A.—sc.

The employer members connected with the Committee, excluding those from the United States of America and France, numbered thirty - two, with their substitutes and advisers ; and the Committee had to proceed with its work without their assistance. It is beyond question that they could have given much useful help ill the framing of the Convention. It is equally beyond question that, having accepted nomination to the Conference, with knowledge of the business to be done, having accepted election to membership to the Committee, and, presumably, having accepted from their Governments payment of the usual travelling and subsistence allowances, it was the common duty of all members of the Committee to give all possible assistance towards framing the Convention 011 the best lines. The question of whether or not a Draft Convention is eventually adopted (as it was in this case) remains always for the decision of the whole Conference, which is the proper place to record any protest and vote against its adoption. It is clear that if such methods of discharging the duty of delegates to the Conference were resorted to by the other groups, the whole time of the Conference would be wasted, and nothing would be capable of achievement. Repetitions of such incidents must necessarily raise in the minds ot Governments questions as to the value of paying from public funds the expenses of delegates who do not discharge the duty which they assume in accepting nomination. Any developments m that direction would be very regrettable, because one of the principal advantages which the International Labour Conference enjoys over the League of Nations Assembly is that the former gathers at its Conferences representatives of all three parties to the business it transacts, whereas the latter is composed only of Government representatives. With representatives present of Governments, employers, and workers, the International Labour Conference has within its ranks the very people who in their own countries will be directly concerned both with the a.dministration and the effects of their joint decisions. The nature of its personnel enables it to come directly to grips with its problems, to discuss them in the light of the vast first-hand knowledge present, to frame its proposals 011 the spot with the present aid of that practical knowledge, and to know that 111 each country affected there will be persons who were present at the proceedings and who know the principles which governed the drafting. . It will be unfortunate if all of these advantages are to be in any way threatened in tne tuture by incidents of the kind referred to above. Method of New Zealand Representation at International Laboitr Conference. Article 399 of the Treaty of Versailles states — " (1) Each of the members will pay the travelling and subsistence expenses of its delegates and their advisers and of its representatives attending the meetings of the Conference or Governing Body, as the case may be. " (2) All the other expenses of the International Labour Office and of the meetings of the Conference or Governing Body shall be paid to the Director by SecretaryGeneral of the League of Nations out of the general funds of the League." Article 389 of the Treaty provides that each delegate may be accompanied by advisers, who shall not exceed two in number for each item on the agenda of the Conference. At the Conference of 1937 there were seven items on the agenda. A full delegation was therefore entitled to bring fourteen advisers with each of its delegates, a total of fifty-six advisers. The following was the composition of some of the delegations : —

The advantages enjoyed by countries within reasonable distance of Geneva is reflected in the size of the delegations which they are able to send to Conferences. It would be out of the question for New Zealand to attempt representation numerically equivalent to such countries firstly, because the cost would be prohibitive owing to distance and, secondly, because of the long period of absence from the Dominion which is involved. The general question was raised in the debate on the Director's report by Mr. J. C. Muniz (Government delegate, Brazil), who emphasized the importance of complete delegations at the

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. . . Total Delegates. Advisers. Delegation ______ — (excluding G ment n " Workers - Employers. I Workers. | Employers. Se<^f 6S ' United States of America 2 1 1 8 4 6 22 Bra ?il 2 1 1 1 • ■ • • 0 Great Britain !! ..2 1 1 6 10 12 32 Belgium .... 2 1 1 3 6 6 19 Canada.. .. .. 2 1 1 4 1 China .. .. ..2 1 1 3 2 1 10 Denmark .... 2 1 1 3 5 1 France .... 2 1 1 H 6 8 29 New Zealand .. . . 2 1 1 •• •• •• Poland .... 2 1 1 6 3 3 16 Sweden .. ..2 1 1 2 6 3 15 Russia .. .. .. 2 1 1 • • 1 • • Yugoslavia .. ..2 1 1 7 2 2 o