MEXICO AND THE LEAGUE.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIII, Issue 19, 19 December 1932, Page 6

MEXICO AND THE LEAGUE.

After membership of the League of Nations since September of last year, Mexico has announced her withdrawal in two years for economic reasons. If an improvement is shown before that time, she is prepared to reconsider the matter. The invitation to Mexico and its prompt acceptance in September, 1981, were events of undoubted significance in the League’s history. When the Twelfth Assembly opened early in that month, .Britain, Trance, Germany, Italy, Japan and Spain offered the following resolution: “Considering that Mexico is not mentioned in the annex to the Covenant among the list of nations invited to adhere, and considering that, in all fairness, the League should remedy this omission so contrary to its spirit, the Assembly recognises that Mexico should be invited to adhere and give the League its useful collaboration as it should have been invited at the beginning.” The resolution was adopted the next day and a few hours later Mexico accepted the invitation which her Senate had ratified within 48 hours of the Assembly’s opening. Coincidently, Mexico affirmed that she did not recognise the Monroe Doctrine which is referred to in Article XXI. of the Covenant. In this way what was really a wrong to Mexico was righted. Tor twelve years she had remained aloof from the League because she was not among 1 the nations originally invited to membership. At the time neither the United States nor Britain recognised the Mexican Government, but the real reason has been held to lie in the animosity between President Wilson and President Carranza, due to the crisis over American petroleum rights in Mexico, and to President Carranza’s German leanings during the World War. The strained relations between the United States and her neighbour during- the war will be recollected, and President Wilson no doubt influenced Great Britain in leaving Mexico off the list of invited nations. In 1923 Mexico was asked to participate in the League, but refused for the reason that her Government was still not recognised by Great Britain. It was left to the Twelfth Assembly, in the words of Viscount Cecil who was present representing Britain at the drafting of the Covenant, “to remedy an omission which should never have been made.” As membership of all Powers great and large in the League is essential for a peaceful world, it will be hoped that Mexico will not be impelled to implement her de-

cision two years hence.