LEAGUE OF NATIONS

Southland Times, Issue 21834, 11 October 1932, Page 3

LEAGUE OF NATIONS

MEETING OF INVERCARGILL BRANCH. • The three-weekly meeting of the Invercargill Council of the League of Nations Union was attended by Mr W. Macalister (president), Miss Eastwood, Mrs Corkill, Messrs C. A. Stewart, G. Griffiths, C. R. S. Barrett, the Rev; J. A. Lush, the Rev. C. J, Tocker and A. J. Deaker (secretary). The president outlined the steps that were being taken to secure the corporate membership of public bodies and their representation on the council. The matter was approved of. The arrangements made with the Headmasters’ Association regarding study of the league this year by the primary children were explained by the secretary. The Headmasters’ Association was particularly anxious to have no test of any kind arranged by the union, no award of certificates to the children, and no names of children published in the newspapers, as had been done in the past. There must be no competition. In view of that the subcommittee had accepted a scheme of work drawn up by Mr Griffiths. It contained a number of questions to be answered wtih the books for reference noted beside the question. Supplies of booklets had been provided for the city schools and copies of Headway would be sent if possible. An assurance would later be given to the council by the headmasters that the work had been carried out. After some questions had been asked and criticism offered the council decided to adopt the proposed scheme for this year. Mr Tocker gave the council a brief review of present day world affairs. He said that Japan’s policy in the East v largely the outcome of her troubled domestic affairs. The peasantry of Japan were poor, yet heavily taxed. Japan was spending much more on her army and navy than her national wealth justified. The army and the navy weie not controlled by the house of representatives but by the high officials. It was the aim of the high officials to distract attention from the bad domestic conditions by a vigorous and spectacular overseas policy. The world was anxiously awaiting the League's consideration of the Lytton report. One wise suggestion in the report was the proposal that Japan and China should meet in conference over the Manchurian dispute. Referring to the reported speech of Bishop Barnes, Mr Tocker suggested that it hardly justified the newspaper headings used. The disarmament conference was not a failure but was merely postponed and its meetings would be resumed later. Two disquieting features in world affairs were firstly the sale of arms and munitions to the eastern countries by British firms. It was very discreditable to our people that large quantities of arms could be bought by foreign nations in all parts of the globe. Secondly the purchase of French newspapers by French armament firms with the express purpose of using them to discredit the League and the Disarmament Conference was a very unfortunate state of affairs.

The president remarked that the world was full of trouble and the League was beset with many difficulties. He was optimistic enough to hope that through it all progress would be made. From his experience on public bodies he realized that when everything was moving smoothly and all the members were pleased with each other, there was generally something wrong. Healthy opposition, lively dispute and dissension generally led somewhere and definite progress resulted. He was sympathetic towards the attitude of Germany in the disarmament question. After the war Germany had been disarmed by the Powers on the understanding that systematic disarmament of all the nations would follow. Quite the reverse had taken place and Germany was justified in seeking equality. The council decided to meet again on October 28th.