SIR ERIC DRUMMOND

Greymouth Evening Star, 19 April 1938, Page 10

SIR ERIC DRUMMOND

OUTLINE OF CAREER. Sir Eric Druniniond. , Earl of Perth, was born in August, 1576. He is a sou of the tenth Viscount Strathallan, holder of the second title of the ancient Scottish family of Druniniond, which has remained Roman Catholic. His Iralf-brothei’ by his father’s first marriage succeeded to the title of Earl of Perth, but. as he was unmarried, Sir Eric was heir to the earldom and the family estate of 7000 acres. His wife, a daughter of Lord Herries, is connected with the ducal house of Norfolk. .Sir Eric Drummond was educated at Eton and entered the Foreign Office in 1900. From 1906 to 1910 he was private secretary to the Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs and then from 1910 to 1919 private secretary to Sir Edward Grey, Asquith, and Baliour. He thus had an unequalled opportunity of gaining political experience during a period of the ■utmost difficulty from three great statesmen. During the war he accompanied' Balfour on his mission to America arid was also his right-hand man at the Peace Conference in 1919 when he came into touch with the leading, statesmen of almost every country in, the world.

After the signing of the Peace Treaties Sir Eric Drummond was proposed by President Wilson himself for the post of Secretary General to the newly-constituted League of Nations — ; a. post which he took over in the • Summer of 1919. His salary was £7500 a. year with a £lOOO a year for house rent and an allowance for entertaining. He enjoyed extra-territorial privileges and was exempt from local rates and taxes as well as from, income tax in his own country. Sir Eric, who had been knighted (K.C.M.G.) in 1916, filled his difficult post to the admiration of all, organising an efficient international secretar- . iat and keeping the League and its committees and conferences in close I touch with all the diplomatic centres. II In 1931 lie was awarded the Wateler Peace Prize of £2OOO by the Carnegie Foundation, but handed back the money to be used for furthering League.ideals. In 1928, 1929, and 1930 there wei’e rumours of his impending resignation. In January, 1931, he actually did resign. The Council of the League unanimously pressed him to revoke his decision, but he said he could not do so. It was rumoured that his iriclin- 1 .ation to retire from Geneva was strengthened by circumstances connected with the League’s handling of the Manchurian question. Both he and Lady Drummond had been ill and he had lately felt the strain of the difficult times through which the League was passing. His work for it was entirely administrative. He had no personal policy and his speeches at council meetings were always colourless. Suggestions that he was responsible for League failures were based on a. misapprehension of his task, which' was to perfect an instrument that would be used by others —the representatives of the member States. One of his greatest achievements was the organising and building up of the League secretariat. A past master in the art of diplomacy, he did much unofficial peace-making between delegates. In December, 1932, M. Joseph Avenql (France) was chosen to succeed him. The Assembly ordered Sir Eric’s portrait to be placed in the new Palace of the League and many warm tributes were paid him. On .Tune 30, 1933, Sir Eric Drummond handed over his duties to his successor and in July lie was apPQitned Ambassador to Rome in sue-, jCessibn to. Sir Ronald Graham. In the same month the. Queen's Hall, London,

was draped with flags of ail the nations represented in the League for a meeting in honour of Sir Eric’s fourteen years' service as secretary-gen-eral. There were representatives of almost every country and every political party on teh platform.