A.—2

3

The difficulties that faced the New Zealand delegation, and indeed all delegations, were not only those of differences of opinion, but also those of a physical nature which arose out of the magnitude of our task. As will be understood, the very act of holding and managing a Conference at which the representatives of fifty nations were present was no small achievement, and a great deal of credit is due to the American Secretary of State, Mr. Stettinius, for his fair-minded and able direction of the Conference and to his officers of the State Department who found themselves carrying the main burden of the management and secretarial work. Even so, a heavy burden fell on the Conference as a whole and on each of the delegations. The Conference was held in commodious buildings in the Civic Centre of San Francisco, and it would be fitting to express our deep sense of gratitude to the people of San Francisco and of California for their friendly hospitality. 1 should like to take this opportunity of paying a tribute to the members of the delegation, and in particular to my co-delegate, the New Zealand Minister to the United States, Mr. C. A. Berendsen, whose long experience of international Conferences and clear views and understanding of the issues involved made him a most valuable colleague and worthy representative of the Dominion. I also desire to express my thanks and that of the Government to the Chief Justice, the Rt. Hon. Sir Michael Myers, whose outstanding legal experience and conspicuous ability were most favourably commented upon by those associated with him in the drafting of the Statute of the International Court of Justice. I wish to record also my appreciation of the work at the Conference of the Secretary of External Affairs, Mr. A. D. Mcintosh; of Mr. J. V. Wilson and Mr. C. C. Aikman, of the External Affairs Department; of Mr. B. R. Turner, of the Legation Staff in Washington, who acted as Secretary of the New Zealand delegation; of the Public Relations Officer, Mr. Robin Miller, of the staff of the New Zealand High Commissioner's Office in London; and of the members of the office staff, Miss M. H. L. Browne and Miss M. M. Oddy, and of my Private Secretary, Miss K. G. Jordan. It was necessary for all members of the staff to work exceedingly long hours, and this they did with the utmost willingness. Members of the delegation met at frequent intervals to exchange views on various matters before the Committees and to discuss the attitude to be adopted by the New Zealand delegation. A description of the manner in which the Conference was organized will assist towards an understanding of the final results. The Conference began with a number of Plenary Sessions, during which the greater number of the delegations, including New Zealand, made general statements on the Dumbarton Oaks proposals. For reasons of efficiency and thoroughness of discussion, the Conference was divided into four Commissions, each responsible for the drafting of a particular section of the Charter, and the Commissions were subdivided again into twelve separate technical Committees, which appointed altogether twenty-six smaller subcommittees for specific tasks. Every delegation was entitled to be represented on each of the Commissions and on each of their technical Committees. Every delegation was represented, too, by its Chairman on the Steering Committee, which, with the Executive and Co-ordination Committees, helped to direct the work of the Conference. As the body which considered any major policy or procedure question, the Steering Committee at once assumed special importance. At the earliest stage in its proceedings the Steering Committee laid down the rules of procedure of the Conference, and it was on questions of this nature that the first tests and trials of strength occurred. At the first meeting the Chairman of the Soviet