A.—s

great country of some 170,000,000 inhabitants a member of the League than to run the risk of that country resuming her former attitude of negation. Indeed, the plea of the universality of the League was very prominent in the debate, and emphasis was laid on this aspect in the debate in the Assembly on the following day. Of the actual admission of Russia by the Assembly little need be said. The three countries who had cast a negative vote maintained their attitude, and the representatives of Switzerland and Portugal made brief statements. One delegate who had not taken any part in the proceedings in Committee, Mr. De Valera, spoke, but limited his remarks almost entirely to the religious aspect. He put forward an argument for requiring that Russia should in future allow freedom of religious thought, and, indeed, should, on the occasion of her entry into the League, make a formal declaration regarding freedom of worship, similar to that which she made when diplomatic relations were resumed with the United States. The motion for admission was put to the vote. There was a roll call: forty-nine States voted —thirty-nine for admission; three against admission; and there were seven abstentions. The necessary two-thirds majority was obtained, and Russia was declared by the President of the Assembly to be a member of the League. The Assembly was then invited to confirm the Council's resolution conferring on Russia a permanent seat on the Council. Forty States voted in favour. No negative votes were cast; but there were ten abstentions. Mr. Litvinoff and his co-delegates, having taken their seats, were welcomed by the President. Mr. Litvinoff subsequently delivered a long speech. It will be found in the verbatim report. The scene was striking, but, in my opinion, bore little resemblance to that enacted in 1926, when, in a tense atmosphere, another great country, Germany, was admitted to membership. Much has happened in the eight years which have intervened. Admission op Afghanistan. On the afternoon of the 25th September the Assembly was unexpectedly summoned to take a decision on the question of inserting in the agenda the request of Afghanistan to be admitted to the League of Nations (Document A. 46). This business occupied but a few minutes. The Assembly agreed to admit the item to the agenda and decided to refer the application to the Sixth Committee. On the 27th September the Sixth Committee reported in favour of the admission of Afghanistan (Document A. 54), and after the delegates of Turkey, Persia, India, and Iraq had spoken in support that State was unanimously elected a member of the League, forty-seven votes being recorded. After taking his seat, the representative of Afghanistan mounted the tribune and made a short speech to the Assembly. Mandates. It seems to have become the prerogative of the Norwegian delegation to propose that the Assembly should consider papers relating to mandates. The item was added to the agenda and referred to the Sixth Committee. There was a short but interesting debate, one of its participants being the delegate from Iraq, whose country had for some years been administered by Great Britain under mandate. The work of the Permanent Mandates Commission is being followed by the League very closely. The Commission's task in examining the annual reports involves responsibility in no small measure. The difficulties which the mandate system has created for countries exercising mandates over backward peoples, are, I think, not sufficiently realized. This aspect I stressed when dealing briefly with Western Samoa. The Sixth Committee's report (Document A. 42) was adopted by the Assembly on the 26th September. Slavery. Once again the United Kingdom delegation moved to have the item " Slavery " inserted in the agenda. The motion was accepted and the matter referred to the Sixth Committee. The United Kingdom delegate in opening the debate pointed out that if the Advisory Committee on Slavery, which was to meet next year, was to do successful work it was necessary that Governments should provide information, and he introduced the following motion : — " The Assembly,— " Notes the rules of procedure drawn up by the Advisory Committee of Experts on Slavery and approved by the Council on January 19th, 1934 ; " Renews its appeal to the Governments of the members of the League and nonmembers parties to the 1926 Slavery Convention to send, without delay, to the League information on all forms of slavery in their own countries, or in other parts of the world, in order that the Advisory Committee can meet early in 1935 ; "Authorizes the Secretary-General each year, should it appear to be necessary, to request Governments to supply further information on. slavery within the limits of the provisions of the Assembly resolution of 1932; this action will be taken in agreement with the Chairman of the Advisory Committee ; ... " Requests the Secretary-General to hring the present resolution to the notice of the Governments of the members of the League and non-members parties to the 1926 Slavery Convention." . '" This was accepted and sent to the Assembly, which adopted it as its own on 26th September (Document A. 43).

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