LEAGUE OF NATIONS.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XIII, Issue 21, 8 January 1923, Page 7

LEAGUE OF NATIONS.

DELEGATE FROM THE UNION. Formed in October, 1918, the League of Nations Union had at the signing of the Armistice a membership of 3000. To-day it numbers 205,000 members, with a monthly increase of 1000. In New Zealand there is a Union with two branches, one at Wellington and one at Auckland. There is at present in Auckland Mr. J. W. Wheeler-Ben-nett, junior, a member of the English Union, thib executive of which has asked him to visit similar organisations during a tour of the world he is making. In Australia Mr. Bennett found things connected with the support of the League very much “in the rough.” Over there he found just as in England, that the great enemy of the organisations was the apathy of the public. It |was extremely harid to raise public opinion to a League point of view, and that was a pity, as the whole object of the Union was to educate the peoples of the world to realise that war did not pay, and that the League was an insurance agains war, -tfhich meant an insurance for the continuation of modern civilisation. The Union in England is a strong body, numbering 920 branches and 44 junior branches. There are 500 or 600 voluntary, speakers and 12 qualified professional trained speakers to voice the Union’s views and awaken public interest in the Work of the League. In addition to interesting itself in the education of the public the Union has a strong committee that deals with the disarmament question, and it was on the resolutions passed by this committee that the third Assembly, held in Geneva, based its discussion upon this important subject. From Auckland Mr. Bennett goes to Rotorua, then on to visit the Wellington organisation, and thence back to Sydney and on to the East by way of Brisbane. From the East he goes across to Canada, and by the time his tour is ended it is hoped that the work of bringing the various organisations into something like line will be accomplished.