§ Mr. MANDERasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what were the reasons which influenced the British delegate, last September, to support the holding of meetings of the Council of the League of Nations on three occasions in the year instead of four, as at present; and whether this decrease in activity is intended as permanent?
Mr. HENDERSONIn recent years it has happily been the practice of many States members of the Council to be represented by their Foreign Secretaries, who can only leave their respective countries at considerable inconvenience to themselves and to the work of their Departments. In the circumstances it is clearly desirable to reduce the number of sessions of the Council provided that it can be done without impairing the efficiency of that body. In supporting the proposal of the late Dr. Stresemann for a reduction in the number of sessions from four to 3 I said that if experience showed that three sessions a year were not adequate I should support a proposal to revert to the old system.