LEAGUE OF NATIONS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18340, 2 September 1921, Page 8

LEAGUE OF NATIONS

DOMINION PREMIERS ENTERTAINED. GENERAL SMUTS’S ADVOCACY. LORD GREY ON A NEW SPIRIT. (From Our Own Correspondent.) * * LONDON, July 6. Had the arrangements made for the accommodation of the VOO people who attended the banquet given by the League of Nations Union in honour of the dominion Premiers not broken down, it would have been a great achievement. Certainly the union had got together a group of men and women whose names carry great weight in the world to-day. Representatives of Empire, diplomacy, Parliament, the services, and every phase ot public life were present. Had all these been able to listen in comfort to the convincing speeches made by Lord Grey of Fallodon, General Smuts, Lord Robert Cecil, Mr Balfour, and Mr Asquith, the social event would have acted as a further impetus to the popularity and understanding of tl® League of Nations, Indeed, the popularity was undoubted in this particular case, for probably the organisers of the banquet set out with the idea that all the guests would be accommodated in one hall of a certain hotel. Applications for tickets, however, were so numerous that the lunctiou hud to take place irt four separate rooms, and to heat* the speeches it was necessary that everyoudy crowd into the largest of tne rooms,' where Lord Grey of Fallodon was surrounded by the chief guests of the evening. Many people, however, gave up the pleasure ot listening to the distinguished speakers. ’ Mr and Mrs Massey and Miss Massey were present, but Mr Massey declined the invitation to bo one of the speakers. Mr Hughes was also a defaulter in this respect. Other representatives of New Zealand were Sir James Allen, the Hon. E. W. Allison, Sir John Findlay, Lord Strathspey, the Bishop of Dunedin, Captain T. E. Donne, and Mr F. D. Thomson. Amongst many well-known people present wore Princess Alice. Lordßlyth, Lord Burnham. Lord Byng of Vimy, Sir Howard d’Kgville, Sir Rider Haggard, Lord Onslow, Viscountess Astor, the Duke of Atholl, the Marquis and Marchioness of Aberdeen, Vice-admiral Ballard, General Sir H. Gough. Mr J. R. Clynes/ M.P., Mr W. Ormsby-Gore, M.P., and other members of Parliament, most of the foreign Ambassadors, and the Maharao of Cutch and Mr Shrinivasa Sastri. CRITICS OF THE LEAGUE. Lord Grey, in proposing the toast of “The League of Nations,” said the League had its critics. There wore people who asked: “la it possible that anything so new is really going to succeed?” One answer was that it was precisely because it was new that they believed it would succeed.

If the experience and suffering of the war did not make some new and better things possible for nations, we. should have failed to have learnt by them. If they did not go forward, they must go' back. But. after all. there was newness in the air. The British Empire was practically new in that sense. The process of change going on before the war had since the war been consummated and completed. All that was g ««> 1. In history .we read d the growth and decline and dissolutions of emnires. But it was because the British Empire had taken up something now that we had the right to believe it could not follow those precedents with which history was strewn. It represented the disappearance of the old idea of central control and subordination. It represented the new idea of voluntary cooperation based on confidence, with freedom and’ equality of authority. The League of Nations marked the disappearance of something that was old and was the embodiment of a new spirit. What had gone among the nations was the idea of isolation. The League of Nations was tip? embodiment of their recognition of the fact of their interdependence. They were told it was not perfect. They knew it was not perfect. But they believed it, would gradually improve. They behoved there were growing developments beyond ncrhina what anybody could now see. But m order that it might do so, the right thing for them was to give it. in its .present state, their strongest, whole-hearted support. REDUCTION OF ARMAMENTS.

The United States had decided not to join the League of Nations. He deeply regretted the fact. To say less than, that would not be complimentary to the United States and the great influence it wielded. But he was not going to spend time in regretting that fact, because to do so would imply that they, did not accept the decision or believe fchat the Linited States meant what they said. Therefore, they accepted their decision as the considered and definite decision of the United States. That was not all. They knew there were, peop.c in the United States who had been unfavourable to the United States joining the league, but they were taking a most prominent and initiatory part to support somethin"- to bring about the limitation of armaments. The United States were socially entitled to the lead in the world reduction of armaments. The United States and Canada between them had together set the world the greatest example that wo had ever had. They had thousands of miles of land frontier and maintained no force on either side. That had a certain application to sea" power also. They who were in office before the war bad to consider the naval policy, and they came to the conclusion that what was essential and also practical was to build on a_ European standard to prevept-'the communications of the Empire being threatened from Europe. He was asked where would it stop. Would thev Jry to build against the United States? They were not budding against the United States. His opinion was that we would keep the same standard we always did. and sav to the United States, ‘We are ready to join with you in discussing tl.e reduction of armaments, but we do not recard vour naval budding as affecting cm naval" budding.” He regarded the, water frontier the’same as Canada regarded her land frontier. He would say quite Lankly that it was essential to un to prevent communications to on- Empire being threatened form Burone. We could not abate that standard. We could not make a bargain with the United States. lor us it was most important '.that the marmnmerits should not ansa again. If ever it did arise it wo- going to he the gathering of the storm which would again mean wai. Let them depend noon it that unless they maintained the League of .Nations and dfvelon"d it. thev w~nld have presently "gam the' beginning of that competition of armaments in Europe, and again the same - rc-MVT-ur FT-su DO YOUR General Smuts, who responded to the tn-it congratulated the English League ut Natioiiß°Union on the magnificent work it had done in the cause. The union had begun in the right way, with the education ol thc neoole People often asked him whelhei the League of Nations was a livei institution or mere unpractical ideahsm. All great ideas took time to germinate-and develop. They wore dealing now with an idea that was the greatest of all The winch \ av at the base of the League of Nations would in the end work the greatest revolution tho world had ever seen.,. It would go hand-in-hand with far-reaching political and * social changes all over _ the. world. Let them therefore proceed with their work in a good missionary spirit They stood for a groat vital force, which has been born in the throes of the great wai. When ho looked around to-day in tho world to see how much of their aspirations had been 'realised, and .what immune,i _of he great hopes which actuated them in those daik days it seemed as though the league of Nations, small as it waN was the only survival of the idealism of that period, When he hom’d criticism of the league his ansv, or was to ask an alternative ouestion: what else do you propose?’ There were only two ways in tho world, the way of force and the'way of understanding. I boy bad proved tho 'way of force to the uttermost and scon it reduce tho world to a mass of ruins The extent of the rums they could not vet realise, but having seen the resu.t of force in the last great war what was goin"- to happen with the greater development. of machinery and deadly weapons of science if a similar catastrophe was going to overwhelm mankind again. What was the other way? He submitted there was notShing left but the way of understanding, tho wav ot confidence, of co-operation, friendship, and amity, which lay at the basis of tho League of Nations. That system had been tried with tho most wonderful success in the history of the British Empire. The league was a vaster experiment, but ho had no doubt that in the end the larger experiment would succeed.

WHAT’S WRONG WITH THE LEAGUE?”

At the moment there was undoubtedly a great deal of disappointment over the league. Many people who expected a new earth and a new order to spring up visibly and suddenly after the war were asking what was wrong with the league, lie asked the question sometimes himself, and found his first reply when he looked at the map and saw the vast area covered by the countries which did not belong to the league. The United States,. Russia, and Germany were not included. Wo might still be influenced by the after effects of the war, but if the league was to bo made a success the sooner they admitted all the old enemy countries the better. The second thing wrong with the league, as it seemed to him, was that it was not suflicientjy supported by the. Great Powers, which reserved all their energies for the Supreme Council. For the sake of the world and the cause which had burned into the hearts of men, he appealed to those Powers to give all the support possible to the Council of the league. Great questions had to be settled. Let them use the new machinery to which they were pledged by the most sacred treaties. He was sure that the peoples of 1 Europe would see to it that their Governments did justice to the league and act fairly by it. so that the league could develop strength and acquire authority. THE POWER OF.THE PEOPLE.

Lord Robert Cecil, M.P., said the league was a otiverely practical institution. It existed not to set right ail tne evils Iliac the world suffered from, but solely and entirely to' safeguard tho peace oi tlio wor.d. it was not omy practical; it was not oven novel. He did not believe that any charge was over less valid than the onarge that tne league was an unpractical creation, fto far its machinery had worked well and smoothly, ile believed it had done very much already. It had not yet been asked to deal with tho greater problems of European peace. Those it had been asked to deal with it had dealt with successfully. It was a matter of gratification that the only diiect effort of peace, the effort to save trom dire consequences the dispute between Sweden and Finland, lias been absolutely and entirely successful. He did not pretend ho was satisfied with what the league had done; he hoped he would never be satisfied. He thought much more might be done, and much more would be done. He hoped and believed tho coldness, if it ever existed, with which some Governments had treated the league was passing away. Wliat was much more important tnan the Governments were the peoples of the world. If the peoples of the world were in earnest, and desired to make tho thing a success, the* Governments would carry out the wish of tho people. He said to them and to every nation about to embark on a difficult enterprise: “Bo strong, and very courageous.” A PITIABLE CREED.

Mr Balfour, pi opening "The League of Brit.sh Nations,” taid the Empire had grown up by degrees, and we were so accustomed to consider the immediate problems before us that our countrymen in various pipits were only half aware of tho difficulty and magnitude of the experiment on which they wore engaged. When he was young there was a great body of critics who held the view that as soon as the British Empire reached the stage of development which wo had now attained, when its units exercised the responsible freedom to which they were the national heirs, it would not be able to withstand the storms. Yet the greatest storm the world had ever seen had burst upon this loose-knitted fabric, and it had been J resisted by the aid of its different communities. The men of little faith were grossly wrong. Let us not listen to those who prophesied; naught but evil things. The League of Nations had only been in existence 18 months, yet some people did not think it had done enough, and said, “Let us go back, to the old welltried system” —(laughter)—the . old system which had existed from the time of the anthropoid ape to 1918.—(Laughter.) That, was a pitiable creed. He could recommend no better medicine to those who suffered from this disease of scepticism than the study of what the Empire had done, and what ho hoped it might be always prepared to do in the future. He did not wholly agree with General Smuts in all ho had said, but he did share his faith in the groat experiment that was now being tried. It was the beginning of a hope. _ Every m°n was doing a service to humanity who did not allow his hopes to be ©xt-ncnEhed by the passing difficulties from which all great enterprises suffered.

CANADA’S CONFIDENCE IN THE LEAGUE.

Mr Meighen, the Canadian Premier, paid a tribute .to Lord Grey for the skill and sagacity with which he conducted the office of Foreign Secretary. The League of Nations, he said, which had succeeded so well, had done so chiefly because it-was founded on conference, consultation, and mutual trust. There was no reason to despair of tho League. There was no lessening of confidence in it in Canada. They ‘believed it was bound to continue, though it would probably alter its constitution as the years, went on, and widen its area of usefulness.

His Highness tho Maharao of Cutch spoke on behalf of India. ' Mr Asquith, in proposing the chairman’s health, paid tribute to Lord Grey’s persistent and devoted effort* for the maintenance-, of the peace of She world. He said the recurrence of a great war could ordy be effectively prevented by establishing, under tho guidance of statesmen of Lord Grey’s spirit, and with commanding authority and supreme and ultimate power of decision, a world-wide association, in which they ought to contemplate as an indefensible condition tho admission of all nations who should loyally accept its fundamental aims and purposes—the free league of the nations of the whole civilised world. '