LEAGUE OF NATIONS.

Otago Witness, Volume 1851, Issue 3809, 15 March 1927, Page 28

LEAGUE OF NATIONS.

MANDATED' COUNTRIES. GENEVA, March 8.

Tho Mandates Commission's persistency in seeking to obtain recognition as the organisation in control of the mandated territories, is dying hard. Already the question of petitions has been disposed of, and there appears every.-likelihood of the questionnaire being scrapped. - The latest question to be raised by the commission is that of the sovereignty of South Africa and Portugal and the re-cently-signed agreement concerning the boundary between the mandated territory and South-west Africa and Angola. In the preamble of this agreement appeared the words “possesses sovereignty.” The commission seized on and commented on the use of this phrase as follows: “Having regard to the terms of the covenant the commission doubts whether such an expression could be held to define correctly the relations existing between a mandatory power and territory embraced under the mandate. When discussed by the council to-day this body refrained from expressing an opinion as to where the sovereignty resides, and comment on the Mandates Commission has simply been noted.” This decision is important to Australia. NO OCCASION TO CHANGE PROCEDURE. !’ GENEVA, March 7. The Council has decided that there is ho occasion to, change the mandate procedure hitherto followed regarding the hearing of petitioners. It has satisfied all the mandatory Powers. MEETING OF LEAGUE COUNCIL. VARIOUS MATTERS DISCUSSED. LONDON, .March 8. The League of Nations-Council, with Dr Stresemann presiding, opened with a humorous incident, the photographer asking M. Brian d to move a little to the right. “Ah,” said M. Briand. “that is what many people want me to do.” After that the report of the Permanent Mandates Commission was adopted. This rejected the hearing of the petitioners by commission on the grounds that it was considered that while the commission should be available to all possible sources of information it would be undesirable to attain this object by mean which might alter the character of the commission itself.

Sir Joseph Cook sat at the council table during the discussion. The council, also considered the affairs between Hungary and Rumania, and the report of the League’s Health Committee, whereupon Sir Austen Chamberlain again drew attention to the absence of women representatives. It was decided to refer this matter to the committee. It is understood that if Mr Chu attempts to influence the council regarding Chinese affairs the Kuomintang delegates will observe complete silence. It is believed that in any case a public discussion upon China will be avoided at the present session, though much may be decided privately.

RATIFICATION OF OPIUM CONVENTION. RUGBY, March 9. The League Council yesterday authorised the. allocation of a further 50,000,000 gold crowns from the balance on the loan for production investment during the • financial year 1927-1928. The council accepted the suggestion by - the Czccho-Slovakian representative that the special Commission on preparing the draft convention on the question of private manufacture of armaments should propose a date for the eventual international conference; thereon Sir Austen Chamberlain called the council’s attention to the urgent necessity for ratification, by seven members of the council, of tnc Opium Convention of 1925. He expressed the hope that it would soon be ratified by those Powers who had not yet done. so. " . Mr Benes announced that Czechoslovakia had just ratified this convention. BRITAIN DESIRES WORLD PEACE. RUGBY, March 9. Sir Austen Chamberlain, in an interview at Geneva with the press representatives from numerous countries, said that the British Government had never sought to promote its own interests by making trouble between other countries. She had encouraged everything in the of a better understanding between the conflicting Governments, and had always assured them that so long as they sought peace they could count on British sympathy and goodwill. 1 Owing to the fact that Great Britain stood somewhat apart from Continental politics, the British Foreign Secretary sometimes received confidences from both parties to- a dispute. In such cases the British Government had invariably sought to allay suspicion between the disputants, and bring them together. Replying to a question, he denied that the Italian decision to recognise the Bessarabian frontier was connected with his conversation with Signor Mussolini some months ago dealing with Hungarian financial reconstruction. i' MANDATORIES’ RESPONSIBILITIES. jj GENEVA, March 9. The council considered the Mandatories’ comments on the Mandate Commission’s formidable questionnaire. Australia emphasised that council’s supervision on the commission’s advice had neveb been set out precisely. The Commonwealth was of opinion that peithcr the council nor the commission

had the right to interfere in any way with the administration of a direct mandatory. The Commonwealth had always complied with the requirement to supply yearly information of its work under specific heads, but the questionnaire resorted to minuteness of detail inconsistent with the terms of the covenant or the purposes for which the commission had been appointed. The adoption of the questionnaire would make the mandatories’ position, if.not untenable, at least most difficult, and onerous. The Commonw’ealth considered it would be unwise for the council to adopt the questionnaire. The council, after a brief discussion, remitted the questionnaire with the mandatories”commcnts back to the commission for further consideration.

A cablegram published yesterday stated that the Mandates Commission’s persistency in seeking to obtain recognition as the organisation in control of the mandated territories was dying hard. Already the question of petitions had been disposed of, and there appeared every likelihood of the questionnaire of the commission being scrapped. CO-OPERATION OF SOVIET » DESIRED. « GENEVA, March 10. It is unofficially reported that increased efforts arc being made to induce the Soviet to participate in the League’s Disarmament Conference next autumn. The movement acquires significance for the reason that the Eastern States’ insistance on disarmament is impossible without the participation of the Moscow Council. RESULTS OF IMPERIAL CONFERENCE. GENEVA. March 9. Arising out of the Imperial Conference discussion on the future formula in drawing up British' treaties and the extent to which the dominions are involved, Sir Austen Chamberlain, with the concurrence of the dominions, made a statement requesting the council to agree, for constitutional reasons, in future treaties under the league’s auspices to follow the custom existing prior to Versailles —namely, between heads of States, instead of between States, as at present. It is expected that the council will assent to the request, permitting the dominions to accept or reject treaties as they desire. Downing Street,circles state that if the league acquiesces to the proposal British treaties henceforth will be made by '‘His Majesty’s Government Britain,” and his Majesty’s Government, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and the Irish Free State, as the case might be. This is a contradiction of the previous method, whereby it was inferable that all treaties and agreements between his Majesty and any other State implied all the dominions bound thereby, unless, as in the case of Locarno, they were specially exempted. Incidentally, it might be pointed out that since the Imperial Conference the Government despatches from Downing Street have been headed “His Majesty’s Government and Northern Ireland,” instead of simply “His Majesty’s Government” in order to remove misapprehension in foreigners’ minds that the despatch emanated from some Government speaking on behalf of the whole Empire. Furthermore, when despatches are intended to speak for the whole Empire they say so specifically.

GERMANY’S FOREIGN POLICY. GENEVA, March 10. ~Dr Stresemann, German Minister of Foreign Affairs, in a statement to journalists, declared that he did not entirely believe the report that Britain was making an effort for the isolation of Russia. Izvestia’s allegations that Germany and Poland were aiming at the formation of a Cossack Republic were also ridiculous. He added that Germany would regret the Anglo-Russian complications. The Russo-German Treaty did not contain secret clauses. Germany wanted Russia to develop a healthy basis for assisting the economic restoration of Europe. * He emphasised that Germany's foreign policy was unchanged, despite the Nationalists’ inclusion in the Cabinet. Germany would shortly raise the question of the evacuation of the Rhineland on the grounds that disarmament was completed. He thought that the question would be satisfactorily settled.

Dr Stresemann’s outspoken speech at Geneva is the feature of to-day’s news. Referring to the demand for the evacuation of the Rhineland he said'the world could no longer understand how in peace a country should still be occupied by a foreign force of 75,000. Germany would ask the removal of these troops ns soon as she felt she had complied with all the stipulations of the Treaty of Versailles. His remarks regarding Russia created something like a sensation. “I cannot understand,” said Dr Stresemann, “how an official newspaper like Isvestia could publish such rubbish as the report of an understanding between Poland and Germany in regard to the creation of a Cossack Republic under the protection of. both countries.” He proceeded: “We should certainly regret any complications between Britain and Russia. The economic life of the world cannot be restored to normal while a population of 150,000,000 are left outside the pale. What we seek is that Russia should develop upon a solid basis and so contribute to a solution of the world’s economic problems. Europe thereby would be restored. The importance' of the League Council meetings lay in the personal contact, superseding written notes. If such a contact had existed between Foreign Ministers before the war I am sure a great misunderstanding would have been avoided. % »

WHITE SLAVE TRAFFIC. GENEVA, March 10. The report on the white slave traffic, which is described as one of the most terrible indictments against humanity ever compiled, was considered. Sir Austen Chamberlain proposed, and the council agreed, that Volume I. should bo issued for publication, but that Volume 11. should be circulated only amongst the nations concerned. He explained that the commission had interrogated 6500 people, of whom no fewer than 5,000 were directly or indirectly connected with commercialised prostitution. The American representative, Colonel Snow, unofficially said that Britain was regarded as a bad country by white slave agents, because the police were so keen. The commission reports Portugal as one of the worst countries in this respect. The causes contributing to prostitution in most countries are that low wages are paid to women workers and cabaret girls who are forced to fall into debt, with the inevitable result that they become white slaves through bogus matrimonial and employment agencies. The report adds that the motive underlying the traffic is always money. It is a business from which large profits are demanded. There are recognised haunts in all large cities which are used as exchanges, where the various types engaged meet for the purpose of learning the state of the market. LONDON, March 11. The Rev. Sir Jaifies Marchant, Director of the National Council of the Promotion of Race Regeneration, commenting on the white slave report of the League Council, urges prompt international legislation through the League, supported by the world’s womanhood, to deal with the awful underground traffic in human fleshHe adds that girls from many North American cities have been sent to South America, Shanghai, and Australia.

LONDON, March 12. Mrs Bramwell Booth offers the Salvation Army’s assistance to the League of Nations to suppress the traffic in vice. She points out that the army had promoted a Bill raising the age of consent for girls accepting theatrical engagements which should greatly help the movement. If the age were fixed at 20 it should not be excessive, because at 16 girls were usually children in such matters. Mrs Booth adds that the Salvation Army’s representative in Japan vainly sought permission to address an international conTention of the keepers of disorderly houses which was held in Tokio last year. SAAR PROBLEM SOLVED. GENEVA, March 12. The controversy regardifig the Saar has resulted in a unanimous compromise by which a new force controlled by the government commission and restricted to a maximum of 800 men will primarily he a police force; but will only be employed in grave circumstances. «■ Dr Stresemann wanted the force to be international in character and delivered an impassioned speech, upon which M. Briand expressed the opinion that Dr Stresemann was using a club to slay a mouse. Sir Austen Chamberlain, In a conciliatory speech, pointed out iSfKt Dr Stresemann had gained nearly everything he had demanded. Unanimity was reached when the council agreed that the present French troops must be evacuated within three months. The council resolved that children speaking only Polish would not be admitted to the German schools.

, THE DRUG TRAFFIC. GENEVA, March 12. The League Council discussed the opium and drug traffic. M. Zaleski said he was confident that the Council would agree to the proposal’ made by the representative of Great Britain that it was important to discover if drugs were being obtained in large quantities from some undiscovered source. Apparently, enormous quantities of drugs were being exported to China by post, and the council considered it advisable f-hn tho of Europe should be drawn to this fact. • th f» Opium Committee to call an internatlOlKli CUlda tU UiftCuSS tile ViiOlC question. Sir Austen Chamberlain said he would be «!:»<! K tho rjdnnwo CovornmcDt would send the League Commission a report on the results or me seizure oi opium by the Chinese Customs. Alarming evidence of the growth of the elicit traffic in drugs is contained in 'the report of the Advisory Committee on the traffic in opium, which wa's presented to the League Council. It records the capture of a consignment of 1651 b of morphine, 1161 b of heroin, and 551 b of cocaine. It is estimated that the illicit traffic in cocaine within India amounts to 40 times the legitimate import.

The head of the committee mentions that 52 States signed the contract drastically to control the traffic. Only the British Empire, Portugal, and Salvador have fulfilled the obligations, with France, Czecho-Slovakia, and Holland about to comply. Colonel Macormack, the Persian Government’s adviser, replying to a Suggestion that Persia should substitute other crops for opium, said that the chief manufacturing and distributing countries were Britain, Germany, France, Switzerland, and the United States; but only 1 per cent, of supplies were obtained from Persia, the main source being Turkey. However, the Persian Government was prepared to experiment with the council’s proposals. Western countries did not want Persian opium, because it contained insufficient morphine.