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established a committee of specially qualified representatives of the following countries : Australia, Brazil, China, Colombia, Czechoslovakia, France, Greece, Haiti, Pakistan, Poland, Soviet Union, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. This special committee is to " study the proposal for the establishment of a United Nations guard in all its relevant aspects, including technical, budgetary, and legal problems involved; and such other proposals as' may be made by member States and by the Secretary-General with regard to other similar means of increasing the effectiveness of the services provided to the United Nations missions by the Secretary-General," and to prepare a report embodying its observations and recommendations for consideration by the fourth regular session. Report of the Security Council On the recommendation of the Committee the General Assembly, by 49 votes in favour, none against, with 2 abstentions, followed the usual practice of " taking note " of the report of the Security Council covering the period from 16 July, 1947, to 15 July, 1948. The reason for this practice is that other items of the agenda normally cover all points at issue in the Security Council reports. The Problem of Voting in the Security Council The report of the New Zealand delegation to the first part of the session contains a full account of the discussion of this question, together with the text of the draft resolution adopted by the Committee regarding measures for the liberalization of voting procedure in the Security Council.* When the matter came up for discussion at an early stage of this meeting, the Eastern European States seized the opportunity in plenary session to indulge in a bitter propaganda attack upon the North Atlantic Pact. Shortly after Mr Austin (United States) had supported the resolution proposed by the ad hoc Political Committee as representing " a policy of gradual liberalization of the voting procedures of the Security Council through processes of interpretation and application of the principles of the Charter and through agreement of the members of the Security Council," Mr Gromyko (Soviet Union) made a lengthy and bitter speech. After stating that the principle of unanimity was the very corner-stone of the existence of the United Nations, and referring to the agreements of Yalta and Potsdam, the Soviet representative declared that the " hubbub raised around the question of the veto " was not accidental but was rather part of a definite plan to make the United Nations an

* Op. cit., page 75.