1937-08-20 — Page 16

THE COVENANT OF THE LEAGUE

Reply To The Critics of Collective Security

it attack that

State?

and we assist Is that attacks Belgium

kist those coun-

Sir-During the last few months here has been carried particu larly in the correspondence cotumas of the an active campaign for render revision and peaceful change general conviction that they of the League by the more difficult; substitute Shear operative would probably

(as, quite apart from obligations, we are now elimination of the mutual assistance coercion for conciliation and re done so. Most historians of clauses of the Covenant. We should dress of grievances. is the war, including Lord Grey and Mr. Covenan like to state briefly why we believe verdict of experience,particularly Lloyd George, are agreed that it definitely obliged to do), is that such a change would be dangerous the tragic experience of the Great could have been prevented had Ger- coercion? The collective defence many known before hand that she arrangements of the Covenant do SpërceTM and indeed ultimately fatal to the War itself, on these criticisms?

which not oblige us or anyone to League as an effective instrument

In 1914 there were no "League would have to meet the for of peace, and why some, at least entanglements," yet all the Great finally confronted her. If to that nations to do anything whatsoever of the grounds upon which these Powers, including the distant Unit foreknowledge had been added the save this: To refram from at- changes are advocated appear to us ed States and nearly the whole world, conviction that aggression against tacking us, from attacking, that is, which fallacious and to ignore experience. became involved in a war that began Germany by any one of the Allies the defensive combination which

Perhaps the commonest criticism with a murder in a Balkan village. (say Russia) would have entitled League constitutes, 2

belong. to quarrel her assistance--the essence they themselves are free

The international constitution. of the existing commitments of the The fact that so local League is that

effect rapidly spread into a world war was, of the "League" or "Locarno”, „me-

If we is to (1) turn what would obviously, not due to the kind of thod the probability that there like all constitutions, depends upon otherwise be local:

into commitments which opponents of would have been no war becomes Governments keeping faith.

could imagine a British Government Governments world wars; (2) divide Europe article 16 so fear, for those com- stronger still..

doing what so many into two rival alliances, one favour- mitments did not exist. Their ab

have done, failing to vindicate the ing, one opposing revision; (3) sence did not keep the

law when challenged by an armed stereotype an unjust status quo and of war; their existence

THE

H

their

2

WORLD GOES BY By "ULYSSES”

the

The argument that this type of world out arrangement tends to divide Europe the into rival alttances surely ignores and

the fact that rival alliances existed party within the nation, we could long before the League or Locarno say that in a sense the constitution had failed.” In fact, it would be Fundamentally the League was a statesmen who had failed. In any attempt to turn rival alliances into

case, it would be fatal to argue that one alliance by giving them a com- constitutions are no good.” The mon purpose defence of the law of peace, the law that be assured of such assistance in the case of unprovoked attack that at- tack is unlikely to take place. If nations cannot be assured of as sistance on the conditions provided by the League or Locarno type of alliance they will inevitably revert to the older type. A nation deter mined to defend itself in a world of competitive arming can forgo alliances than it can forgo arms Alliances are a source of power which, if adopted by one party to the contest, will sooner or later be adopted by the other.

a nation shall only hope of order and free civilisa- tion would be to vindicate and res- tore the constitution, to stand by it in the future Yours, &,

ERE are some strange stories John Webber, Natal's oldest colo- from many parts of the mist, had died at Durban at the age world, sent by Reuter correspon- of 101. dents:-

*

*

*

Survivor of five. South African for campaigns, a Royal Marine Little Angelo Masci, newly-born four years and eventually a farmer. son of a mechanic in Rome, intends Webber was born in Devonshire in to be a good Fascist.

the reign of William IV.

* * *

He has a birth-mark on his fore- head which is almost a perfect re- Trying to beat the world's prune presentation of the lictors fasces-eating record nearly cost Tom the Fascist emblem.

An elephant with a taste for beer

Tepitch of Sanski Most, Yugoslavia his life..

He bet a friend that he would is reported to have visited a Kaffir eat 300 prunes, the friend took the kraal in the Zambesi Valley, near bet. Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia.

an

only

Tom ate steadily for half The elephant found a but in which hour, washing the prunes down with eight large pots of beer were stor-cold water. When he had eaten 150 ed. He tried one, liked it, and, he became violently ill, and before his thirst was satisfied, immediate attention at the emptied six of the pots.

When last seen, he was stagger- ing into the jungle.

hospital saved his life.

*

* *

no more

the

Pleas that the League is "an in- {strument for crystallising an unjust status quo" usually ignore (a) the fact that the League does not at- tempt to prevent change of status quo but to prevent its change by war (which usually produces a still worse status than the one it locals designed to correct), and (b) the fact that under the older me thods of security peaceful change is John de Silva, Malacca's Munici- still more difficult than under the Girls are much more efficient inpal dog-shooter, and his assistant collective method. The reason of delivered to the Veterinary Inspec- (b) is obvious. Where a State has distinguishing colours than men,

tor seven dogs tails, receiving the nothing but its own power to de according to tests made in Edmon-

usual reward of 10 cents a tail fpend upon for its self-preservation tion, Alberts.

The Inspector's suspicions were, it will retain strategic frontiers Eight per cent" "of the young

however, aroused. He examined even if unjust, aim at economic men in the University there found to be unable to differentiate the tails more closely and found self-suficiency even though at the that they were not all genuine. There cost of friction with its neighbours were only 4 dogs tails, cleverly To aka State,

fearful pasted together.

its security

* * *

were

between red and blue. Only one per cent" of the girls failed.

Charged with criminal breach of trust in respect of 3 rounds of am- munition and cheating in respect of

A coin has been found inside an a egg laid by a hen at Decorah, Iowa.

It was found by Miss Hilda Moen, 30 cents, de Silva was sentenced to who was examining a number of

eggs, the coin was an American

a fine of 34 or one month's

of ritory, or by

ficiency,

tomic

to appease its neighbours,

"quarter," equivalent to and about Prisonment, and his assistant rebut at the same time to tell it that

the same size as a shilling..

→

* *

An alarm clock is being success-

ceived a minor sentence.

* *

*

it must expect no help from those who make the demands if it is at- result of complying When Joseph Gross drove into tacked as the a fully used by a farmer near Inver-Premout, Ohio, and parked his car with them, is to be neither realist cargill, New Zealand, to wake his on its highly illuminated main nor fair. dog and give himself more time street, he did not notice that one in bed in the morning.

ist

Remedy of grievances, "revision," of his hens was asleep on a run- is not an alternative to the policy of

collective security. The latter He used to get up in the morn-ning board. ing and send his dog out to

When he returned to his car, he the condition sine qua non of being the fields to bring the cows in for milk-found an amused crowd gathered able to carry any just revision into

round_it.

effect. To argue that “there can be ing.

justic Then he put an alarm clock in They were watching the hen no security till we

ther that the dog's kennel, making sure that which had woken up, mistaken the invert the

it went off at the moment that he brig

Lights for

shouted to the animal go and laid an egg.

fetch the cows in.

Now the dog accepts the

clock alone

mal to fetch

COZZE home. The

bed.

wher

up, the cows

aside

and we

we

sum of £3,000 has been Bet by the

Government to

fight cockchafers this spring.

This has been announced by the

Ministry of Agriculture in Berlin. State attacks us and

Vyvyan Adams. Allen of Hurtwood. Norman Angell W. Arnold-Forster. Katharine Atholl Violet Bonham Carter. Margery Corbett-Ashby. Leonard F. Behrens: L. J. Cadbury. Cecil

K. D. Courtney. Dickinson.

Sidney R. Drury-Lowe. Maxwell Garnett. Dorothy Gladstone. G. P. Gooch. Ida S: A. Hall, Arthur Henderson. Dorothy Layton, Walter Layton.

Adelaide Livingstone Lytton

J. J. Mallon.

Geoffrey Le M. Mander. Gilbert Murray.

Phillip Noel-Baker. Eleanor Rathbone. Arthur Salter

A G. Walkden. John Withers.

W. Graham-White.

That

HELPI

when the ten through liverish thead