Slavery

Last week the Council of the League assembled at Geneva and began preparations to debate the part of its agenda entitled: The question of procedure to be adopted as regards the conclusion of the proposed convention on slavery.

But the first meeting resulted in adjournment for two days, the reason being that neither the delegate from Spain nor the delegate from Brazil was present. One was "ill, the other had pressing business." The real reason was that Spain and Brazil both demand to be made permanent members of the Council, and the other nations demur. If the strain grows too acute one or both of them may even withdraw from the League--at least that was the talk in Rio de Janiero.

Human slavery exists today in Abyssinia, Tibet, Afghanistan, the Hejaz, Morocco, Tripoli, the Libyan Desert, Rio de Oro, Liberia, China, Arabia, Egypt, the Sudan, Eritrea, French, British and Italian Somaliland, Angola and Mozambique, in most independent Mohammedan States, and in Nepal and the Philippines.

Since 1924 the League of Nations Temporary Slavery Commission has been collecting slave-data. At the September League session (TIME, Sept. 21), the Commission submitted a report; and the League Assembly passed a resolution favoring a "Draft Slavery Convention" or international anti-slavery concordat.

Other items on the agenda were: 1) Consideration of the report formulated by Dr. Unden (Sweden) and Viscount Ishii (Japan) on Security. 2) Examination of the proposal (TIME, June 7) by the Preparatory Disarmament Commission that more extensive powers be granted the Council under the League Covenant for bringing swift aid to an attacked state. 3) Inspection of the report of the Council Committee on the vexed question of whether other nations than Germany should be admitted to the Council at the September session. 4) Debate upon a proposal to curtail the supervision now exercised by the League over Hungarian state finance. 5) Consideration of a motion by Sir Austen Chamberlain requesting modifications in the established procedure of the Council in dealing with petitions from racial minorities.