LEAGUE INQUIRY WANTED

Northern Advocate, 21 January 1936, Page 3

LEAGUE INQUIRY WANTED

RED CROSS BOMBINGS (Received 11.30 a.m.) LONDON, January 20. 1C NOR Mussolini, in a letter to the President of the International Red Cross at Geneva, promises that Italy will do her utmost to prevent further bombing of Red Cross units, and requests that a delegation be, sent to the front to see how the Red Cross regulations are applied by both sides. The League of Nations Committee of Thirteen, meeting privately, considered an appeal from Abyssinia for financial assistance, and also a request to investigate the bombing of Red Cross units and other alleged Italian violations of International Conventions. The Committee of Thirteen decided that, at the moment, it was impossible to make any further efforts at conciliation, (and. it was not desirable to appoint a commission to inquire into the conduct of the war. Financial Aid Impossible. It was impossible to give financial assistance to Abyssinia. The committee further decided that sanctions was a matter for the Committee of Eighteen, and left it to the President to convene that eomrriittee whenever he considered it proper. The Committee of Eighteen has now been summoned for Wednesday, and is expected to appoint a committee of experts to study the question of an oil embargo, thus shelving the isszie. The Associated Press Association's special correspondent at Geneva reports that the 90th meeting of the League Council opened with a private session, with His Majesty’s illness seriously concerning l\Ar S. M. Bruce, President, and Mr Anthony Eden, each of whom is prepared to return to London on the shortest notice, if events require their presence. Their colleagues will doubtless acquiesce in a brief adjournment of the meeting. King’s Illness. Mr Bruce at the outset asked the Council to complete the work as quickly as possible, in view of the King’s grave illness. When the public session opened, Mr Bruce took the chair, and paid a tribute to the late Mr Arthur Henderson, President of the Disarmament Conference. Mr Eden, M. Laval, and representatives of Russia, Spain, and ether countries, also eulogised his work for peace.

The Council received the report from Mr Sean Lester, High Commissioned for the League at Danzig, detailing unconditional Nazi acts at Danzig, including the persecution of Jewish, Catholic and Socialist minorities, the suppression of newspapers and indicating an intensive campaign to create a Nazi state, despite the rulings of the League Council.

"" - I step,” lie said. V “The arguments are weakened by the fact that they are brought forward by those who were opposed to restoration in the committee. The old councillors feel that they ar committed to the restoration of cuts as promised as soon as this is possible.” Works Committee Expenditure. The Mayor: “Cr. Finch has brought forward this last opposition at the 13th moment. Six months ago 1 drew his attention to the large expenditure in the Works Committee account. The chairmen of committees should keep track of their accounts, and Cr. Finch must have known from the statements which -the council receives monthly that the funds at his disposal were dwindling.” Cr. Finch; “The statements which are issued monthly only show the gross balance. It was not until I made a request for a special report that I became aware that there had been drains on my fund for other objects.” The Mayor: “It is always realised that expenditure which cannot be charged against separate accounts comes out of the general account. Every year since I have been here, and before that, the finance of the Works Committee has come out on the right side.” Again the voting on the amendment was four all, and again the Mayor gave his casting vote against postponement, as he also did on the adoption of the report. Mayor’s Vote Questioned. The manner in which the Mayor had used his casting vote was questioned by Cr. J. H. Brown. He asked whether in Parliamentary usage the decisive vote of the chairman should | not be used to leave things as they | were originally.

The Mayor denied this. The casting vote, he said, was the prerogative of the chairman, although it was generally the custom' to vote in favour of leaving things as they were. “If 1 couia see any fair reason for reopening the discussion,” he said, “I would have taken action accordingly, but the whole opposition is not the result of the arguments puc rorward here tonight.” Cr. Morrish affirmed that, had the two councillors who were absent been in attendance, the use of the casting vote would not have been necessary. Their attitude to cut restorations was well-known.