6

Conference began to sit, three days had been added on to the period originally planned for, so that it was practically a full-scale Conference. Meetings also had to be longer than originally planned. In addition to the ordinary work, there was the public discussion of a " general subject," for which three special evening sessions, counting, as plenary meetings, were set aside. The usual plenary sessions were held, at the beginning for the establishment of Committees, election of President and VicePresidents, adoption of the agenda, and so on; and at the end for the consideration of the reports of Commissions and other matters of final general concern. The detailed work was broken down into agenda for three Commissions : the Programme and Budget Commission, the Administrative Commission, and the Official and Hxternal delations Commission; and two Committees, the General Committee and the "Procedure Committee. The Programme aiid Budget and External Relations Commissions had two joint meetings. In addition, the Credentials Committee and Nominations Committee met early and disposed of their work rapidly. Of the Commissions, Sir James Shelley sat on that which had the heaviest individual agenda, Programme and Budget. Dr. Beaglehole sat on the other two Commissions, and on the Procedure Committee, of which he was elected chairman; and also on the General Committee (the Conference steering Committee), of which he was a member in virtue of his chairmanship of the Procedure Committee. Dr. Beaglehole attended the meetings of representatives of National Commissions, and did his best to cope with the meetings on the Book Coupon Scheme. In addition to this, he spoke on the " general subject." There was also the usual sub-committees, Drafting Committees, and working parties, on none of which, fortunately, was either New Zealand delegate called to act. M. Georges Bidault, President du Conseil and leader of the French delegation (now Premier of France), was nominated President of the Conference, but declined very gracefully in favour of Dr. E. Ronald Walker, the leader of the Australian delegation and one of the members of the Executive Board. Dr. Walker made an excellent President, hard-working and tactful. NEW MEMBERS Monaco was received and Ceylon was elected as new States members of the Organization (bringing the number of member States to 50).