The League of Nations The Overtire to the Concert THE

opening of the Eighth Assembly of the League of Nations is an event to chronicle rather than describe. For the early days of one Assembly are, after all, very like the early days of another. There is the same influx of delegates from the ends of the earth, the same rush for tickets for the public galleries, the same inevitable appearance of the recognized advocates of one particular cause or another, which it is hoped the League may some day make its own. You see So- and-so looming up in the distance and murmur instinctively, "Proportional Representation." Another well-known figure means slavery problems ; another, mandates ; another, the Armenians. This year the number is swelled by temperance advocates, for the three Scandinavian countries and Finland have a motion on the Assembly order paper on the subject of alcoholism, which, universal though it is, hardly possesses that international aspect (except when bootlegging is in question) which qualifies it for treatment at the hands of an international body like the League.

This year's Assembly did, in fact, open much like the rest of its seven predecessors, with the exception that by a little judicious acceleration the initial formalities were cut rather shorter than usual. Some forty-nine States were represented, out of the fifty-five which are members of the League, the absentees being Spain and five Latin-American States. China, which it seemed might be left without representation through the return of Mr. Chao Hsin-Chu to his native country, did after all provide a delegate in the person of Mr. Ting Chong-Wong, who, having neither colleagues to support nor experts to attend him, enjoys the unique distinction of a page devoted to his single name in the official list of delegates. There is a richer crop of Foreign Ministers than usual—some twenty odd instead of the average sixteen—and the women members of the Assembly are increased by one, Finland having in this respect followed the example so long set by Great Britain and Australia, the three Scandinavian countries, and Rumania. For the rest, most of the delegates are men who have represented their country at the Assembly before, and such new-corners as there are have had no time as yet to impress their personalities on Geneva.

One feature early noticeable in the Eighth Assembly was the prominence assumed by South America. In the Council meeting last week stress was laid on the importance, from the point of view of propaganda as well as of its intrinsic value, of a conference held this summer at Montevideo under the auspices of the Health Organization of the League, an event which markedly extended the interest of the South American countries in League matters. This year it fell out, by the chance of alphabetical succession, that the Assembly was opened by Senor Villegas, a former Prime Minister of Chile, who happened to be president of the Council of the League at the moment ; and as permanent president for 1927 there was elected Senor Guani, the principal delegate of Uruguay.

The choice of Senor Guani is interesting for more reasons than one. In the first place, he was elected in spite of the opposition of certain Latin-American States to his candida- ture, the majority of the members of the League rightly holding that it was not for Latin-Americans to decide what President the League should or should not have. In the second place, the choice of the Uruguayan delegates was a demonstration that Viscount Cecil, though officially dead, yet speaketh ; for it was Lord Cecil who a year ago, when Uruguay failed to secure re-election to the Council owing to disharmony among the Latin-American States, suggested that the balance might be righted, in a way satisfactory both to the Assembly and to Uruguay, by the election of Senor Guani as President of the Assembly in 1927. The idea, half sug- gestion and half pledge, was opportunely recalled this week, and the Uruguayan secured the presidency by a half-head over Count Mensdorff, the former Austrian Ambassador in London.

Mention of Lord Cecil recalls inevitably the gap created by his absence. He held a unique position at Geneva, and so far as it has meant his withdrawal from the British delegates; his resignation has created profound and universal regret among his former friends and colleagues here. Many of them, on the other hand, rejoice in the freedom he has thus acquired and believe, with him, that the point has been fully reached when such freedom was preferable to the responsibilities and fetters attached to a high office.

The Assembly so far has hardly found itself, and no one would care to predict with any confidence what the issue of the three or four weeks of conclave here will be. The routine work, of course, is important in itself, as the acting President, Senor Villegas, did not fail to emphasize this in his opening speech. He dwelt particularly, and with justice, on the im- portance of the Economic Conference held at Geneva in the spring, and pointed out that it rested with the Governments represented at the Assembly to decide whether due effect was to be given to the conclusions of the economic experts or not.

One other note struck in this presidential address was the increasing universality of the League, a fact demonstrated; in spite of the continued absence of the United States, Mexico, Turkey and other important nations, by the growing desire of all these countries, and others not yet members of the League, to co-operate in technical activities, like the economic conference, the transit conference, and even disarmament. The appointment of an American member of the League's Financial Committee is regarded as a useful step forward, though the choice is made by the League and not by the American Government.

But even the first few sessions of the Assembly, or rather the conversations in the corridors while the sessions were being held, have sufficed to indicate certain trends which the Assembly must almost certainly follow. Disarmament may seem a barren enough theme for discussion, after all that has happened, or failed to happen, in the past few months. But nations which have made such professions individually of their desire to disarm can hardly meet one another at Geneva and ban the subject altogether. Germany, in particular, is

counted on to see that they do nothing of the kind, and it will be surprising if the speech which Dr. Stresemann is

expected to have delivered from the Assembly platform before these lines are in print does not put disarmament well on the map again, if indeed it was ever off it.

That development was expected before the Assembly met. Another that has blown up since is an interesting and rather curious move by Poland, who has been working out the idea of a kind of pledge of non-aggression, or outlawry of war, which, while it will have much less than the status of a signed and ratified convention, will nevertheless—so at least it is intimated—serve, as they would say across the Atlantic, to "put the nations on record" as hostile to any kind of war except a collective League war against a violator of Covenant pledges. The idea, as the Poles are evolving it in their minds at present, seems a little nebulous, but if it gets referred to one of the Assembly's six standing commissions, and delegates of ability put some real work into it, a tangible project may emerge which is certain to provoke controversy and may, or may not, secure general support. A reiteration of the old inevitable trilogy, Arbitration, Security, and Disarmament; with Germany emphasizing disarmament and Poland security, would 'create an interesting enough situation for the League.

That is not by any means the only situation of interest. In the background lies the whole unanswered question of

whether peace in Europe, and in particular peace between

Germany and France and France's friends, can be preserved through the League of Nations. Germany is working with

and through the League with a loyalty which at present is beyond criticism, but that does not mean that she accepts the status quo as firmly fixed for ever, and the problem outstanding is whether the League can ever achieve the almost impossible task of securing a modification of the status quo by the consent of the countries to whom such a modification would be detri- mental. The alternative is the task of persuading Germany that no political modification is needed.—! am, Sir, &c.;

YOUR GENEVA CORRESPONDENT.

Geneva, September 5th. -