THE FEDERATION OF LEAGUE OF NATIONS SOCIETIES [To the Editor
of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—Your correspondent who signs himself " Tyrachus," in his letter printed in your issue of August 11th, takes me to task for some statements concerning minorities contained in my letter printed in your issue of July 28th, on the Hague meeting of the Federation of League of Nations Societies. I think he has not quite seen the point which I wished to make, viz., that by devoting too much time and activity to minorities, the Federation is inevitably bound to attach less importance to and neglect other League work, whereas at the Geneva League minorities only (and rightly) represent a comparatively small part of the activities of that institution,
Moreover, whatever may be the letter of the Covenant, the practice has been to limit the discussions on minorities' problems to those minorities which are covered by the treaties, and not to allow a minority complaint to be presented by a State whose inhabitants are of the same race as the minority in question, as it is not admitted that such a State has any special right to undertake their protection.
But the essential point is that any activity displayed on behalf of a minority should have only one object in view, viz., to be of real assistance to that minority and contribute to improve the feeling between it and the rest of the population of the State of which it forms part. Interference from outside produces an exactly contrary result, i.e., it embitters the relations between the majority and the minority, and makes the Government of the country less disposed to meet the desires of the latter than it would otherwise be. The minorities themselves are, indeed, anything but grateful for this officious outside interference.—I am, Sir, &c., YOUR CORRESPONDENT AT THE HAGUE.
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