INTRODUCTORY TABLES xxvii XVI. THE IRISH FREE STATE (See also p. 7 below). The political relations between Great Britain and Ireland, which had been in a state of continuous tension since the foundation of the Home Rule movement in 1870, at once became acute with the outbreak of the Great War. German agents were active in Ireland, and on Easter Monday, 1916, there was a rising in Dublin, the insurgents seizing the Post Office and other public buildings, and proclaiming an Irish Republic. The rebellion was abortive, but the political results were far-reaching. The old Home Rule' party was discredited, and its place taken by the 'Sinn Fein' or physical force party, whose nominees, at the General Election of 1918, swept the country with the exception of the six North-Eastern Counties, where the electors with equal determination declared for continued membership of the United Kingdom. To meet the difficulty a new Government of Ireland Act was passed in 1920, under which separate Parliaments were set up for Southern Ireland (26 counties), and Northern Ireland (6 counties)—the two bodies to choose a joint Council of Ireland,' consisting of forty members, intended as a connecting link. The Ulster Unionists accepted this scheme, and the Northern Parliament was duly elected on May 24, 1921, and opened by the King in person in the following June. The Sinn Fein party, however, refused to work the Act, and their elected members assembled in the Dublin Mansion House and again proclaimed the Republic, with Mr. Edmond de Valera as President. A period of complete chaos followed. The British Government declared the Irish ParliamentDail Eireann-to be an illegal body, made many arrests, suppressed newspapers, and seized the offices, books, papers and funds of the Sinn Fein Association. Sinn Fein, in its turn, formed a body calling itself the Irish Republican Army, and carried on a guerrilla war accompanied by outrage and assassination. At length, after much bloodshed and destruction of property, a truce was declared on July 7, and the British Government and the Government of the Irish Republic' each appointed a Delegation for the purpose of discussing a settlement. After prolonged negotiations eighteen Articles of Agreement were drawn up and duly signed on December 6, 1921, subject to their ratification by Parliament and by Dail Eireann. To prevent the delay involved in the drafting and passing of an Act of Parliament, and the further risk of another outbreak, it was provided that the articles should be at once adopted by both bodies, and a Provisional Government set up in Ireland to carry on for a period not exceeding twelve months, until a legal Administration was ready to take its place. The discussion in the Dail was prolonged and acrimonious, but the Articles were ultimately adopted on January 7, 1922, by a narrow majority. In conse quence of this vote Mr. de Valera resigned his office of President, and Mr. Arthur Griffith was elected in his place. On January 16 the Provisional Government was constituted as follows: Finance and General.-Micheal O Coileain (Michael Collins). Foreign Affairs.-Gavan Duffy. Economic Affairs.-Caoimbghin O Huigin (Kevin Higgins). Labour. Seosamh Mag Crait (Joseph McGrath). Agriculture.—Padraig O Hogain (Patrick Hogan). Education.-Fionan O Loingsigh (Finan Lynch). Local Government.-Liam T. Maccosgair (William Cosgrave). General Post Office.-J. J. Walsh. The old Irish Government, Lord FitzAlan as Lord Lieutenant representing the King, at once recognised the Provisional Government, handed over the public offices at Dublin Castle, and took steps for the transfer by Orders in Council of the necessary powers. The ratifying Act (the Irish Free State (Agreement) Act) required for the legal establishment of the Irish Government, and the Act embodying the terms of the new Irish Free State Constitution, will, it is expected, be passed in the course of the present year. The Bank of Ireland has been appointed the official banker of the Irish Government. The outline laid down in the Articles of Agreement and approved by both sides, contains the following provisions : Ireland to have the status in the community of nations known as the British Empire' of a Self-Governing Dominion and to be called the Irish Free State. Its position in relation to the Imperial Parliament and Government to be that of the Dominion of Canada, and the representative of the crown in Ireland to be appointed in like manner as the Governor-General of Canada. The share of the Free State in the debt of the United Kingdom and other charges to be determined, in default of agreement, by one or more independent persons being citizens of the British Empire.' The Irish Free State to undertake its own coastal defence, the defence by sea of Great Britain and Ireland being undertaken by the Imperial forces: these provisions to be reviewed at the expiration of five years. The Free State to afford in time of war or strained relations' with other powers, such harbour and other facilities as the British Government may require. Ireland may establish a military defence force proportionate to its population. The ports of Great Britain and of Ireland to be freely open to the ships of "the other country" on payment of the customary dues. For one month after the passing of the Act of Parliament constituting the Irish Free State, that State to exercise no powers in respect of Northern Ireland; and if before the expiration of such month both Houses of the Parliament of Northern Ireland pass a resolution to the effect that the powers of the Free State shall not extend to Northern Ireland, then the provisions of the Act of 1920 shall continue to be of full power and effect so far as they relate to Northern Ireland, subject to any necessary modifications. In this case a Commission shall be appointed to determine "in accordance with the wishes of the inhabitants, so far as may be compatible with economic and geographic conditions" the true boundary between Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State. NORTHERN IRELAND (See also p. 7 below). THE Northern Parliament has already declared its intention to maintain its separate existence under the Act of 1920. Under that Act the Government of the territory comprising the six counties of Down, Antrim, Londonderry, Armagh, Tyrone and Fermanagh is entrusted to a Parliament "consisting of His Majesty, the Senate of Northern Ireland, and the House of Commons of Northern Ireland." This Parliament met for the first time in June, 1921, and a Ministry was formed, all necessary powers being INTRODUCTORY TABLES xxix transferred from the Imperial to the Local Government by Orders in Council. The Ministry is constituted as follows: Prime Minister.-Rt. Hon. Sir James Craig, Bt. Home Affairs.-Rt. Hon. Sir R. Dawson Bates. Education.-Rt. Hon. the Marquis of Londonderry. Agriculture and Commerce.-Rt. Hon. E. M. Archdale. The Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland is the Rt. Hon. Denis Henry. Under the Act of 1920 the contribution of Northern Ireland to the Imperial Revenue was fixed for two years at the sum of £7,920,000 a year, subject after that to quinquennial revision by a Joint Exchequer Board. No statement of Income and Expenditure has yet (March, 1922) been presented by either the Northern or the Southern Finance Minister. The powers of the Parliament and Government of Northern Ireland are wholly domestic. It has no power to deal with or to alter the Imperial regulations relating to such matters as naturalisation, domicile, trade with any place outside Northern Ireland, merchant shipping, coinage, legal tender, negotiable instruments, weights and measures, trade marks, copyright or patents. The Government of the Irish Free State has all the powers of a SelfGoverning Dominion. For further information of the 1920 Act, see p. 7 below. XVII. THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS. (1) The League of Nations is an association of States which have pledged themselves, through signing the Covenant (ie., the constitution of the League) [For the text of the Covenant, see THE STATESMAN'S YEAR BOOK for 1921, page xxviii], not to go to war before submitting their disputes with each other or States not members of the League to arbitration and a delay of from three to nine months. Furthermore, any State violating this pledge is automatically in a state of outlawry with the other States, which are bound to sever all economic and political relations with the defaulting meniber. The States members of the League have pledged themselves to co-operate over a wide range of economic, social, humanitarian and labour questions. The League of Nations formally came into existence on January 10, 1920, through the coming into force at that date of the Treaty of Versailles. The two official languages of the League are English and French. The seat of the League is Geneva, Switzerland. I. MEMBERSHIP. The following 29 States became original members of the League owing to ratification of one or other of the Peace Treaties: The following 13 States became original members through accession to the Covenant under the invitation contained in the annex to the Covenant: On December 16, 1920, the first Assembly admitted the following six States to membership of the League : On September 22, 1921, the second Assembly admitted the following three States to membership of the League : The primary organs of the League are the Council, Assembly and Secretariat. The Council consists of the Great Powers members of the League, i. e. France, Great Britain, Italy and Japan, and four other powers selected by the Assembly-at present Belgium, Brazil, China and Spain. Each power has one representative and one vote on the Council. All the members of the League have one vote and not more than three representatives in the Assembly of the League. The members of the Council and Assembly act as the representatives of their Governments. Both the Council and Assembly may deal at their meetings with any matter within the sphere of action of the League or affecting the peace of the world.' Members of the League must submit disputes to the Council of the Assembly. Resolutions of the Assembly or Council must be unanimous, except on matters of procedure (voted by a simple majority), the admission of new members (two-thirds majority of the Assembly), and amendments to the Covenant (a three-fourths majority of the Assembly, including all the members of the Council). The Council must meet at least once a year, and has in practice met 16 times during the last two years of the League's existence. The first Assembly decided that the Assembly was to ineet on the first Monday in every September, and the second Assembly accordingly met on September 5, 1921. The Council and Assembly are two independent bodies, with many common and some distinct functions. The Covenant has left their relations undefined, to be adjusted in practice, but in general it may be said that the Council is an executive and initiative organ, and the Assembly a deliberative body, controlling and laying down the lines of general League policy. The members of the Council are: (Temporary) M. Paul Hymans (Belgium), ex-Minister for Foreign Affairs. (Temporary) M. Gastao da Cunha (Brazil), Ambassador to Paris). (Temporary) Mr. Wellington Koo (China), Minister to London. (Permanent) M. Léon Bourgeois (France), President of the Senate. (Permanent) Sir Arthur J. Balfour, K.G. (Great Britain), ex-Prime Minister, exForeign Minister, President of the Privy Council. (Permanent) The Marquis Imperiali (Italy), ex-Ambassador to London, Senator. (Permanent) Viscount K. Ishii (Japan), Ambassador to Paris. (Temporary) M. Quinones de Leon (Spain), Ambassador to Paris. 1 The delegation of the Argentine Republic did not attend the second Assembly and withdrew from the first Assembly upon the latter's decision to refer the amendment to Article 1 of the Covenant proposed by the Argentine, for study by a committee that was to report to the second Assembly. The Argentine Government has not given notice of an intention to leave the League, and appears to regard itself as in a state of suspended or passive membership, to continue until some measure regarded as a satisfactory equivalent to the amendment proposed by the Argentine has been adopted by the League. 2 Signed the treaties concerning protection of national minorities as a condition of their entry into the League. The following States are not yet members of the League :- United States, Germany, Russia, Turkey, Egypt, Hungary, Ecuador, Mexico. INTRODUCTORY TABLES (b) SECRETARIAT-GENERAL. xxxi The Secretariat-General is a permanent body of officials, appointed by and responsible to the Secretary-General, and constituting a sort of international Civil Service. The Secretariat acts as a link between the various organs of the League. The Secretariat is responsible for the archives of the League, collects the information, makes all the arrangements for, and prepares the agenda of the meetings of all League bodies, and watches over the execution of the decisions taken at these meetings. The Secretariat numbers 350 men and women. The present Secretary-General (appointed under the annex to the Covenant) is Sir James Eric Drummond, K.C. M.G., C. B. There are three Under-Secretaries-General: M. Jean Monnet (French, Deputy Secretary-General), Professor B. Attolico (Italian), and Dr. Inazo Nitobé (Japanese); seven Directors of Sections: Sir Herbert Ames (Canadian), Dr. J. A. van Hamel (Dutch), Mr. F. H. Nixon (English, temporary), M. Pierre Comert and Prof. P. Mantoux (French), M. Erik Colban (Norwegian), and M. W. E. Rappard (Swiss). Three Heads of Departments: 1 French, 1 Polish, 1 Swiss, and 42 Members of Sections, of whom 1 Belgian, 1 Canadian, 1 Chinese, 2 Czech, 2 Danish, 2 Dutch, 8 English. 6 French, 1 Greek, 6 Italian, 1 Japanese, 2 Polish, 3 Spanish, 3 Swedish, 1 Swiss, 2 Yugo-Slav. III. SECONDARY ORGANS. The League also includes several secondary organisations, whose purpose it is to prepare and carry on (with the advice and approval of the Council and Assembly, and through the Secretariat) international co-operation in non-political fields. A list of these secondary organisations and their functions is given herewith, but does not include the temporary ad hoc agents and commissions the Council and Assembly have appointed from time to time to carry out a given piece of work or conduct some special investigation or enquiry. (a) THE TECHNICAL ORGANISATIONS. These organisations-(1) Economic and Financial, (2) Health, (3) Transit and (4) Labourare in principle modelled on the League as a whole, i. e. each consists of a standing commission (corresponding to the Council, even to the permanent representation on it of the four great powers, members of the League), a plenary conference (corresponding to the Assembly), and a Secretariat, which forms a section of the Secretariat-General. These organisations prepare their own agenda, convoke their own conferences, and communicate the results of their labours to the members of the League. In each instance, however, the Council must first approve the proposed agenda or conference, or communication to a member of the League, subject to an appeal to the Assembly. The Assembly is, in any case, to be informed of all questions dealt with in the interval between its meetings by the Council, either at the initiative of the Council or by request of one of its members or one of the technical organisations. (1) Provisional Economic and Financial Organisation. The Provisional, Economic and Financial Organisation was constituted by the first Assembly. Both the Brussels Conference and the first Assembly considered it advisable to wait before putting the work of this organisation on a permanent basis, until the economic and financial outlook of the world became a little clearer and more stable, and meanwhile to appoint a provisional commission to do essential work. This commission has as yet summoned no conference. It is divided into an economic and a financial sub-committee, whose members are respectively: Chairman of the Financial and Economic Commission:- Economic Sub-Committee. M. J. A. BARBOZA CARNEIRO (Brazil). M. D. SERRUYS (France). Sir H. LLKWELLYN SMITH, K.C.B. (United M. T. SEKIBA (Japan). Dr. LUIGI DELLA TORRE (Italy). Chevalier FERNAND DE WOUTERS Financial Sub-Committee. M. J. AVENOL (France). Comm. C. BIANCHINI (Italy). Sir B. BLACKETT, K.C.B. (United Kingdom). M. OMER LEPREUX (Belgium). M. C. E. TER MEULEN (Holland). Dr. WILEM POSPISIL (Cz. Slov.). |