The League and Native Races
The Right Honble. The Lord LUGARD,
G.C.M.G., D.S.O.
The 15th Ordinary Assembly of the League of Nations takes place at Geneva on September to. At such times the work of the League comes into prominence, but many people are cpt to forget that a great deal of very valuable work goes on year in and year out, regardless of assemblies and councils. One such activity is that of the Mandates. The Great War left many territories inhabited, in the words of the Convention, ' by peoples not yet able to stand by themselves under the strenuous conditions of the modern world ', and it was recommended that the ' tutelage of such peoples should be entrusted to advanced nations, who by reason of their resources, their experience, or their geographical position, can best undertake this responsibility '. Several nations have accepted this responsibility and exercise the tutelage of such peoples as mandatories on behalf of the League.
Lord Lugard, who is known principally for his close association with Colonial development in Africa, has been British Member of the Permanent Mandates Commission of the League of Nations since 1922. He has made a special study of this problem, and his book ' The Dual Mandate in British Tropical Africa ' is now a classic.