A.—s

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gift of further copies : fifty was the number mentioned. This particular question will no doubt receive the consideration of the Samoan Administration or the Department in charge thereof. When the Fourth Committee's report to the Assembly (Document A. 85) came up for consideration the Norwegian delegate handed in a motion having as its object the suppression of the new post (Chief of Division) in the International Labour Office, of which mention has already been made. The motion was put to the vote : six States voted for and eighteen against. The position arising out of the voting was a difficult one, but the Norwegian delegate, after consulting those who had voted with him, stated that he would be willing to withdraw the motion and to vote for the Budget as presented to the Assembly. The Budget was therefore passed unanimously. In spite of certain economies effected, the Budget for 1929 shows an increase of 1,692,463 francs —i.e., £67,300 —over that of 1928. One cannot describe this increase as either normal or reasonable. I think that unless a check is put to this process the time may come when Governments may be compelled to instruct their delegates to take, in the interests of economy, severe measures to keep the annual expenditure of the League within reasonable limits. It should not be forgotten that it is the Assembly itself which is primarily responsible for increases, since delegates on other committees do not always realize that new Commissions, new tasks, and new work imply additions to the annual Budget. The present scale of allocation of League expenses is to remain in force. It is, of course, always possible for the Assembly to take the initiative in the matter of revision, but there is little doubt that the policy of delay advocated by the sub-committee set up to consider the question will in the longrun prove to have been the only one likely to give satisfaction to the majority of States. If the Budgets of 1930 are ultimately accepted as the basis for computation of the new. scale, the present scale will remain in. force until the end of 1932. Regulations concerning Supplementary Credits, etc. The small sub-committee appointed to consider the draft amendments to certain Rules of Procedure of the Assembly and to some of the Financial Regulations proposed some improvements in drafting, and the suppression of the second sentence in the suggested addition to Rule 14 of the regulations. The new draft was accepted without further amendment. The committee also approved of an amendment to paragraph 2 of Article 1 of the Financial Regulations for transferring to the Assembly the right of appointing the members of the Supervisory Commission (Document A. 78). These amendments were passed by the Assembly. Contributions in Arrears. This question was, in accordance with custom, referred to a sub-committee, which presented a confidential report. The usual resolution, couched in the mildest terms, was passed. The position is perhaps a little more promising than it was a year ago, but nothing can be said which has not been said in previous reports. In my judgment, the position is quite unsatisfactory. (See Document A. 81.) New Conference Hall, Secretariat, and Library. The question of the erection of a Conference Hall has occupied the attention of the Assembly since 1924. The original conception has become wider in the course of years, and ultimately it was decided at the Assembly in 1927 not only to erect an assembly hall and building for the Secretariat, but a library, for the construction and endowment of which a sum of two million dollars had been offered by Mr. Rockefeller, jun. The whole matter has been in the hands of a committee of five. The unexpected addition of a library made necessary a reconsideration of the plans, which had already been approved. Careful examination showed that the site acquired by the League adjoining the, present Labour Office, did not permit of a sufficiently good layout. By arrangement with the cantonal, municipal, and federal authorities, it has been possible to envisage the exchange of this site for a portion of a public park known as Ariana Park, situate to the west of the high road from Geneva to Lausanne. An account of the present situation, and a resolution passed by the Assembly at its meeting on the 25th September, will be found in Document A. 79. FIFTH COMMITTEE. I personally attended the Fifth Committee during nearly all of its sittings. The work was interesting. This committee devotes itself entirely to social questions, and I regard the activities of the League in this respect as of very great No single country could do for humanity in general what the League of Nations is able to do at Geneva, for no single country has the prestige or the authority of an organization of all the nations. In my judgment, if the League fulfilled no other task, its existence is justified because of what it does in the way of world social welfare. This year the committee had relegated to it the consideration of matters of (1) child welfare, (2) traffic in women and children, and (3) traffic in opium and other dangerous drugs. Child Welfare. I need make no special mention of the report from the Child Welfare Committee, except perhaps in one particular aspect. The Fifth Committee evinced a special interest in the inquiry into the relation of the cinematograph to child welfare. In this regard I may remind you that when I was Minister of Education in New Zealand I on more than one occasion expressed concern at the influence of the pictures upon the youthful mind of New Zealand. And, in particular, I recall that the Education Department in my time was greatly concerned with regard to the effect of indecent posters upon the minds of school-children passing them every day. It was therefore not unsatisfactory to me personally that this very question which agitated the Education Department in my day in New Zealand has now come to the fore for serious treatment at the League of Nations.