuable than honest thought given to the building of an ordered world. Somewhere must be saved a meeting place of minds. Some means must be kept for communication between Hie leaders of collective sanity and their many but scattered supporters. The results of hard thinking and close eager discussion must be published in order that the nation may come to' know of them. Good sense must continue its struggle even amidst the smoke and flames of disaster. There is no other hope.’ “And again: ‘We need a League of Nations’ movement, nt home and abroad, so strong, so free and wellinformed that the Governments will not dare to deride and dishonour the collective peace system, as they have so often done during the past eight years, but will confidently abandon those sovereign rights which prevent Hie growth of a commonwealth. Progress toward the goal of world order through world government must be speeded up.’ “A the moment we are concerned with the League of Nations Union, wit li its objective of 'advocating the full development of the League of Nations,’ ” Mr. Brasil said. “In our gathering during the next two days many subjects will be discussed and widely differing opinions expressed, but I hope that in one direction we will be absolutely unanimous, namely ‘that the Union must be maintained.’ 'Some day peace will return,' and as the Commonwealth Prime Minister recently said: ‘Preparation for a just, humane, and lasting peace, which would not bring bitterness to the people of any nation, is the greatest function which has to be performed during the war. No war. however just, can remain just, unless it leads consistently to a just peace.’ Mistakes of Past. “Can we help by continuing to foster and encourage discussions and meetings of those who are interested in the ideal of the League of Nations?” Mr. Brash asked. “It may be a new league of Nations, but whether it. can successfully function will depend entirely upon an informed public opinion and whether or not there is full recognition of the mistakes of the past.

“And so we gather to discuss these matters. The representatives who negotiated the peace of 1918 were unpre' pared, unprepared because public opinion was inflamed and bitter. No .ins. peace can bo established in I hat spirit.'’