L’Écho d’Alger
- The government’s reforms
- Assembly adopts rules for temporary Council seats
- The Tangier question
The page reproduces an argument that Poincaré’s administrative reforms and the cabinet’s survival must be judged together. At Geneva, unanimous agreement on Council election rules coexists with Uruguay’s refusal to withdraw its candidacy. On Tangier, the Soviet demand to participate meets a British distinction between diplomatic exchanges and a formal conference, so neither an invitation nor a conference date is established.
Translation
The government’s reforms
Whatever else may be said, it is glaringly obvious that what is being debated and fought over in the government’s reforms is the fate of the Poincaré government. He has said so repeatedly, and no other course is conceivable. He will present the cabinet’s work as a whole and will accept only a vote of confidence in it as a whole.
Now, if ever, is the time to say it—and Parliament granted the government special powers for this very purpose—the reforms must be taken or left. With the fate of the national-union cabinet at stake, national union itself depends on the votes Parliament casts when it returns.
Whether we like it or not, whether we regret it or welcome it, the question of administrative reductions has taken this form and can take no other.
It is time to choose where we stand. We must be told whether it is truly written in the book of our national destiny that every serious reform is impossible, that every government which tries to act is condemned to death.
We are convinced that, on this occasion, the country’s wishes, in keeping with the conditions of its recovery, are too plain and clear for the government and the national union it embodies not to emerge strengthened from the ordeal.
Assembly adopts rules for temporary Council seats
Geneva, September 15.—The Assembly unanimously adopted the proposal governing the election of the nine temporary seats.
Speaking on behalf of the Scandinavian delegates, Sweden’s representative said they would vote for the proposal, which contained neither privileges nor exceptions and safeguarded the Assembly’s freedom and dignity.
Differences persist among the South American delegates, who at a preliminary meeting selected Chile, Colombia and Salvador.
Uruguay’s representative said he was maintaining his country’s candidacy.
The Tangier question
London, September 15.—An authoritative British source today confirms that the Soviet chargé d’affaires in London recently delivered a note on Tangier to the Foreign Office.
In this communication, reportedly also addressed to the French and Italian governments, the Soviet government sets out why, in its view, it would have the right to participate in an international conference that might meet to discuss changes to Tangier’s statute.
The British government does not intend to reply to the Russian government for the time being. The British view is that the matter will clearly be the subject of exchanges between the powers, but official circles in London do not envisage an international conference.
Context
Why administrative reform threatened a government
Poincaré returned to lead a national-union cabinet in July 1926 amid France’s financial crisis. Bringing different political forces together made a programme of retrenchment possible, but also exposed it to objections from those affected by cuts. The quoted argument treats the measures as one package: accepting some and rejecting others would undermine the government’s claim to have a coherent remedy. Administrative economies thus became a test of whether the coalition could hold together.
A common election rule did not settle national rivalries
The Council’s non-permanent seats were elected by the League Assembly, and their number reached nine in 1926. Agreeing a procedure created a common framework, but states still competed for the seats within it. The Scandinavian delegates defended the Assembly’s freedom of choice, while Uruguay refused to abandon its own candidacy after a regional discussion. The report shows two layers of representation at work: regional coordination and each state’s wish for a place at the table.
Tangier’s status made participation itself a diplomatic issue
Tangier’s international regime was established by the 1923 statute, involving several foreign powers rather than exclusive control by one of them. Changing that arrangement therefore raised the question of who should take part. The Soviet note sought recognition of a place in the discussion, while Britain envisaged exchanges among powers without calling a conference. The dispute concerned the composition of diplomacy as much as any proposed change to the city’s administration.
Original
Les réformes du Gouvernement
Quoi qu'il en soit, ça crève les yeux
, » que ce qui se discute et se dispute au-
.«*■ tour des réformes poursuivies par le
* Gouvernement, c'est le sort du Gou-
—— remowtnt Poincaré ; il l'a dit et ré-
pété, et nulle autre procédure ne se
concevrait. D'ailleurs, il présentera en
oloc l'œuvre du cabinet et ne s'accom-
modera que d'une confiance en bloc.
C'est le cas où jamais de le dire, et
ie Parlement n'a doté le Gouvernement
de pouvoirs spéciaux que dans ce but,
que les réformés sont à prendre ou à
laisser. Le sort du cabinet d'union na-
tionale étant en jeu, l'union nationale
elle-même dépend des votes que le Par-
lement émettra à la rentrée.
Qu'on le veuille ou non, qu'on le dé-
plore ou qu'on s'en félicite, la ques-
tion des compressions administratives
a pris cet aspect et ne saurait en pren-
dre un autre.
Il faut maintenant choisir ses dieux;
il faut qu'on nous dise s'il est vrai-
ment écrit au livre des destinées natio-
nales que toute réforme sérieuse est
vraiment impossible, que tout Gouver-
- nement qui -tentera d'agir est vraiment
condànlné à mort. * *
Nous sommes convaincus que dans
ta présente occurence- le vœu du pays,
qui s'accorde avec les* conditions de
son salut, est trop évident et trop clair
pour que le Gouvernement et l'union
nationale, dont il est l'expression, ne
sottgnX pas fortifiés de l'épreuve.
L'ASSEMBLEE A ADOPTE LIE PROJET REGLANT L'ELECTION ** DES SIECES TEMPORAIRES
Genève, 15 septembre. — L'Assem-
blée a voté à l'unanimité le projet ré-
glant le mode d'élection des neuf siè-
ges temporaires.
Au nom des délégués Scandinaves, le
délégué de la Suède a déclaré qu'ils vo-
teraient le projet, lequel ne contient
n privilèges ni exceptions et sauve-
garde la liberté et la dignité de l'As-
semblée.
Des, divergences subsistent parmi les
délégués de l'Amérique du Sud, les-
quels, dans une réunion préparatoire,
ont désigné le Chili, la Colombie et le
Salvador.
Le représentant de l'Uruguay a dé-
çlaré qu'il maintenait la candidature de
son pays.
La Question de Tanger
Londres, 15 septembre. - On con-
firme aujourd'hui, de source autorisée
anglaise, que le chargé d'affaires des
Soviets à Londres a remis récemment
au Ministère des Affaires Etrangères
une note au sujet de Tanger.
Dans cette communication, qui au-
rait été également adressée aux gou-
vernements français et italien, le Gou-
vernement des Soviets expose les rai-
sons pour lesquelles, à son point de
vue, il aurait droit de participer à la
Conférence internationale qui pourrait
SI jaunir pour discuter' les modifica-
tions à apporter au statut de Tanger.
Le Gouvernement anglais n'a pas
l'intèntion de répondre pour le mo-
ment au Gouvernement russe. Le point
de vue anglais est que la question sera
évidemment l'objet d'échanges de vues
entre les puissances, mais les milieux
officiels de Londres n'envisagent pas
la réunion d'une Conférence interna-
tionale. -