Page images
PDF
EPUB

most important was that of the Third Committee which dealt with the question of the reduction of armaments and a treaty, of mutual guarantee. By Art. 8 of the Covenant of the League the Signatory Powers have agreed to proceed with a steady and progressive reduction of armaments, and, with a view to securing the execution of the provisions of the Covenant in this respect, a temporary and an Advisory Commission have been employed during the past three years to devise the best means of carrying them into effect. In this they have succeeded in a great measure, and important reductions by most of the Signatory Powers have been made, not only in their standing armies and armaments, but also in the limitation of their war expenditure. A great deal remains yet to be done in the control of the traffic in arms and of chemical warfare.

A striking example of general co-operation in the interests of peace has been given by the republics of South America who, by a treaty concluded in Washington during the past year, have agreed amongst themselves to a general reduction and limitation of armaments on a very considerable scale.

Nevertheless, it was felt by many Powers, especially amongst the smaller States, that their strategical position was such that their independence would be imperilled if they were compelled to disarm without previously obtaining sufficient guarantees from other Signatory Powers for their mutual protection. The form of guarantee that many preferred were special treaties with Powers whose interests were identical with their own; but it was felt that this would be to revert to and perpetuate the old system of defensive Treaties which had been one of the primary causes of excessive armaments in the past, and of the late war. It was, therefore, decided that such special treaties should come under, and be included within, the proposed Treaty of Mutual Guarantee. It should be remembered that such treaties are permitted under certain conditions by the Covenant. By this proposal it is understood that a guarantee of security will be given to a nation whose armaments have been reduced in conformity with Art. 8 of the Covenant.

No scheme could have provoked more divergence of views and hostile criticism than the proposed Treaty of

Mutual Guarantee. While the greater Powers regarde the Treaty as a special guarantee of security for th smaller Powers, they, on the other hand, looked upon i as of only real advantage to the greater Powers whos position would not be exposed to a sudden 'coup d main,' while the form of help promised to the smalle States would be of too problematical a nature to be an real protection after their armaments had been reduce to a minimum. Every clause of the Treaty was hotl contested, and the Treaty reached the Assembly in a immature and imperfect form. It was decided to as the opinions of all the Governments upon it, but it i no secret that a considerable number of them will declin to accept it at any price.

The remaining five Committees appointed by th Assembly performed a great deal of useful work con nected with finance, modifications of the Covenant admission of Ireland and Abyssinia as Members of the League, slave trade, opium, white slave traffic, and other cognate questions coming directly under the League of Nations as international questions already dealt with under various Treaties. It was only in the fifth Committee that humanitarian and educational questions ran riot. Exception should be made in regard to Dr Nansen's work of repatriation of refugees from the war. The success of his work is undeniable, and it could only have been achieved with the support and under the ægis of such a body as the League of Nations. But it is difficult to understand why the League of Nations should maintain at its own expense homes for refugee women and children in Constantinople and Aleppo which should, if still necessary, be supported by private charity. It may be said that the cost is not great, but that is only an additional reason for such homes being maintained by private subscriptions. Endless time was devoted in the fifth Committee to the discussion of such questions as intellectual cooperation, mutual international insurance against catastrophes such as earthquakes and famines, international recognition of University degrees, special travelling facilities for boy scouts and girl guides, and propaganda amongst school children of the aims of the League of Nations. It seems entirely outside the original scope and aim of the League

of Nations to discuss and undertake the solution of such questions, especially as some of them, if put into execution, would need to be financed, and finance is a weak side of the League. The extension of the duties of the League of Nations beyond the original intention presents a very serious danger, since one may well ask where it is going to stop. It is all very well to say that the display of interest by the League in such questions popularises the League. It may be so, but it is straining its organisation to breaking point without rendering any really compensatory advantages. One could easily believe without a wide stretch of the imagination that temperance, vaccination, and similar questions would soon be brought within the scope of the League unless some restriction is promptly applied. The promotion

of peace and the prevention of war should be sufficient motives in themselves to popularise the League. None other should be necessary. As Mr Baldwin, in his speech at Swansea, on Oct. 30, very wisely remarked:

'The League of Nations is an ideal, but it is an ideal worth fighting for. It is young. Its life is threatened to-day by adulation and overfeeding on the part of unwise and adoring nurses, just as much as it is by the neglect of men without vision and without hopes.'

He further added the sage advice, 'Don't try to force it to do what it is not yet strong enough to do.' The best and most healthy solution would be to restrict the activities of the League by giving all extraneous questions other than those within its recognised scope an 'enterrement de première classe.'

Now a few words about finance. The Supervisory Committee on Finance have wielded the axe with some success in reducing the budget of the League with one stroke by one and a half million gold francs. A scheme is also under consideration for the reduction of the pay and pensions of the staff of the Secretariat. It is to be hoped that this pruning will not be carried too far, as life in Geneva is expensive, the climate is not very healthy for those who have to spend there the whole year, while the resources and healthy amusements to be found in most capitals are wanting in Geneva. Good work cannot be obtained from a discontented staff, and the work must be good to be worthy of the League.

There is one more point worth mentioning. From a printed statement distributed to the Assembly of the contributions made in support of the League it would appear that a considerable number of States represented in the League are in arrear with the payments due from them, while one at least has so far made no contribution whatever. At the same time it is alleged that the League has on occasions found itself in financial straits to carry on its work, and has had to receive temporary support from the British and French Governments. Surely it is hardly right and fair that those States who fail to support adequately the League should enjoy the same rights and privileges as those who do? When the Canadian Delegation had, after long and laborious discussions in Committee and before the Assembly, obtained an otherwise unanimous acceptance of an important and very necessary amendment to the Covenant which, by the terms of the Covenant, must be accepted by a unanimous vote of the Assembly, one could not help reflecting that it was hardly equitable that these efforts should be rendered abortive through the opposition of one Delegation alone which had hitherto failed to recognise and fulfil its financial obligations towards the League.

These notes are written in no sense in a depreciatory spirit but more as a warning signal against dangers that undoubtedly exist and that may, unless carefully handled, become more acute as time goes on, for I am a firm believer in the usefulness and in the future of the League, so long as its affairs are conducted with wisdom and prudence. The League is still very young and lacking in experience, both of which disadvantages can be remedied only in time; and there is no need to be disheartened by the fact that, at almost its first serious test, things have not quite worked out as had been anticipated. It was merely one of those experiences which have their own special use; and we may confidently assert that, whatever some people may think, the League will emerge stronger and better prepared for the future from the ordeal through which it has passed.

HARDINGE OF PENSHURST.

C

(9)

Art. 2.-GAME BIRDS AND WILD FOWL.

Game Birds and Wild Fowl of Great Britain and Ireland. Written and Illustrated by Archibald Thorburn. Longmans, 1923.

SPORTSMEN and naturalists alike cannot but regret that the flocks of wild fowl now found in Great Britain at best compare but poorly with the teeming multitudes which wintered here within even comparatively recent years. From almost everywhere, excepting perhaps specially protected areas, comes the same story of decrease, but in justice it should be remarked that this is not so much due to the activities of fowlers as to material alterations in the character of the country the birds originally inhabited. Over the fen-country, for example, at certain seasons the wild-goose call still sounds from the heavens, and though centuries may have passed since greylegs reared their enormous nests on the lowlands of England, in all probability they would be there to-day were suitable conditions available.

The same principle applies to the wilder districts of the west, so long the stronghold of our rarer game birds. Steadily-even rapidly-the great rugged moors are losing their primitive character. Each year the grazing herds increase, in the track of the burned heather rough grass springs up, and one wild hillside after another by degrees assumes the appearance of a gigantic pasture field. Too surely the wilderness is disappearing, and with it the wild rare birds who loved its solitude. But while due allowance is made for the inevitable decline of wild life with changing conditions, it should be noted that far too many 'rarities' find their way nowadays into museums and private collections. I am told that on one or two of our southern estuaries— the best spots for wild fowl on the coast-men are openly commissioned by so-called naturalists to shoot and bring in any uncommon birds they see. Mr Kearton has ably pleaded for more effective protection, but those in authority are strangely slow to move in these matters.

Mr Thorburn's new book on this particularly interesting branch of study has the excellence of all his work, which even in ornithological circles where criticism can

« PreviousContinue »