INTERNATIONAL NOTES

Editors' Note: The period from November 15, 1920, to May 15, 1921, has been covered by these notes. The report of the Assembly of the League of Nations has been taken from an official summary of the meetings prepared by the Information Bureau of the League. Attention is called to Dr. Charles H. Levermore's booklet on "What the League of Nations has Accomplished in One Year," published by the Brooklyn Daily Eagle; also to his shorter article in this issue of the Journal. The editors wish to acknowledge the assistance of Professor Walter B. Pitkin, of Columbia University, in preparing the notes on the Far East.

ASSEMBLY

The first meeting of this body opened on November 15, under M. Paul Hymans, head of the Belgian delegation, as temporary president. Forty of the forty-five states, qualified by accession to the Covenant or by original membership to send delegates, were represented. Honduras, who was unofficially represented, and Nicaragua completed ratification before the Assembly closed, leaving the Hedjaz, Ecuador and the United States not included in the League. The states sending delegates were as follows:

M. Hymans was elected president of the Assembly with M. Motta, President of Switzerland, as honorary president. The machinery of the Assembly developed into a steering committee composed of the president and twelve vice-presidents, the first six vice-presidents to serve by virtue of their election as presidents of one of the six main committees, and the second six as the result of election from the main body of 120 delegates.

The most important of the twenty-six articles of procedure, framed by the Secretariat and adopted with a few changes,

provides for an annual meeting on the first Monday in September, and at such other times as decided either by itself, by a majority of the Council, or by the request of ten members of the League. The four non-permanent Council members for the coming year were approved on December 15. Spain, Brazil and Belgium were re-elected, while China replaced Greece. These, with Great Britain, France, Italy and Japan, represent over a billion people. It having proved impossible to define the powers belonging respectively to the Council and the Assembly, the latter unanimously adopted a resolution declaring that while each body should be supreme in those matters especially assigned to it, in all other matters neither body should interfere with a subject which has become the special charge of the other. Later, in connection with the mandates question, the Assembly attempted to assert

supreme power.

The amendments suggested by the Scandinavian countries during the summer for amplifying the Covenant provided for (1) an annual meeting of the Assembly; (2) a system of rotation among the non-permanent Council members; (3) a certain relaxation of the otherwise automatic economic blockade in the case of small states endangered by a big neighbour; and (4) a great extension of the system of arbitration under the League. Canada, on November 26, proposed to the Committee on Amendments six changes, the most important one being that all members of Council and Assembly be considered representatives of their governments and that their decisions be binding on the home governments. Another Canadian proposal for the complete elimination of Article X was referred to the permanent Committee on Amendments. Argentina's proposal that it be made possible for sovereign states to join the League if they so desired was also referred to this committee. Following his protest on the floor of the Assembly against acceptance of the principle that these amendments be worked out by the permanent committee during the year, M. Pueyrredon and the Argentine delegation withdrew from the Assembly December 4.

The Assembly adopted the Permanent Court of International Justice by a unamimous vote on December 13 and it had been signed by May 15, by the delegates of thirty states. Ratification by twenty-four of these states will bring it into existence. Sweden alone has deposited her ratifications. Three hundred thousand dollars has been appropriated by the League for its expenses. Compulsory adjudication was finally rejected by both Council and Assembly, but a supplementary protocol was adopted whereby those states so desiring may accept the principle of compulsory adjudication, either on the basis provided in the original draft or with such limitations as they may desire. The United States may ratify the court without membership in the League. Denmark, Portugual, Salvador and Switzerland are among the states that have signed the protocol as well as the court project. The following states have accepted the court alone:

The Committee on Admission of New Members admitted the ex-enemy states of Austria and Bulgaria; Luxemburg; Finland on the understanding that she accept guarantees regarding minorities; Costa Rica, whose Tinoco rebellion during the Paris Conference had prevented an invitation to membership; and Albania. The latter was voted in by the full Assembly on December 17, against the recommendation of the committee which felt the Albanian status too uncertain and its borders too ill-defined. Esthonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Georgia were refused full memship because of the possibility of their becoming involved with Soviet Russia, a situation likely to prove embarrassing to the League. They were allowed participation in the technical organizations, however. Armenia was refused even partial admission on the ground that membership in the League would prevent the giving of a mandate for the country. During discussion on the admission of Austria the Committee interpreted Article X as follows: "It cannot be too emphatically stated that Article X does not guarantee the territorial integrity of any member of the League. All it does is to condemn external aggression on the territorial and political independence of any member of the League and call upon the Council to consider what can be done to resist such aggression." Azerbaijan, Lichtenstein and the Ukraine were refused membership.

Conditions for the admission of states, proposed by Viviani and accepted, quite clearly barred Germany and Russia from membership, for the present, at least: (1) a state must have satisfied all its international obligations, already contracted, and must have a stable government and fixed frontiers; (2) the country must be organized on such lines that, in the League's opinion, its engagements could be fulfilled.

Mr. Branting's Committee on Economic Blockade, Disarmament, and Mandates proving unable to settle the principles or details for the use of the blockade, the Assembly voted to create an International Economic Blockade Committee of not over eight members which should study the question and report through the Council to the Assembly at its next meeting.

Despite the difficulties to be encountered in dealing with the question of disarmament, and despite the absence of Russia, Germany and the United States from the consultation, the Assembly gave the subject much thought. On November 25 the Permanent Military, Naval and Air Commission created by the Council last August requested the Council to ask the United

States to send representatives to sit with it in a consultative capacity. The Council approved this letter to the United States on December 1, but the invitation was refused by President Wilson on December 9. With the view of preventing increases in armaments, a recommendation was adopted December 14, by 30 votes to 7, requesting the Council to submit for the consideration of the members of the League the acceptance of an undertaking not to exceed the current military budget during the next two years unless required to do so by recommendation of the League or by exceptional conditions notified to the League. The Council was also asked to request the Permanent Military, Naval and Air Commission to complete its technical examination into the present condition of armaments; to instruct a competent temporary commission to submit proposals for the reduction of armaments; to form within the Secretariat a section for this commission, and for the publication and exchange of information as provided in the Covenant; and to consider the means by which military information so exchanged may be verified, if the principle of mutual verification is confirmed by an amendment to the Covenant. It was also requested to initiate the immediate investigation of the problem of private manufacture. Acting on the report of the Committee, the Assembly invited the Council to urge upon all governments the immediate approval of the Convention of St. Germain for the Control of Traffic in Arms and Ammunition, signed by Great Britain, United States, France, Japan, Belgium, Bolivia, Cuba, China, Ecuador, Greece, and Italy when the Austrian Treaty of Peace was signed, but not yet ratified. This convention prohibits exports of arms and ammunitions except under special licenses for deliveries to the governments themselves. It is especially intended to prevent surplus stocks remaining from the war from falling into the hands of less civilized peoples. The convention provides for an international office to control the trade in arms.

The mandates question was one of the most complicated before its Committee and before the Assembly. On August 5 and again on October 27 the Council had dispatched letters to the nations whose duty it was to draft the terms of the mandates which they expected to hold under the League. On November 30 the Council again addressed the four premiers concerned urging an immediate solution of mandate difficulties and submission of the draft terms to the League. About this time the United States called attention to the Mesopotamian mandate by her note to Great Britain (see United States), and Germany registered her protest against the mandatory system, reserving liberty of action regarding the whole colonial settlement. In the meantime the Council had considered the constitution of the Permanent Mandates Commission authorized by the Covenant, and on November 29 agreed to a detailed plan. Acccording to this, its nine members are to be appointed by the Council, five of them representing non-mandatory powers. In case of a controversy over a mandate,

the representative of the nation holding the mandate will not be entitled to vote. Opinions the Commission may give on complaints against the mandatories will be only for the guidance of the Council and Assembly. Shortly after this the terms of the draft mandates for Group "C" came to the Council and were held there. Under these, Samoa goes to New Zealand; New Guinea and islands south of the equator to Australia; Nauru to the British Empire; islands north of the equator to Japan; and German Southwest Africa to the Union of South Africa. (For the Yap controversy see United States.) According to the Covenant, Group "C" territories such as "South-West Africa and certain of the South Pacific Islands can best be administered under the laws of the Mandatory as as integral portions of its territory." This has been held to mean that Australian laws restricting Japanese immigration may apply to the islands Australia holds. Japan has sought racial equality, but compromised with Australia and England in an agreement giving each equal rights in the other's mandatory islands except in matters of immigration. Following this settlement near the close of the Assembly's session, Mr. Branting's committee called for the mandate terms and the Council's recognition of the principle that they should be inspected by the Assembly. The Council refused. Mr. Branting announced that unless the terms were handed over the committee would make the matter public and force the Council to bear the moral responsibility for this action. In the closing days of the session, therefore, the Council gave way on condition that the terms be kept secret and not mentioned in the committee's report. On the 17th of December the Council approved the Group "C" terms and made them public.

Terms for Group "A," those territories held by Turkey in Asia Minor-and for Group "B," for German colonies in Central Africa-were kept in the Council for consideration. (See Council of the League of Nations.)

The question of Armenia received the attention of the Assembly and resulted in the passage of a resolution requesting the Council to approach the nations of the world in the hope of ending hostilities in Armenia. This was voted on November 22, and included the United States on condition that the invitation to mediation did not mean a repetition of the request to accept a mandate. As a result, the United States, Brazil and Spain agreed to use their good offices between Armenia and the Kemalists, and an investigation was immediately begun at Constantinople by the powers to find out the best methods of approach. President Wilson designated Mr. Morganthau as his personal representative in mediation. On December 8 his boundary delimitation for Armenia was forwarded to the League.