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NEW ZEALAND'S REPRESENTATION OVERSEAS 1. General Last year's annual report outlined the reasons for and certain consequences of the Government's policy of confining New Zealand's overseas representation to the minimum required for the effective protection of the country's economic and security interests. It also noted that these posts have the additional duties of interpreting the policy and actions of the New Zealand Government to the Government to which they are accredited, of keeping the New Zealand Government fully informed of the policy and actions of the other Government and of the reasons which motivated them, and of interpreting the way of life and the outlook of the New Zealand people to the people among whom they are stationed. The following sections report upon the work of each of the seven chief posts which New Zealand maintains overseas. One has been added to last year's number—namely, the Permanent Delegation of New Zealand to the United Nations ; this, however, is an expansion and change in emphasis of an older post, the office of the New Zealand representative on the Economic and Social Council. The total staffs of all kinds at Ottawa, Canberra, Moscow, and Washington remain unchanged; for reasons which the accompanying reports will detail, it has been necessary to increase the staff at London by eighteen, to 183, and at the combined office in New York by five, to 11. A full list of New Zealand's overseas posts, with the names of the senior staff, is given in the March issue of the Department's publication " List of Overseas Representatives in New Zealand and New Zealand Representatives Overseas." By the standards of other countries the staffs of New Zealand's overseas posts, like her delegations to conferences, are very small; and still must cover very much the same ground. This makes great demands on their energy, demands which are increased when, to save the expense of sending delegations from New Zealand, the senior and clerical staff are detached, sometimes for many months, to attend nearby conferences which have importance to New Zealand but little direct relation to the primary purposes of the post. This practice must inevitably continue, but its effects upon the efficiency of the posts, and not seldom upon the well-being of their staffs, cannot be ignored. 2. Office of the High Commissioner for New Zealand, United Kingdom A general increase in the many and varied activities of the Office of the High Commissioner for New Zealand in the United Kingdonj has been apparent during the year ended 31 March, 1948. This has