9

4. Treaty List Shortly after the commencement of the period under review the New Zealand Treaty List was completed and published.* Appendix 1 of the present report lists the treaties and agreements which the New Zealand Government have signed or ratified during the year and should be regarded as being supplementary to the Treaty List itself. 5. External Affairs Committee The Department of External Affairs again assisted the Select Committee of the House of Representatives, appointed 7 July, 1948, to consider matters relating to external and Commonwealth affairs which might be referred to it by the House or the Government. The members of the Committee were the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, Messrs. R. M. Algie, P. G. Connolly, F. W. Doidge, J. Mathison, M. Moohan, Right Hon. W. Nash, and Mr T. C. Webb. During the previous session of Parliament the Committee had found it convenient to draw its secretariat from the Department of External Affairs, and this practice was continued in 1948. The Department provided documents bearing on current developments in the international situation during the year, and maintained the practice of selecting and distributing to the Committee a large amount of informative material of a general nature which it was thought would be of interest and assistance to members. This included current events summaries from New Zealand Missions overseas, progress reports from delegations at various international conferences, copies or summaries of selected documents received from United Nations sources, and summaries of other miscellaneous material of various origins. The Department was at the disposition of the Committee with respect to requests for information on particular questions addressed to it by individual members or by the Committee as a whole. THE BRITISH COMMONWEALTH 1. General Since the end of the war there have been several important developments capable of influencing and even of transforming the traditional Commonwealth relationship. On two occasions, for instance, disputes between India and South Africa, and between India and Pakistan, have been referred outside the limits of the " family " to the United Nations. Britain's entry into close political

* External Affairs Publication No. 63.