A Chara,¹

1. I have your minute of the 31st ultimo,² with reference to the legislation complementary to our application for admission to the League of Nations. 2. In my opinion, a very simple Act will fulfil the requirements of Article 1 of the Covenant of the League of Nations, which provides that an applicant for admission must give effective guarantees of its sincere intention to observe its national obligations and must accept such regulations as may be prescribed by the League in regard to its military, naval and air forces and armaments.

3.³ I suggest that the first requisite before settling the draft Bill is to procure from our representative at Geneva information as to the nature of the guarantees which are usually required and of the regulations which are usually imposed as a condition of admission. The Bill might then take the form of an authority to the Minister for External Affairs or to the President to give the necessary guarantees and undertakings, but it is obvious that these should be specified as far as possible before the Parliament can be asked to pass the measure.

4. Having obtained the information, the Minister should present his proposals as fully as possible to the Ministry of Finance for sanction and, having obtained sanction of that Ministry, should submit the proposals or, if possible, the Bill in draft for approval. If approved, the Bill can then be sent to the Parliamentary Draftsman, and it will probably be found convenient to introduce the Bill in the first instance in the Senate.

5. As soon as the Minister has the proposals in a tangible form, I am sure that the Parliamentary Draftsman will be happy to make an appointment with him to discuss the form of the Bill in detail.