A.—sd.

Constitution, Procedure and Practice op Committees of the League op Nations. The report brought before the Council by the representative of France (Document C. 56, 1938, VIII) is concerned with the composition and appointment of the Committee for Communications and Transit, one of the standing committees of the League. The question had been referred to a committee of experts which had failed to agree, and a small committee of the Council had been set up to solve the various problems. Fortunately, the Council committee was able to reach unanimity, although the representative of Belgium would have preferred certain adjustments. The conclusions reached by the committee and the Council are contained in the annex to Document C. 56, 1938, VIII, and to this I refer you. The Rapporteur's own report to the Council (Document C. 64, 1938, VIII) deals with this matter and also with a note by the Secretary-General (Document C. 8,1938). On the former question the Council passed the following resolution : — " The Council—- " Having regard to the Assembly's resolution of October 10th, 1936, empowering the Council to draw up and approve on its behalf the new Statute of the Communications and Transit Organization ; " Having taken note of the draft of that statute and its annex and the explanatory report drawn up by the Special Committee of Experts ; " Having taken note of the report of the Council Committee, which has agreed on the text of certain provisions of Article 4 of the draft statute on which the Special Committee failed to reach unanimity and certain provisions of Article 5 which required modification in the light of the new text of Article 4 ; " Adopts the conclusions of its Rapporteur ; " Approves, in view of the aforesaid resolution of the Assembly, the new Statute of the Communications and Transit Organization and the Rules of Procedure for General and Limited Conferences on Communications and Transit thereto annexed, these texts to come into force as from to-day ; " Requests the Assembly, at its ordinary session in 1938, to proceed to the elections provided for in Article 4 of the statute, as to enable the Council to nominate the members of the Committee for Communications and Transit at a subsequent session, and if possible at its session in January, 1939 ; " Draws the attention of Governments to the fact that the Assembly at its next ordinary session and those which will be held at the end of each three-year period, as from 1938, will be required to discharge the functions hitherto performed by the ordinary General Conferences of the Communications and Transit Organization, and expresses the hope that the delegations at such sessions will include members specially qualified to deal with the questions falling within the organization's competence." The draft statute for the Organization for Communications and Transit forms an annex to the Rapporteur's report. On the latter question (the note of the Secretary-General) the Council accepted the SecretaryGeneral's suggestion in regard to two committees which had not met for two years— (1) That the Committee of Thirteen set up for the purpose of proposing methods to render the League covenant more effective in the organization of collective security should be abolished, as this question was likely to be dealt with by the committee appointed to study the application of the principles of the covenant. (2) That no decision should be taken in regard to the advisory committee set up to follow the dispute between Bolivia and Paraguay, as this committee had been constituted by the Assembly. It should be noted that at this private meeting the Council postponed to its next session consideration of the Item " Treaty of Mutual Guarantee between Germany, Belgium, France, Great Britain, and Italy." The Council then went into public session. Co-ordination op the Work entrusted to the Economic and Financial Organization of the League of Nations. The Assembly of 1937, seized with the importance of the functions of these two organs of the League, requested the Council to co-ordinate their work by appropriate means. The members of the Council who acted as Rapporteurs on economic and financial questions (the delegates of Poland and Sweden), in association with the representative of France, proposed that the question be referred to the committee set up (at the private meeting just, terminated) to consider the structure and functions of the Economic and Financial Organization. The following resolution was passed by the Council : — " The Council — "1. Takes note of the resolution adopted by the Assembly on October 4th, 1937, requesting it to co-ordinate the work entrusted to the Economic and Financial Organization ; " 2. Refers this question to the committee set up to consider the structure and functions of the Economic and Financial Organization ; " 3. Requests, that committee to submit its recommendations on the subject in time for the Council to consider them at its next ordinary session." (Document C. 62, 1938, II.)

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