The sun., 1919-10-08

national relations the British Empire,
or commonwealth as he styles 1t here,
will enter the League of Nations, IL
the Treaty Of Versailles becomes valid,
not as a single Government like the
United States, like France, like Italy,
like Japan, but rs plural entity, a
league within league; a congerles of
nationalities separate and Independent
for the first time in the sense Of abb
solute autonomy In the matter of ex-
ternal relations, but acting together
under a single Imperial flag and bound
together in common purpose against
the rest of the larger League by bonds
Of imperial sentiment and patriotic
allegiance which they themselves
would be the quickest to recognize
a league, we say, as Sir ROBERT BoR-
DEN says, within the League
The league within the League thus
described by Sir ROBERT BORDEN as
possessing a status and exercising o
representative vote in the Assembly
on par with the other slgnatory
Powers, and not to be distinguished,
ms he says, from the other signatory
Powers In this respect. consists at the
outset of these six original members:
l. The British EmplrS
2. Canada;
3. Australia;
4. South Africa
8. New Zealand;
Q. India.
There is a readily conceivable al
though decidedly not perfect anal
ogy to the triumph of interior league
building achieved at Paris with LLOYD
GEORGES approval by Sir ROBERT BoR-
DEN through the Canadian delegates,
Minister DoHERrY and Minister SIF-
TON, and with the assistance of Prime
Minister HUGHES of Australia and
General SHUTS and the other repre-
sentatives Of the outlying nationali-
ties Of the British system. This con-
celvable parallel would have been af-
forded by President WILSON'S sue
cess-supposing him to have been i'm
pelled to the effort by sudden resur-
gence Of devotion to the old doctrine
Of State sovereignty-in securing Pre-
mier CLEMENCEAU's and Premier
LLOYD GEORGES assent to an arrange
ment by which every one of the forty
eight States In our Union of States
should have its representatives and
it's vote In the Assembly of the League
Of Nations. We are aware that our
written Constitution takes away from
the States the power to appear and
speak in international matters. while
the unwritten British Constitution
does not bar the Dominions from that
function, although, up to this time
precedent and practice have done so.
Our parallel may be little strained
in this respect, but perhaps not more
so than that the conception of nation
hood which leads Sir ROBERT BORDEN
at least by implication-to put self
governed Canada and imperlally gov
erned India in the same class.
We may also note the not unim-
portant circumstance that the British
league within a league promises to
grow larger and numerically stronger
in its voting power. Without dis
cussing the propriety of adding at
present to this vote OF six the vote
which is to be cast In the Assembly
by the new and independent Kingdom
of Hedjaz, six is practically alr-d.iy
swollen to seven by the disclosure OF
Great Brltain's new, and from her
point Of view highly opportune treaty
with Persia. AS Senator MCCORMICK
pointed out in orr Senate on Monday,
the benevolent assimilation of Persia
by Britain is as clearly indicated in
the compact rushed through before
the League prohibition can become
operative as was the benevolent as
similatlon and ultimate absorption of
Egypt by England's steady policy
since 1881 and the days of AHMED
ARAB.
Now, Persia is by the covenant an
original member of the League of
Nations-the larger and exterior
league. From events which have oc-
Cured almost unnoticed in the
shadow Of the general situation 1t
would appear that the British Gov
ernment, with it's accustomed sharp
eye to the main chance when imperial
and international interests are CON
cerned has already provided for the
entrance of Persia not merely into
the League of Nations, but into the
league within a league-the Britain
mic community, so described by Sir
ROBERT BORDEN. And thus the six
votes would become seven.
Republicans, Enroll!