THE LEAGUE

Grey River Argus, 22 November 1920, Page 3

THE LEAGUE

♦ LATEST FROM GENEVA. A PROTEST 'FROM GERMANY. [A. & N.Z. Cable Association.] (Deed. November 21, 5.5 p.m.) LONDON, November 20. The Australian . Press Association correspondent at Geneva states tha it is reported that Germany has filci a lengthy protest with the Leagu* Assembly. . Germany claims that the Allies hay not lived up to the clauses of th Treaty which provide . that the 03 German colonies and tho mandate: should bo distributed and governed ty the League. Germany furthermor< points out that she signed the Cove nant with tho expectation that shi would be admitted to the League, anc would have a part in the distributor of the nianda-tcs. Therefore she does not recognise that she is any longci bound by that portion, of the Peace Treaty under which sue surrendered her colonies. LEAGUE'S METHOD OF PRO- - CEDURE. LONDON, November 21. A number of the overseas delegates, who are accustomed to thcii own parliamentary procedure, and arc new to European methods, find themselves nonplussed at times by th< League Assembly 's procedure ii drafting provisional rules. They wer< made expressly clastic to meet, as fai as possible) the diverse methods of different nationalities. Bilingualism, with its attended sloping down of business, adds to the newcomers' perplexities. The fact is that the League Assembly partakes more oi the nature of a conference than of a parliament, and until the commission completes drafting a set of procedure rules, its emergence from a congress condition into a proper parliamentary system cannot be expected. Already after two days' experience the commissions arc beginning to prove Wwieldy. With a laudable desire tc /permit every natum to have representation, these commissions^ have resulted in some having thirty members. A lengthening out of deliberations and ovcrlappings has also occurred, to such atn ex-tent that the Assembly has decided that next week three commissions shall sit on three days, and the remainder shall meet on. the alternate days. • . The Sixth Commission has done practically nothing, beyond a general discussion on armaments. M. Viviani, French delegate, states that these commissions possess insufficient definitions on which to proceed. The colonial representatives get somewhat restive at the slowness of the progress, but the Asembly is such o, new experiment that patience is required to enable it to get into its stride. It is stated American circles in Geneva are impressed by ithc importance o*f the Assembly. ') Some leading publicists declare tho Lflea of the United States starting a sbunter League would be futile, in the M'oseii.ee of forty nations assembled in |eneva'. It would be wiser for the united States to join this League and issist in moulding its constitution. STRAIGHT TALK. i Mr. Rowell (Canada) resumed the lebatc on .the Council's (Big Five) rc)orS. He said the success of the Jeaguc depended on the pcrsonell of ;hmCJm»i^rarid the Assembly. Unless :hc nations sent their best'" men, the •esult would be unsatisfactory. The League must justify itself by achicvenents. He asked whether the Coun:il was composed of a kind of " elder itatesmen," or did it represent only icrtain Powers named in the Covenmt? He believed that it occupied the attcr position. He believed that it submits merely tho policy of these eading Powers to the other 'nations vho arc not represented on the Coun;il. , . • " "Unless the Council gives ; . leadftihip,'' he declared, "it must fail.. -Jd my representative on it cannot .spoak tbsolutely for his country, then he has 10 right to be there. The Council ihould be prepared to back up its de:isions in such disputes as that beween. Poland and Lithuania by inciting its economic powers." He reognised tho difficulties arising out of enturics of conflict and racial aninosities. Canadians, he said, had shed heir blood to destroy militarism 1 . The jcaguo was the most hopeful experiment devised hy man to savo the vorld.