THE PEACE CONFESS.

Wanganui Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 15782, 2 April 1919, Page 7

THE PEACE CONFESS.

NEW ZEALAND DELEGATION. ALLOTMENT OF REPRESENTATION. (Praia R, Riley, Official Journalist.) PARIS, January 30. The allotment to New Zealand, of direct representation at the Peace Conference by one delegate only had been decided, closed, and sealed a week before Mr Massey, Prime Minister, and Sir Joseph Ward, Minister of Finance, arrived in Paris on January 22nd. They were thus deprived of the opportunity given to, and fully exploited, by all the other delegations to make and support claims for the fullest direct reprei sentation. possible at the Conference table. It has been contended, of course, that the unavoidable' absence of the New Zealand 'Ministers from the important preliminary inter-Allied conferences (or con vc vs .it ions, to use the official term) did not realty affect the decision of ,tha Council of the great Allied and associated Powers. It is impossible in the circumstances to challenge that contention, but it is at least right and proper to place on record the fact that the New Zealand representatives were not consulted on the question of allotment of representation at the Peace Conference, and had no opportunity of placing before the Council the Dominion’s claims and reasons for their claims, for the same measure of representation as was allotted to States whose war service on behalf of the Allies is not equal to that of New Zealand.

It may be stated that the question of representation generally was discussed thoroughly at several sessions of the preliminary Inter-Allied Conference. Many protests were submitted and numerous amendments made before the Council, consisting of the President of the United States of America and the Prime and Foreign Ministers of the great Allied and associated Powers reached their final decision. At one stage, indeed, it seemed as though Die representation question would never be closed. Need it be said that even after it was closed the Council’s decision had failed to give anything like general satisfaction.

The allotment of international representation at toe Peace Conference was as follows; British Empire, United States of America, France, Italy, and Japan, five delegates each; Brazil, three delegates; British Dominions (except New Zealand) and India (including the native States), two delegates; Belgium, China, Greece, Ronmania, Scxvia, Poland, and the Czecho-Slov-ak Republic, two delegates each; New Zealand, Portugal, Siam, Cuba, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Liberia, Nicaragua, and Panama, one delegate each. Montenegro was also allotted one delegate, but the rules concerning the designation were deferred until the political situation of this country shall have been cleared up.

The representation of Russia wan also necessarily deferred. As a result of further consideration Belgium and Servia were allotted three representatives apiece.

It was understood rathe rthan resolved at the preliminary session of the in-ter-Allied Conference that the panel system should apply to all the Great Powers, and also that any Power could change its representatives" from B.me to time.

iAs far as one could learn, from the free talk at the headquarters of tre ■British delegation about the allotment of representation, the aim of the Allied Council has been an honest and a very patient attempt to exercise justice to all States. There appeared, however, to be a strong' feeling among many delegates that the allocation of three representatives to Brazil was at least preposterous, if not outrageous, while other countries which had rendered substantial service and mad© great saorifices behalf of the emancipation of fch© world from Prussian militarism had been classed, as regards representation at the Peace Conference, with Siam, Liner.’a, and Panama.

The exceptional position given to Brazil was apparently justified >v diplomatic reasons. Perhaps the main rean-n was a laudable aim at eon vi .icing her Latin-American people that ire interests of the free nations are more accept, able than those of the defeated Central Powers. But it is for tic Supreme Connoil of the Allied and associated Powers to justify their diplomatic generosity to Brazil.

Such was the position, and s-mh the comments in respect of representation at the Peace Conference when the Now Zealand delegation arrived in this great ’ r-n----dezvons of the world’s peacc-raalcers. •* d it was at once obvious that there was no chance at all of having New Zealand’s claims reconsidered by the Council of the Powers. No attempt was made to appeal to the Council. But it was deemed reasonable . and proper, having regard to all the circumstances, to place the question of New Zealand’s representation before the British delegation. To begin with, South Africa had, for the first time, been given precedence over New Zealand in the order of what may he termed the relative importance of the British Dominions, as determined, apparently on the basis of white popualtion. Then it was admited that due consideration had boon given to the war service of each Dominion and State, excepting, of conrse, Brazil, ami also to necessity of recognising the right of nationhood as now claimed by all the Dominions; further, there was the natural desire to secure that the case of each Dominion should be presented with the best possible effect. After careful consideration of all these points and phases of representation of the Dominions and other small States, the New Zealand delegates decided to bring the matter np at the earliest opportunity. Mr Massey called on Mr Lloyd George the morning after the New Zealand "delegation’s arrival in Paris, and the British Prime Minister immediately, and without any hesitation or reservation, agreed to have the question of New Zealand’s representation considered at a meeting of the British delegation—pratcically the British Imperial War Cabinet—that day. Both of our Ministers attended the session of the British delegation, and received a hearty welcome. The conference was private, so it is not permissable to report the discussion, but it can at least be said that there was no attempt on the part of the New Zealand Ministers to lecture the British Government or to gain political publicity on the strength of Now Zealand’s war service, as has apparently been inferred erroneously in New Zealand. The Ministers were invited to recount the Dominion’s' service in the war, and their simple recital of the facts, which require no declamatory embellishment, or "political emphasis,” was certainly appreciated by all the British and other Dominions’ delegates. Tile result was an immediate agreement to include Sir Joseph Ward as a member of Britain’s delegation, and the Minister of Finance attended, as a British delegate, the second plenary session of. the Peace Conference, at which the idealistic League of Nations was bom to wonderful parents.