A.—s a.

There is no need for me to elaborate on the discussion which ensued, which will be found in the Provisional Verbatim Record of the Fifteenth Plenary Meeting. Sir George Foster, in introducing the report, not merely spoke eloquently on behalf of the sufferers, but pleaded the urgency of the need for relief, and the Assembly passed, without amendment, the motions which were before it (Assembly Document No. 186). The Assembly subsequently considered the report (Assembly Document No. 171) of this committee on the technical organizations —-i.e., the economic and financial organization, the organization on communications and transit, and the health organization- -and adopted the resolutions as amended in the text and in Assembly Document No. 171 a. In conjunction with this report it is desirable to read Assembly Documents Nos. 14, 59, 60, 76, 120, and 125. Of these organizations, the most important to New Zealand, in my opinion, is that relating to Health. There are in existence a number of bodies dealing with questions of health who have done, and are doing, excellent work, but there has been a lack of co-ordination. It is hoped that the organization to be set up by resolution of the Assembly will put an end to this state of affairs, and that that body will be the one to which the members of the League will be able to look for help and guidance. The organization on communications and transit will deal with a subject in which, from an internal point of view, New Zealand is interested in only a slight degree. The economic and financial organization will, it is hoped, serve a useful purpose, especially in the sphere of finance. You will already be acquainted with the proposals which emanated as a result of the Brussels Conference. In addition to what was done at Brussels, proposals have been brought forward by the London Chamber of Commerce relative to the creation of credits for external trade, and in addition there is a scheme, called the Ter Meulen scheme, dealing with the same matter. There was already a provisional committee appointed by the Council, and to this committee the Council, before the Assembly met, remitted the question of the control of raw materials. It wa3 quite evident that there was a very strong movement amongst certain nations, expecially Italy and Switzerland, to bring forward proposals for the control of raw materials. Italy, as you know, has very little coal, and looks with a jealous eye on countries like Great Britain who have supplies. The interpretation of the term " raw materials " includes wool, as far as I can gather. The British delegates naturally discussed this question amongst themselves, and were of opinion that they should resist any attempt on the part of the League of Nations to secure control of raw materials. lam glad to say that Committee No. 2 did not in any way commit the League to such a policy. The provisional committee set up by the Council is to be continued under the proposals submitted by Committee No. 2. With the reports on the control of opium traffic, traffic, in women and children, India's claim to be represented on the governing body of the International Labour Office, passports for members of the Secretariat of the League of Nations, and the organization of intellectual labour there is no need for me to deal. Full particulars will be found in Assembly Documents Nos. 225, 4.1 a, 225b, 225 a, 39, 226, 95, 188, and 254, and the resolutions adopted will be found in Assembly Documents Nos. 239, 240, and 245. The report on an international language (Assembly Document No. 253) was submitted to the Assembly, but the motion was lost. The only other matter with which this committee dealt was the statement and motion submitted by the Swiss delegation suggesting the appointment of a High Commissioner, who should be instructed to consider the best means of furthering and assisting in collaboration with existing internal organizations all charitable work undertaken on behalf of these children. This will be found in Assembly Document No. 160. The following resolution was submitted to the Assembly and passed:— " The Assembly, being desirous of giving its support to the urgent work of rescuing children in the countries affected by the war, invites the Council to consider as soon as possible the means by which the moral authority of the League of Nations might best assist this work which is being done in the cause of humanity." The nomination of a High Commissioner was not pressed. During the debate on the report I took the opportunity of making a statement on New Zealand's contributions to the Save the Children Fund, which will be found on page 7 of the Provisional Verbatim Eecord of the Thirty-first Plenary Meeting. Committee No. 3. The only matter referred to this committee was the preparation of a. scheme for the constitution of the Permanent Court of International Justice. The scheme submitted to the Assembly will be found on pages 11-19 of Assembly Document No. J 99, and pages 4 and 5 of Document No. 216, the latter document amending the former. The Assembly made only one amendment to the scheme (Article 27), which is indicated, and the resolution setting up the Court is embodied in Assembly Document No. 228. With this document will be found those numbered C. 39, 44, C. 16, 217, 221, and 222. The point about which most discussion took place, and particularly in committee, was the compulsory jurisdiction of the Court. Many of (he smaller nations pressed for this, but the Great Powers were naturally against it. The spirit of conciliation, both in the Assembly and in the committees, to which I have before alluded, was present during the debate, and, as a result, the scheme emerged in the form presented in Document No. 199. At the final meeting of the Assembly the reports numbered 248 and 249 came up for discussion. The resolution relative to the salaries and allowances of the members of the Court, embodied on page 3 of the former, was passed, although considerable debate took place in committee, the British representative being of opinion that the salaries proposed were too high, and in this opinion I supported him ; whilst the Assembly agreed to the general conclusions contained in the report numbered 249, the draft resolution at the top of page 3 was lost.

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