A.—s

On the afternoon of 9th September the various Committees met for the purpose of electing their Chairmen. The following were elected : — First Committee .. .. .. M. Limburg (Netherlands). Second Committee .. . . .. M. Zawadzki (Poland). Fourth Committee .. .. M. Radulesco (Roumania). Fifth Committee .. .. .. Countess Albert Apponyi (Hungary). Sixth Committee .. .. . . Mr. de Valera (Irish Free State). Agenda Committee .. .. . . M. Motta (Switzerland). At the conclusion of these elections the Assembly met again. Its first business was to elect its Vice-Chairmen. Seven countries succeeded in obtaining a majority of votes, i.e. Votes. France .. .. .. . . .. . . .. 46 United Kingdom .. .. .. .. .. . . .. 41 Italy .. .. .. .. .. . . .. . . .. 41 Spain .. . . ~ .. . . .. .. 41 Belgium . . .. . . .. .. .. . . 30 Mexico . . .. . . .. . . . . . . .. 30 Union of Soviet Socialist Republics .. .. . . .. 29 As the Vice-Chairmen number six only, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, which had obtained the smallest number of votes, was not elected. The so-called " Bureau." or General Committee of the Assembly, consisting of the President, the Vice-Presidents, and the Chairmen of Committees, was thus constituted. Formalities were concluded by apportioning the items on the agenda amongst the various Committees. I should mention that there came before the Assembly at its third meeting a proposition, emanating from the General Committee, that the first delegate of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics should be invited to join the Committee. The Assembly unanimously agreed. Representation or New Zealand. As you are aware, I had been appointed sole delegate of New Zealand. I nominated myself member of the First, Second, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Committees, and Mr. R. M. Campbell, my Economic Adviser, and Mr. C. A. Knowles, my Private Secretary, as substitute members, to represent me on each Committee. Secretary-General's Report. The discussion by the Assembly on the Secretary-General's report (Series of Documents No. A. 6) began on the 11th September. It had been suggested in more than one quarter that the Assembly would proceed in the normal manner without reference to the dispute between Italy and Abyssinia. The wish was probably father to the thought. But from the outset the proceedings were overshadowed by something far greater than any item appearing in the agenda. The League was about to face a problem on the solution of which, its very existence might depend. The only question was the extent to which delegates would refer to a matter which was before the Council and had not yet been officially brought under the notice of the Assembly. The debate was opened by Sir Samuel Hoare, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in the United Kingdom. Quite early in his speech he defined the nature and the scope of the League. He said : — " Members of the League by the fact of their membership are bound by the obligations that they themselves have assumed in the Covenant and by nothing more. They do not act at the bidding of the League, but in virtue of agreements to which they themselves are parties, or in pursuance of policies to which they themselves assent. The League is what its member States make it. If its succeeds, it is because its members have, in combination with each other, the will and the power to apply the principles of the Covenant. If it fails, it is because its members lack either the will or the power to fulfil their obligations." After referring to the position in which the world found itself with a threat of war as an instrument of national policy, he stated : — " The obligations of the Covenant remain ; their burden upon us has been increased manifold. But one thing is certain. If the burden is to be borne, it must be borne collectively. If risks for peace are to be run, they must be run by all. The security of the many cannot be ensured solely by the efforts of a few, however powerful they may be. On behalf of His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom I can say that they will be second to none in their intention to fulfil, within the measure of their capacity , the obligations which the Covenant lays upon them."

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