§ Mr. BUXTONasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, in urging in the Fourth Committee of the League of Nations a reduction of the expenditure of the League by £40,000, the British delegate was acting upon precise recommendations made by the Treasury; if so, whether such recommendations were formulated as the result of a Cabinet decision; and whether he will publish them for the information of the House?
Mr. LOCKER-LAMPSONThe resolution which was put forward by the British delegate, owing in part to the Report of the Supervisory Commission that not all the moneys asked for in the estimates could be spent in the forthcoming year, was to the effect that the budget should be referred back to the Supervisory Commission who should be requested (1) to re-examine the budget with a view to finding economies, taking into account the suggestions made by the members of the Fourth Committee in the debate on this resolution; (2) to schedule such economies as it can thus suggest, in order of the importance of the services, up to a total of 1,000,000 francs; in order that the Fourth Committee, in the light of the technical work carried out by the Supervisory Commission, may consider all the questions of policy involved and, after consultation, if necessary with other committees, recommend to the Assembly what economies ought to be effected. This resolution was proposed by the British delegate after consultation with his expert advisers. The matter was not referred to the Cabinet and there are therefore no recommendations to publish.