10

A REVISION OF THE TREATY

CHAP.

of this decision. It is believed in Germany thatsubterranean influence brought to bear by France contributed to the result. I doubt if this was amaterial factor, except that the officials of the Leaguewere naturally anxious, in the interests of the Leagueitself, to produce a solution which would not be afiasco through the members of the Council of theLeague failing to agree about it amongst them-selves ; which inevitably imported a certain bias infavour of a solution acceptable to France . The de-cision raises, I think, much more fundamental doubtsabout this method of settling international affairs.

Difficulties do not arise in simple cases. TheLeague of Nations will be called in where there is aconflict between opposed and incommensurable claims.A good decision can only result by impartial, dis-interested, very well-informed and authoritativepersons taking everything into account. Since Inter-national Justice is dealing with vast organic unitsand not with a multitude of small units of whichthe individual particularities are best ignored andleft to average themselves out, it cannot be thesame thing as the cut - and - dried lawyer's justiceof the municipal court. It will be a dangerouspractice, therefore, to entrust the settlement ofthe ancient conflicts now inherent in the tangledstructure of Europe , to elderly gentlemen fromSouth America and the far Asiatic East, whowill deem it their duty to extract a strict legal