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in that noble task. She fully realizes the difficulties involved; but she takes courage in her certain hope that the League of Nations will not fail to realize the high ideal set before it-the organization of Justice through Victory.

At such a moment when, as all here must feel, we stand at a turningpoint in history, at the dawn of a new era in human life—at such a moment I know beyond doubt that the ideas and the feelings I have expressed represent the thoughts and aspirations of the people and Government of Brazil, who have given me an explicit mandate. But my knowledge of the precedents of the history of the American Continent and of its unbroken progress toward the reign of Justice embolden me to say without undue rashness that find in these facts an implicit mandate which authorizes me to express to you what very great happiness I feel, as the only American among you to-day, in being the spokesman of the whole American Continent.

The business of the Council at the first meeting consisted of the selection of members of the Saar Basin delimination commission in accordance with Article 48 of the Treaty of Peace with Germany. London was chosen for the second meeting place, the date and agenda being left for arrangement between the chairman and the Secretary-General. The meeting closed at 11.55 a. M.

ABSENCE OF AMERICA AT SECOND MEETING

The second meeting of the Council was held in the historic picture gallery of St. James's Palace, London, February 11-13. Beneath the portrait of Henry VIII the table for the Council was placed, and the rest of the room was given over to 160 invited guests, including all the diplomatic corps, except the American ambassador, distinguished public men and representatives of the press. Arthur James Balfour represented the British Empire and D. Caclamanos represented Greece, the other countries having the same representation as before. Mr. Balfour was elected chairman on the motion of M. Bourgeois. Mr. Balfour, in opening the proceedings, said:

Gentlemen, I desire, on behalf of the Government of this country, and of the country itself, to welcome to-day our visitors upon the Council of the League of Nations. We are most gratified at seeing them here; but there is one blot on the assembly, if I may say so, which is that we are eight instead of nine. As the Council of the League was originally

designed in Paris, as it was embodied in the Treaty of Versailles, the five great Powers and four representatives of other Powers were to constitute the Council of the League. Events, which it is not the least necessary, or even desirable, that I should touch upon, have somewhat marred the symmetry of that plan, and as I was myself one of the plenipotentiaries at Versailles I am sure that nobody whom I am now addressing, and none of my friends in America, will think that I am doing wrong in expressing my personal regret that, for the moment at all events, we have not reached our complete numbers.

As it is, however, I do not doubt that we shall be able to do useful work, and that this institution, which carries within itself so many promises for the future, may in this its second meeting do something toward contributing to the consummation which we all desire. Gentlemen, on your behalf, I venture to assure all my colleagues here present of the hearty welcome we give them on this occasion.

M. Bourgeois, speaking in French, said:

The Council of the League of Nations wish to express the profound gratitude that they feel toward the British Government for what they feel is a double honor-first of all, the holding of this meeting in this historic palace, and secondly, the sending of Mr. Balfour as representative. I will now outline the task of the second meeting. As the French representative at the first meeting, I was given the task of preparing, with the Secretary-General, the agenda. I wish to acknowledge here my profound gratitude to Sir Eric Drummond, who has shown such great competence and cordiality in the work that we have undertaken together. My work has also been rendered easy by the excellent relations which exist between us and our colleagues.

ALL DECISIONS GIVEN IN PUBLIC

During this meeting the Council held five sessions, of which the first and the final one were public. The chairman of the meeting on taking up his duties made a statement respecting the publicity of proceedings, in which he said:

His Excellency has read to you the agenda, prepared by himself with the assistance of the Secretary-General, and which will in the main, subject to any decision that may be taken by the committees, regulate our proceedings. I ought to add this. After consultation with him and with my other colleagues we have come to the conclusion that the details of our work can not with advantage take place in an open assembly.

We recognize the extreme importance, and indeed necessity, of publicity

CONFIDENT OF LEAGUE'S FUTURE

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in the true and useful form of that phrase, but the actual detailed discussion we believe can only be carried on with that perfect freedom which is desirable-I even go further, and say necessary-if the work is to be efficiently done. The course, therefore, that we propose to take is to have this meeting at which we are all here gathered together an open meeting; then to resolve ourselves, as it were, into a committee and deal with the agenda in detail; then to have another open meeting, at which the general results of our labors will be communicated to the public, first to any who may be present in this room, and through them to the public at large.

That is the procedure which commends itself unanimously to my colleagues. I am convinced that it is the right procedure, and I trust that we shall be supported in that decision by the general verdict of public opinion.

BALFOUR CONFIDENT OF LEAGUE'S FUTURE

In opening the proceedings of the final session on the 13th, Mr. Balfour reverted to the subject of publicity again in these words:

The Council have agreed that the final stage of their decisions shall be taken in public, and this procedure which we have deliberately adopted we shall carry out at these meetings. It is unnecessary that I should occupy your time by any lengthy remarks before we come to our discussions, or the statements of the conclusions at which we have arrived regarding the various items in our program. That statement will be made by my colleagues of the Council, each one taking in turn the subject of which he was the appointed rapporteur.

He will then explain the decision to which we have come and we shall formally ratify them. Perhaps before calling upon His Excellency M. Bourgeois to begin our strictly business proceedings, I may be allowed to say this one word of preface. We are a very young institution. This is the second time that we have met, and it is perhaps the first time on which it may be said that we have had before us a general program of international business. It is too early to forecast our future, but I may say that if the experience of the last few days and hours is any guide or indication of what that future is to be, I look forward to it with the utmost confidence.

In Paris the greater part of the work, was, as you know, done and had to be done by the representatives of the great Powers. They were assisted by the representatives of the other Allies on certain rare special and fixed occasions. Here we have for the first time not merely representatives of the, I am sorry to say in this case, four, not five great Powers. but also representatives of the Allied Powers, and more important perhaps

than all—more novel, at all events—we have the valuable assistance of representatives of neutral countries. This is a great, and, I believe, happy and beneficent innovation, and if the nations of the world not merely those who are engaged in hostilities, but those not very many after all-who were not involved in this world cataclysm are able in the future to meet together and discuss in the same business-like, friendly and conciliatory spirit which has marked every moment of our proceedings in the last few days, I can not doubt that the service which the League of Nations is capable of rendering in the future to mankind is almost incalculable and certainly is beyond computation at the present moment.1

THIRD AND FOURTH MEETINGS

The Council met for its third session at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Paris, on March 14, with M. Bourgeois presiding. Mr. Balfour again sat for the British Empire. Tommasso Tittoni sat for Italy and Athos Romanos for Greece. The agenda of the meeting covered two subjects: the Russian inquiry to be undertaken under the auspices of the League of Nations, and the measures to be taken to prevent the typhus and cholera raging in Eastern and Central Europe from spreading, as well as measures to combat the diseases in the plague-infected district.

The Council held its fourth meeting at Paris at the Petit Luxembourg on April 12 with M. Bourgeois presiding. Herbert A. L. Fisher sat as representative of the British Empire, Count Bonin-Longare for Italy, Baron de Gaiffier d'Hestroy for Belgium, and Mr. Venizelos resumed the representation for Greece. M. Bourgeois in opening the public session in the afternoon congratulated the Council upon the increasing confidence in its work exhibited by the order of the day which-though he did not say that consisted almost wholly of the consideration of problems which had been found too difficult for solution by the so-called Supreme Council of the Allies. This soi-disant Supreme Council had requested the Council of the League to meet to consider the repatriation and revictualing of prisoners in Siberia, a mandate for Armenia, and the protection of minorities in Turkey.

1League of Nations Official Journal, March, 1920, 32-33.

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IV. ACTION OF THE COUNCIL

In three months the Council in four meetings has acted upon a round dozen of subjects presented as 15 separate items of business. Three of these subjects dealt with duties assigned by the Treaty of Versailles and have resulted in setting up in the Saar Basin and Danzig governments of which the world as a whole is the trustee through its agent, the League of Nations. The rest of the subjects have concerned the common interests of the nations, and the action has already facilitated and promoted that international co-operation which, with the maintenance of peace, is the fundamental reason for the League. Several of the decisions have set in motion activities which are of the utmost importance for the well-being of the world. Two of the subjects considered have resulted in the first steps toward the proper organization of transportation and the proper combating of menaces to human health; both of these activities have been embodied in the integral organization of the League of Nations.

It is the purpose here to set forth briefly the facts concerning the subjects acted upon by the Council, and so to indicate how much has been accomplished in the first three months of the League's existence. Three items properly dealt with as part of the organization of the League-international health and transit arrangements and the epidemic conditions in Eastern Europeare included in the following list, which is compiled from the orders of business of the four meetings:

1. Appointment of the Saar Basin Delimitation Commission; resolution of January 16.

2. Appointment of five members of the Governing Commission for the Saar Basin, and petition from certain inhabitants of the municipalities of Wadern, Weiskirchen, Losheim and Britten, adjoining the Saar Basin on the north; resolution of February 13.

3. Certain questions with regard to Switzerland's entry into the League, on which the Swiss Government desired to have the opinion of the Council; resolution of February 13.

4. Appointment of the High Commissioner for the Free City of Danzig; resolution of February 13,