Geneva, Sept. 11. 66QXREAT Britain will be second to none in her intention to fulfil, within the measure of her capacity, obligations which the Covenant of the League of Nations lays upon her."
This declaration was made toby Sir Samuel Hoare, British Foreign Secretary and chief Bri delegate, in a speech before the League Assembly defining Great Britain's attitude towards the Italo-Abyssinian dispute.
Sir Samuel began his speech at 11.12 a.m, Addressing a hushed Assembly, he declared that it was unjust and dangerously misleading to suggest that Great Britain was animated by a lower motive than fidelity to the League, and that even this fidelity could not be relied upon. On the contrary, he declared, the attitude of the British Government had always to the League of Nations, and, in ing that rule.
"The recent response of public opinion in Great Britain," he stated, "Shows how completely "the nation supports the Government in' full [acceptance of its League membership as, the keynote of its foreign policy."
Collective security," he continued, is a complex conception meaning much more than what is commonly known as sanctions. It "means not merely "Article XVI, but the whole [Covenant of the Leaiue of Nations, trid scrupulous respect for all treaty "it is based freely on accepted! fundamental obligations "to submit disputes to peaceful methods of Seltlement according to. the—procedure provided by the League "Pinally, there is the obligation of collective action to. terminate war in the event of a member resort= ing thereto in disregard of the Covenant.
"At the burden of Covenant obligations is to be borne, it must be borne feollectively. The security of many feannot be ensured solely bythe efforts of a few, however powerful.
"Something must be done." the British Foreign Secretary. continued, "to remove the causes from which been one of unwavering fidelity the present case, it was continu-many empty chairs at our table. We want no more."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.