Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 11 Jul 1933

Vol. 48 No. 16

In Committee on Finance. - Vote No. 67—League of Nations.

The President

I move:

Go ndeontar suim ná raghaidh thar £8,780 chun slánuithe na suime is gá chun íoctha na suime is gá chun íoctha an Mhuirir a thiocfaidh chun bheith iníoctha i rith an bliana dar críoch an 31adh lá de Mhárta, 1934, chun Deontas i gCabhair do Chostaisí Chumann na Náisiún, agus chun Costaisí eile mar gheall air sin.

That a sum not exceeding £8,780 be granted to complete the sum necessary to defray the Charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1934, for a Grant-in-Aid of the Expenses of the League of Nations, and for other Expenses in connection therewith.

It will be seen that there is an increase of £594 on this Vote as compared with the 1932-3 Vote. The total contribution of the Irish Free State towards the upkeep of the League of Nations is 3,364 gold francs, or in Saorstát currency £19,305, £14,193 of which is provided for in this Vote and £5,112 in the Vote for the Department of Industry and Commerce, page 240 of the Estimate Book. In respect of the International Labour Bureau of the League, of the total contribution of £19,305 as provided, £6,205 is in respect of loss on exchange due to the fact that Saorstát currency is not on a gold basis. Additional provision had to be made this year under the travelling and incidental sub-head for the expenses of the delegation to the World Economic Conference in London.

Mr. MacDermot

I was hoping that somebody else would speak, but as the Vote seems on the point of going through I should like to say first of all that I am very strongly in favour of this country keeping up an active interest in the League of Nations, and I am very glad that any cold water which the present Administration may have been disposed to throw on it when they were not in power is apparently a thing of the past. I just want to ask this question. As the President is keeping up a lively interest in the League of Nations, has there, since the outbreak of what we call the economic war with England, been nothing that he could do at Geneva to get the subject of that dispute brought before such a court as the Hague Court? Could he not make any sort of move in that direction? If he could have had, I wonder if he would give us any explanation as to why no activity has been shown in that matter.

Mr. Esmonde

I should like to support what Deputy MacDermot has said. I think the President will find that even if the League of Nations cannot adjudicate, even if a court cannot adjudicate on this matter except with the consent of both parties, still a court could give an advisory opinion. It has given advisory opinions on other matters without the consent of both parties. If an advisory opinion were given, say, on the question of the land annuities perhaps at any rate that much would be out of the way. With regard to the general policy of the League of Nations, I wish the President would give us a general statement, seeing that I suppose it will not be in our life-time again that the head of the Irish Free State will preside at the League of Nations. I think the President's statement at the opening of the Assembly met with the general approval of everybody in this country as to its general lines, although there were some references he made which perhaps would not meet with approval.

For instance, when he, from a high and mighty position as President of the League of Nations, announced with rather a pathetic accent that he did not consider himself as being free, I would like to know what further position he should be in in order to be free. I do not know but apparently as President of the League of Nations he was not sufficiently free. Furthermore, his action with regard to the dispute in the East, I suppose, was taken as a result of the General Council and not as his personal opinion. I saw a large headline in the papers "Senator Connolly warns Japan" and other statements of that kind. I certainly did not approve of the President's action in persecuting the unfortunate people of Manchukuo. Certainly if he did represent the Council on that matter he did not represent me.

An Ceann Comhairle

The Vote is agreed to?

Mr. MacDermot

Would the President answer that question?

The President

I do not know exactly what question I am called upon to answer. I think our activities at Geneva were matters of public knowledge and I do not know that there would be any particular purpose in our repeating here what happened at Geneva. The annual report of the League of Nations will give us the whole matter and Deputies who are interested will get all the information that is necessary. I do not think any good purpose could be served by going back over that again.

Mr. MacDermot

The question I referred to was why nothing was initiated at Geneva with regard to our action——

The President

I think the proper answer to that would be that I do not think any good purpose was going to be served by attempting to initiate action there.

Vote put and agreed to.