While no formal resolution was passed by the League of Nations Council on the subject of the British proposal that, each nation should recover its liberty of action in regard to the recognition of the conquest of Ethiopia it is clear that the proposal ha the support of the majority of the member of the Council, and there is very little re son ta doubt that the British thesis favnd acceptance. The most pathetic feature of the proceedings was the attendance of the Emperor of Abyssinia, and the moving plea put forward on his behalf by the Ethiopian delegate. "We do not expect material assistance, but we ask! that Ethiopia be allowed to remain among you as, an image of violated rights." The League will ultimately have to consider whether the delegates representing Haile Selassie are to be allowed to attend future sessions of the League, and when the point comes up for consideration there will probably be much heartburning. For those individual members of the League which have alr cognized the Italian conquest, and those others which are bound to do so in the very near future will be unable logically to agree to the further attendance of the Ethiopian delegation, for its retention of membership would amount to a denial of the very recognition which Italy seeks and which so man, nations are now ready to accord. It obvious that Italy will not be <atigfied with any modified recognition as the continued presence of the Ethiopian delegation at the League's sessions would entail, and when the matter comes up for discussion there will ko only one decision possible, and that is that Ethiopia as such. must cease to be a member of the League. It is perhaps just as well that this should be so, for a continuance of membership would be a very embarrassing futility and an uncomfortable reminder of the sins of the past The whole business leaves a very nasty taste in the mouth, and reemphasizes the gcvater wisdom which would have sought to adjust Ttalo Abyssinian differences along some such lines as the Hoare-Laval scheme It is a sorry business when principles have to give place to expedients, but conditions are such in the world at this present day that matters have to be looked at through realistic and not idealistic glasses The high ideals which inspired the framers of the Covenant of the League were thwarted by the draftsmanship of those holding them. It had in it the seeds of that decay which is so woefully apparent now, and a genera], failure to perceive that fact is largely responsible for the departure of so many members, and the lack of complete unity amongst those who still adhere to it. Nevertheless, if there is to be any question of adhering to principles which are not now so generally accepted—and that no matter how true they may be—and the possibility of a general disruption of the present very unstable peace, there can be only one answer. If the statesmen of Europe have to choose between principles and the possibility of war there is only one way the choice can go, That is the choice which Mr. Chamberlain has made. The original declaration did not have the effect it was hoped it would have; it failed to divert Italy from her course. The result is that in the main the conquest of Abyssinia is an accomplished fact, and can be made no less real by any endeavour to refuse to recognize it. It is readily admitted that this is a very cynical manner of looking at the matter, but the endeavour to establish an effective system of international morality has for the moment, failed and the nations of the world have been, forced to equip themselves with very long spoons. The original mistake was that Ethiopia was ever allowed to believe that members of the League would give her the support she required. They could not in fact do so. What little they were able to do was ineffectual, and all that ¥emained to do was to make the best of a very bad job. That this means the administering of a quietus to any hopes which Ethiopia expects of further assistance from the League is one of those regrettable facts which have to be faced. On the other hand it must be remembered that the decisions of the League are not at any time to be regarded as the law of the Medes and Persians; different conditions may require modifications of judgment, and though in this case there is an unpleasant degree of unpalatability about the matter the facts have to be accepted as they are.
Lord Halifax in his speech before the Council reaffirmed Great Britain's loyalty to the principles underlying the League; he neither sought to approve or condone what Italy had done in Abyssinia. His point, that no cause was served by vain lamentations of the past when the future required the resources of constructive minds, is well taken. So also is his contention that "It is not right to exclude the possibility of taking steps to secure the measure of good results for world peace that is within our power, because it is unfeasible to secure full international acceptance of the high ideals for which the League stands." In those few words there is much significance. They mean that certain nations are obliged to follow roads, along which they would rather not travel, because others choose to do so. It is hoped by some people that when more stable conditions are reached in the world it will be possible to set about the re-erection of a new moral structure. The necessity is there, and in many cases the inclination. That inclination may prove even stronger when a general appeasement has been effected, and the ambitions of certain countries met as far as it is possible. For humanity does not want to fight. Statesmen do not want to, though they are often forced to do so because of circumstances which have passed beyond their control, But if that new edifice is ever constructed it will have to be on much different lines than the League, which, despite its many failures, has much to its credit. It will have to be so reconstructed that it will be impossible again to allege that it was created for the enforcement of peace treaties, and will probably have to operate along lines much different from those which early enthusiasms conceived possible. The day will come when high ideals will again prevail in the world. They may for the moment be obscured by all that has happened in the past, but expedients can at the most be but temporary solvents of immediate difficulties, while ideals still have the quality of immortality.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.