L’Écho d’Alger
- The nine non-permanent members of the League Council are elected
- Lieutenant Desmons sentenced to 80 days in prison
- Canada: the Liberals’ victory sends a message to Britain
The Council election, the Lotus judgment and Canada’s election show a page moving between institutional news and assertive political interpretation. Rereading adds sentence reductions, a planned appeal and provisional election figures.
Selected Council opening, Lotus sentence paragraphs and Canadian report; low-resolution small type elsewhere remains outside transcription.
Translation
The nine non-permanent members of the League Council are elected
The nine non-permanent members of the League Council are elected
POLAND OBTAINS EVERYTHING IT HAD REQUESTED
Geneva, 16 September.—Elections for the non-permanent Council seats took place today in Geneva.
Nine seats had to be filled. Together with the five permanent seats, they form a League Council of fourteen members, as decided by the Council and the Assembly.
Lieutenant Desmons sentenced to 80 days in prison
The Lotus affair
Lieutenant Desmons sentenced to 80 days in prison
Constantinople, 16 September.—In its judgment in the Lotus case, the court declares the two captains equally culpable and sentences Lieutenant Desmons and the captain of the Bozocourt to one year in prison each.
However, taking mitigating circumstances and other considerations into account, the court sets Lieutenant Desmons’s sentence at 80 days in prison and a fine of 22 pounds, and the Bozocourt captain’s at four months in prison and a fine of 33 pounds.
[...]
Lieutenant Desmons, who has already spent 41 days in prison, remains provisionally at liberty and intends to seek cassation of the judgment.
Canada: the Liberals’ victory sends a message to Britain
CANADA
THE LIBERALS WIN A VICTORY THAT SHOULD SEND A MESSAGE TO THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT
London, 16 September.—According to the latest news from Canada, a Liberal victory is now certain.
The composition of Parliament would therefore be: Liberals, 115 against 100 in the previous Parliament; Liberal-Progressives, 38 against 24; Conservatives, 90 against 116; Farmers, 11 against 0; Independent Labour, 5 against 5.
Three results are still missing.
With Progressive support, Mr. King will command a majority of 61 votes.
[...]
Even the governor general, acting for motives beyond reproach, must confine himself to representing the London government.
Context
An enlarged forum for international disputes
The League Council was the smaller body that met more frequently alongside the Assembly of all member states. Increasing its elected membership to nine broadened participation without eliminating the distinction between permanent and elected powers. The Algerian paper’s emphasis on Poland reflects the stakes of that arrangement: Council reform decided not only how many countries sat together but whose influence could continue within the institution.
A collision becomes a dispute between states
The French Lotus and Turkish Boz-Kourt collided on the high seas in August 1926, with the loss of Turkish lives. Turkey’s prosecution of the French officer made the case about which state could exercise jurisdiction, as well as responsibility for navigation. The dispute later reached the Permanent Court of International Justice, which ruled in 1927 that Turkey had not violated international law by prosecuting. The sentence reported here belongs to the domestic proceedings that produced that international controversy.
Why a Canadian election was addressed to London
Earlier in 1926, Governor General Byng refused Mackenzie King’s request to dissolve Parliament. King resigned, and Arthur Meighen was invited to form a government. That dispute made the governor general’s discretion an issue alongside party competition. The article interprets the Liberal victory through this constitutional struggle, arguing for a restricted role for the governor general. Its message to London concerns the boundary between Canadian parliamentary politics and imperial representation.
Original
Les neuf membres non permanents du Conseil de la S.D.N. sont élus
Les neuf membres non permanents du Conseil de la S.D.N. sont élus
LA POLOGNE OBTIENT TOUTES LES SATISFACTIONS QU’ELLE AVAIT DEMANDEES
Genève, 16 septembre. — Les élections pour les sièges non permanents du Conseil ont eu lieu aujourd’hui à Genève.
Neuf sièges étaient à pourvoir, lesquels, s’ajoutant aux cinq sièges permanents, forment le Conseil de la S.D.N. de quatorze membres, ainsi qu’il a été décidé par le Conseil et l’Assemblée.
Le lieutenant Desmons est condamné à 80 jours de prison
L’Affaire du « Lotus »
Le lieutenant Desmons est condamné à 80 jours de prison
Constantinople, 16 septembre. — Dans la sentence sur l’affaire du « Lotus », le tribunal déclare qu’il considère coupables au même titre les deux capitaines et condamne le lieutenant Desmons et le capitaine du « Bozocourt » à un an de prison chacun.
Cependant, le tribunal, tenant compte des circonstances atténuantes et d’autres considérations, fixe la peine du lieutenant Desmons à 80 jours de prison et à 22 livres d’amende, et celle du capitaine du « Bozocourt » à quatre mois de prison et 33 livres d’amende.
[...]
Le lieutenant Desmons, qui a fait déjà 41 jours de prison, continue à bénéficier de la liberté provisoire et est décidé à se pourvoir en cassation.
Au Canada : les libéraux remportent une victoire
AU CANADA
LES LIBERAUX REMPORTENT UNE VICTOIRE QUI DOIT ETRE UNE INDICATION POUR LE GOUVERNEMENT ANGLAIS
Londres, 16 septembre. — D’après les dernières nouvelles reçues du Canada, la victoire libérale est désormais certaine.
La composition du Parlement serait donc : Libéraux, 115 contre 100 dans le précédent Parlement ; Libéraux-progressistes, 38 contre 24 ; Conservateurs, 90 contre 116 ; Fermiers, 11 contre 0 ; Travaillistes indépendants, 5 contre 5.
Il manque encore trois résultats.
Avec l’aide des progressistes M. King disposera d’une majorité de 61 voix.
[...]
Le gouverneur général même, mu par des raisons au-dessus de tout soupçon, doit se borner à représenter le gouvernement de Londres.