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status of a judgment of that body on the question of Palestine. On the other hand, the new proposals for trusteeship, which the United States Government now advocated, not only seemed to imply the abandonment of the lessons of previous United Nations study, but also lacked provision for the enforcement which, since they appeared to be unacceptable to Jews as well as Arabs, would still be necessary. Thus they represented no advancement on the partition plan. While, therefore, the New Zealand Government examined the trusteeship proposals with an open mind, being anxious to consider any solution which might have a reasonable chance of being accepted by both parties and thus restoring peace and order in Palestine, their first reaction was that the proposals were inadequate and unlikely to be effective. As they also represented a departure from a decision on the Palestine question which the United Nations had made only a few months before, the New Zealand Government were further concerned at the possibility that the proposals might seriously affect the prestige and standing of the United Nations. This was the situation at 31 March, 1948, the end of the period covered by this report.* 2. Former Italian Colonies Negotiations on the future of these North and East African territories are recorded in the paragraphs in the section on Europe which deals with the Italian peace treaty. THE UNITED NATIONS 1. The General Assembly (A) Second Regular Session of the General Assembly All members of the United Nations, at present 58, are represented on the General Assembly. Each member has one vote in the Assembly, but may send to its sessions five representatives, five alternate representatives, and as many advisers and experts as it considers necessary. The regular annual sessions of the Assembly, which usually last five to eight weeks, begin on the third Tuesday in September. Special sessions may also be convened, and two have been held to consider the question of Palestine. Each regular session opens with a general debate, during which the head of almost every delegation gives a speech outlining the approach of his delegation to the questions on the agenda of the session. The items on the agenda are then referred to the Committees of the Assembly. The Committees report back resolutions

* Later developments are recorded in the report of the New Zealand delegation to the second special session of the General Assembly, printed as Publication No. 61. (A-2A, 1948).