NOT SPECTACULAR

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 78, 29 September 1930, Page 9

NOT SPECTACULAR

LEAGUE PEACE EFFORT

BUT SOLID PROGRESS MADE

HENDERSON EXPLAINS

British Official Wireless. fEeueived 29tli September, 11 :*.m.) RUGBY, 23th September. Mr. Arthur Henderson, Foreign Sccrotary, who returned to London: from Geneva yesterday, said that the meeting of the' League of Nations Assembly had been interesting and useful, if porhaps less spectacular than last year. Referring to the discussion of the amendments to Covenant to bring it into line with the Kellogg Pact, thus rendering private war as impossible under it as it already is under tho Pact, he said that ho hoped they might be adopted by the League of Nations before the present meeting breaks up. Last year Britain announced her intention of ratifying tho Optional Clause under which all international disputes of justifiable nature have to be sent to arbitration. Since then Britain had ratified the Clause, and many other countries had left Geneva confident that it will soon be of universal application. \ WORK OF DISARMAMENT, "This, together with the effectivo entry into force of a General Act' of Arbitration, which I hope is not far distant, will usefully increase the scope1 of international arbitration, and will go a long way towards setting up a practicable plan for the disposal of every form of international disputo by the same mothods of • law and justice as govern the relations of individuals in any civilised stato. Measures such" as these, together with projects like the Treaty to provide financial assistance to States which are. unjustly attacked, which we- have also been discussing, and which will almost certainly be adopted by the League during this Assombly, are, of course, intimately bound up with —they are, in fact, pre-j paration for—the work of disarmament, i This will be taken up in Geneva in a ■ few weeks time by a Committee which i is,preparing for tho General Disarmament Conference that we all hope will be held beforo.very long." ECONOMIC EUBOPE. After referring to M. Briand's project for a ''European' union and the ateps taken by the Assembly regarding it, he said that 'with it goes a proposal for a tariff truce in Buropej.to be- followed by negotiations with a view to reducing Customs tariffs and dealing with other economic questions of common concern. ,

"Those aru proposals to which 3S£r. Graham has devoted so much time: during the past year, and, if effect can be given to his hopes, I do not, doubt that they will prove a valuable means for assisting the League in producing'that feeling of stability and security which must so much facilitate agreement upon disarmament. Representatives of European nations have, on the suggestion of M. Briand, instructed Sir Eric Drummond in preparing the agenda for.the next meeting of the European Powers at Geneva in January, to take duo note of the results of the Conference which is to be hpld in Geneva in November in pursuance of a plan initiated by Mr. Graham to give further consideration to European *tariff problems. This is particularly encouraging."