The Daily News SATURDAY, AUGUST 2, 1930. THE MANDATORY SYSTEM.

Taranaki Daily News, 2 August 1930, Page 8

The Daily News SATURDAY, AUGUST 2, 1930. THE MANDATORY SYSTEM.

Time passes so quickly that it seems difficult to realise that a decade has gone since the Mandates Commission of the League of Nations Council entered upon its work of trusteeship in connection with the government of the territories relinquished by Germany after the war. As New Zealand holds a mandate in respect of Western Samoa the recent review of the working of the mandatory system during the ten years of its existence should be not only of interest to the people of the Dominion but also a source of satisfaction. The reviewer, Lord Lugard, has to his credit a distinguished military and administrative career, since 1922 he has been a member of the Mandates Commission, and is peculiarly qualified for the task of conveying to the world a reliable account of' the manner in which the very responsible trust Las been carried out by the various mandatory Governments. His verdict is distinctly favourable, and though at first he was inclined to be somewhat sceptical, yet experience has taught him that the system has been effective for the immediate purpose, and has also exercised a beneficial influence upon colonial policy in general, particularly as regards the mandates in Africa. Lord Lugard considers that the mandates over Palestine, Syria and Iraq are those likely to attract the widest attention, on account of their being the most advanced of the mandated territories and the nearest to complete independence, so that their government involves difficulties and problems of common interest to instructed opinion all over the world. Strictly speaking, the Arab Kingdom of Iraq is not a mandated territory at all, but an ally of Great Britain, who has by treaty undertaken to see that the obligations of a mandatory are observed there, so that in that way its affairs still come under the sunervirion of the

League Council through the medium of the Mandates Commission. It is particularly satisfactory to learn that in the more backward territories, which were formerly under German jurisdiction, the mandatory system is undoubtedly having' most beneficial results. Under it the principle of exploitation in the sole interests of the possessing Power has been definitely superseded by that of trusteeship, which it is the pride of Ihe British Empire-'to have created aii<l upheld in its colonial administration, and which in these post-war days has received international sanction. Possibly the most outstanding marvel of this mandatory system is the part that New Zealand has played, admittedly with success, in administering Western Samoa, thus affording another convincing proof of her equality in nationhood with the Mother Country. It may be recalled that the mandatory has the absolute right to raise revenue or troops, to make laws and enforce them—a feature that is sometimes not taken into account by hostile critics—and to appoint all the necessary officials; but the difference from annexation, even in the ease of Palestine, Syria .and Iraq, is explicit, inasmuch as the mandatory is obliged to render an annual account of its stewardship, the supervision of the Mandates Commission constituting a fundamental distinction from the prewar custom in similar cases of mere downright annexation. The Mandates Commission has no executive authority. It derives its influence nominally from the League Council, to which it is responsible, but really, and most of all from such support as it may receive from public opinion. Moreover, it can, and docs, receive petitions and complaints direct from the local populations, which are forwarded to the mandatory concerned for before being examined. It stands to reason, therefore, that this annual examination invites a popular verdict upon the manner in which a very important public trust has been fulfilled, so ihat publicity in this connection, as in so.many of the other activities of the League, proves a most potent deterrent' to malpractices. There has been, states Lord Lugard, at least one notable occasion when the commission’s inquisitiveness seemed to be more officious than useful, but its right to general supervision of the work of the mandatory States, its power to focus the opinion of the civilised world, and the moderation and courage with which it has on the whole exercised its sometimes delicate functions, have given it a notably useful place among post-war institutions. New Zealand has no. fault to find with this commission in connection with the Samoa mandate. Though there have been troubles, they have been understood by the commission, which appears to have faith in the policy pursued by the Dominion.