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1928. NE W ZEALAND.

THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS. REPORT OF THE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE DOMINION OF NEW ZEALAND ON THE EIGHTH ASSEMBLY OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS, HELD AT GENEVA IN THE YEAR 1927.

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Command of His Excellency.

EIGHTH ASSEMBLY OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS. New Zealand Government Offices, Sir, — 415, Strand, London W.C. 2, 30th September, 1927. I have the honour to advise you that the Eighth Assembly of the League of Nations opened at Geneva on Monday, sth September. Opening of Proceedings and Election of President. The proceedings began with a speech by M. Villegas, the Acting-President of the Council of the League, who occupied the chair pending the election of the President. The Assembly's choice for this office fell upon M. Alberto Guani, principal delegate for Uruguay, who received twenty-four votes. Arrangements for the Conduct of Business. The agenda of the session is Document A. 2 (1), the items of which, with one exception, were divided into groups and referred for discussion and report to the following six committees composed of delegates or their substitutes : —- Committee No. 1 : Legal and constitutional questions. Committee No. 2 : Technical organizations of the League. Committee No. 3 : Reduction of armaments. Committee No. 4 : Budget and financial questions. Committee No. 5 : Social and general questions. Committee No. 6 : Political questions. Item No. 14, " To consider what questions are and what are not within the sphere of action of the League," was withdrawn from the agenda, as the British Government, which had introduced the motion last year, had since expressed a wish for its further adjournment. Representation of New Zealand. The programme of work of the Assembly is based on the assumption that each country is represented by three delegates ; and bare justice can be done only if this number is available, as the committees usually meet in groups of three alternately. As sole delegate for New Zealand I nominated myself to serve on all committees, and placed my Private Secretary, Mr. Knowles, as a substitute on Committees Nos. 2, 4, and 5, at the same time deciding that when, as would frequently happen, two committees of which either the one or the other was a member were called together at the same time, the meeting should be attended at which the more important subject was'to be discussed. Election of Officers of the Assembly. On the afternoon of the sth September there was a short adjournment to enable the committees to elect their Chairmen. The choice was —As Chairman of Committee No. 1, M. Adatci (Japan); as Chairman of Committee No. 2, M. Dandurand (Canada) ; as Chairman of Committee No. 3, M. Benes (Czecho-Slovakia) ; as Chairman of Committee No. 4, M. van Eysinga (Netherlands) ; as Chairman of Committee No. 5, M. Hambro (Norway); as Chairman of Committee No. 6 M. Bech (Luxemburg).

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