§ Lord R. CECIL (by Private Notice)asked the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs when the Treaty of Versailles will come into force, and when and where the first meeting of the Council of the League of Nations will take place?
Mr. HARMSWORTHIt is hoped that the Treaty may be ratified on the 11th November, in which case it would come into force as from that date. My Noble Friend is aware that under Article 5 of the Covenant of the League of Nations, the first meeting of the Council of the League is to be convened by the President of the United States of America; and as to the time and place that will be selected I am unable to anticipate the President's decision. I might, however, observe that Article 48 of the Treaty of Peace with Germany necessitates the meeting of the Council within fifteen days of the coming into force of the Treaty, for the purpose of selecting three out of five members of the Commission for the delimitation of the Saar Basin.