League Assembly Meets

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XIX, Issue 220, 4 September 1929, Page 5

League Assembly Meets

British Premier’s Address Survey of Peace Situation Appeal for Definite Measures [British Official Wireless.] (Received 4, 11.38 a.m.) Rugby, Sept. 3. The Rt. Hon. Ramsay MacDonald, the British Prime Minister, addressed the Assembly of the League of Nations this afternoon. He said that during the last five years many changes had taken place, nearly all of which had been for the advance of peace ana the strengthening of the League's authority. “Nothing gives me greater pleasure,” he declared, than the fact that the benches which were empty in 1924 have now been filled for 1929 and that Germany is present to take part in our deliberations.

What they had now to do after these changes, he continued, was to proceed with the work of developing the authority of the League and laying wider and more securely than ever the foundations of international peace. As they had realised five years ago, the problem of the League was the problem of security. Since 1925, they had started on another road. The pact of peace had been signed in Paris, and that pact was now their starting-point. The Assembly of the League was going to buttress that pact. THE HAGUE AGREEMENT. One of the most important contributions in this direction, said the Premier, was the work of the Conference just concluded at The Hague. The agreement arrived at would be signed, he believed, in a few weeks. It was, however, a ploud moment for all of them to know that next week the first of the battalions would march out of the occupied area of Germany, facing homewards, never to return again. It i\'as a hopeful and encouraging thing that they were now met as members of the League in the spirit of the League, with unruffled friendship, co-operating in the work nf peace. The British Government, as he was sure, was, like all others, desirous that the pact of peace signed in Paris should not only be a declaration on paper but should be translated into constitutions and institutions that would work for the peace of tho world. THE LEAGUE’S TASK. Continuing, Mr. MacDonald said that the League must set itself to solve the problem of disarmament. He urged the Preparatory Commission of the League not to face the problem thinking of the possibility of war, but on the assumption that the risk of war is far less than the likelihood of peace being permanently observed. BRITAIN’S CONTRIBUTIONS. They had to ask their military advisers to believe that there was as much security in an agreement as in a regiment of soldiers or a battleship. The British Government’s special contribution towards disarmament must be in the field of naval armament with, in the first place, some agreement such as the one between Great Britain and the United States, which must not and could not be regarded as directed against any other nation, but rather as a helpful lead to the rest of the world. What they wanted was such an agreement as, having been made, could be preliminary to the calling of a five Powers naval conference, the other Powers being as free to put in their proposals and Britain as free to negotiate with them as though no conversations had taken place between America and Britain.

A PRACTICAL SUGGESTION. These negotiations were not yet completed, but the agreement had gone very far. He did not know what final form the agreement would take, but he thought that they might produce a document, it might be, of twenty points of agreement and very comprehensive, for they were not out for small things but to establish peace. If the document ultimately ran to twenty points it could be said that only about three were outstanding at the present moment. He had hoped that it might have been possible to make a definite announcement there, and he was not at all sure that the announcement might not be made before the present Assembly came to an end. COVENANT REVISION. The British Government, however, had been considering what it could do at the present Assembly to buttress the foundation of the pact of peace, and as a contribution to this it would seek to revise sections 13 and 15 of the Covenant of the League and bring them right up to date and in line with the Kellogg Pact. It was desired to close the gap left by these sections in the event of conciliation failing, and thus to harmonise the obligations of the members of the League, with the obligations under the pact. OPTIONAL CLAUSE. Proceeding, the Rt. Hon. Ramsay MacDonald said that he was in the position to announce that the British Government had'decided to sign an optional clause and that the form of its’ declaration was now being prepared. It would be completed and put in during the orosent assembly. Further. II is Majesty’s Government in other parts of the British Commonwealth which were members of the League, had been consulted and ho believed that each of them would instruct its delegates to sign the clause during this assembly, but in accordance with their right and their position at Geneva, they would make their own statements on the

subject. His own hope was that this meeting of the Assembly might be known as “the optional clause Assembly.” EGYPT. Referring to the agreement offered by Britain to Egypt, he said that the effect of it would be that Egypt would be in a position to apply for membership of the League. PALESTINE. On the subject of the Palestine disorders, he repudiated the statement that it was a racial conflict. It was simply an uprising of the forces of disorder, and, so far as the British Government was concerned, the disorder must be suppressed whether caused by Moslems or Jews, Christians or non-Cliyistians. No nation with any political responsibilities co-operating with other nations would ever yield to outbursts of disorder and criminality. He appealed to the leaders of those people to unite to repair what had been done. The first duty was to get the strife ended and order restored. That had practically been done. The second was to inquire into all the circumstances and take steps to prevent the recurrence of disorder.

Concluding, the Prime Minister urged the Assembly to face the problems of tariff barriers between producers and consumers.

THE OPTIONAL CLAUSE. [Australian and N.Z Press Association.] (Received 4, 9.10 a.m.) Geneva, Sept. 3. The British delegation announced the signing of The Hague optional clause. It is understood that only two Dominions agreed to sign, Ireland and South Africa. The others are consulting their Governments respecting inter-imperial disputes and also the maritime aspects.