Tae Rose ro Wax Being an Anal Prepared he. National yotigt Government pa This book, published under the auspices of the New Fabian Society, is a critical analysis and indictment of the foreign policy of the National. Government and a continuation up {to March 1997 of a previous volume entitled "Inquest on Peace" which covered the period from 1931 to 1035. Although definitely partisan it is detailed and well-documented review very ably written by a small group Jof experts who are. evidently very well informed en their respective subjects.
The criticism is based on the alti tude of the Labour Party and—as Peace Ballot of 1994 showed—tha of a large body of public opinion that the system of collective security based. on the treaty obligations of Articles 10-17 of the Covenant should be sirietly upheld at the risk of the Jobligation to go to war against @eclared aggressor. The National Government has deciared that in its interpretation of the Covenant there is no automatic obligation to take military action and that no nation can be expected to go to war save where its vital Interests are at stake. The Government is accused of having. reduced its obligations to scraps of paper and to have created a drift to war as world besee cannot depend jupon the judgment of any government whose policy might be prompted by special motives end sympathies.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.