LEAGUE'S EFFORTS

Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 86, 8 October 1935, Page 9

LEAGUE'S EFFORTS

APPEAL TO PARTIES

COUNCIL ADOPTS REPORT

NEXT STAGE THE ASSEMBLY

I (British Official Wireless.) (Received October 8, 11 a.m.) RUGBY, October 7. A historic meeting oC the League of Nations Council this evening was preceded this morning by a meeting of the Committee of Thirteen, which unanimously adopted the report of the Committee of Six to the effect that the Italian Government had resorted to war in disregard of its commitments under the Covenant. The report of the Committee of Thirteen and its recommendation that any violation of the Covenant should he brought to an end came before the Council and after long speeches by Baron Aloisi and M. Tecla Hawariat it was unanimously adopted. Ethiopia voted in favour and Italy against, but the votes of the disputants do not count, under Article 15. The President of the Council then declared that public opinion of the world expected the two parties to accept the appeal of the Council to cease hostilities. After the chairman of the Committee of Six haa read the findings of the Committee, the Council adjourned, and it is assumed that the next development will come with the meeting of the Assembly on Wednesday. There will then be a general discussion in which the delegates of all countries will have the opportunity to express their views. y Afterwards a joint committee of coordination representing the Council and the Assembly may be set up to decide on further' recommendations. POSTPONEMENT SOUGHT. Previous to the public session the Council met in private and in secret —that is, without even secretaries or experts. The Italian delegate is believed to have requested the postponement of discussion to permit of more detailed study ol the report of the Committee of Six by the Italian Government. It is understood that this proposal was strongly opposed by the British member, Mr. Anthony Eden, who, in conformity with the consistent efforts of the British delegation' in the last few days to avoid all unnecessary delays in procedure, asked for the immediate decision of the.Council. The public session followed soon after. In the meantime the Italian delegation lodged with the Secretariat a note contesting the report of the Committee of Six point by point. REPORT OF COMMITTEE OF SIX. The report of the Committee of Six which was unanimously adopted by the Committee of Thirteen and subsequently by the Council concludes as follows:— ( After examination of the facts stated above, the Committee has come to the conclusion that the Italian Government has resorted to war in disregard of its solemn commitments under Article 12 of the Covenant of the League of Nations. The report examines the case put forward by each disputant and the following points are made:— Measures of security taken by a t State within its own territory and not transgressing its international obligations cannot be invoked by another State as motive for violation of the Covenant. The report recalls the obligations of the parties assumed under the BriandKellogg Pact, as well as those devolving upon them from membership of the League. With reference to Article 16 of the Covenant the report states: "In order that the. article should become applicable it is not necessary that a state of war should be formally declared." . The conclusion of the Committee is based principally upon, an official communique issued by the Italian Government ordering the Italian troops to advance into Ethiopia, and Italian communiques announcing the air bombardment of Adigrat and Adowa.

The report of the Committee of Thirteen, comprising all the members of the Council except the parties to the dispute, is a lengthy document which was presented at Saturday's Council meeting and deals with the history of the dispute and the circumstances in which hostilities have broken out, and it declared that the facts brought to the knowledge of the Committee made it "first and foremost the urgent duty of the Council to draw attention to the obligation of conforming to the provisions of the Covenant. For the time being the only recommendation which it makes is that any violation of the Covenant should immediately be brought to an end. The Council reserves the right to make.subsequently such other recommendations as it may consider advisable." . Following the presentation of this report the Council decided to set up a committee of six members to report on the outbreak of hostilities and to determine whether an act of aggression had been committed.

The adoption by the Council of the report of the Committee of Thirteen required the unanimity o£ all the Council members with the exception of the representatives of the parties to the dispute. As all members of the Council with such exceptions are members of the Committee it was assumed that the adoption of the report would be automatic. The Covenant of the League does not require a vote on the responsibility £ov aggression, which is the subject of the report of the Committee of Six. It is apparently recognised, however, that the moral advantage of having a collective expression of opinion on this point is important, and therefore both were formally before the Council meeting.