No. 247 NAI DFA 26/95
Letter from Seán Lester to Joseph P. Walshe (Dublin)
(S.1./Assembly 1929)
Geneva, 14 August 1929
A Chara,
Assembly 1929: Candidature of Poland for Council
I have the honour to acknowledge receipt of your telegram of this date regarding the request of the Polish Consul General, and to confirm my reply as follows:
| 'Your telegram dated 14th August:1 Recommend delegation should avoid definite commitments until situation can be examined here with knowledge of other candidates. Poland's work on Council valuable contribution to League and Permanent Delegate always friendly to predecessor but suggest decision be left over until considered here. Writing.' |
It is my impression that it would be undesirable to commit the delegation at this stage to a promise to support any particular candidate. For one thing an easily obtained promise is not always appreciated as much as one which is delayed. Even if the Minister should eventually decide to support Poland, it would be well that the field should first have been surveyed by the Delegation in the Assembly milieu. At present, I know of only one other candidate - Yugoslavia - concerning which I wrote to you on the 2nd instant,2 but there are points to be made for and against both.
In the absence of anything but a general Saorstát policy in regard to Europe and the League, there are, it seems to me, two factors which should be considered in connection with this question. One is the value of a particular candidate State in the work of the Council and the degree to which its presence there would contribute to the peace and stability of Europe. The second is the extent to which the direct interests of the Saorstát can be forwarded by a decision to support certain candidates. The application of both principles, I would argue, supports my suggestion that however friendly and cordial may be your reply to Poland, it should not consist of a definite commitment until our information as to the candidates is complete and the situation has then been fully considered by the Delegation.
There is no information in this Office as to the States which supported the Saorstát's Candidature a few years ago. If any is available on the headquarters file, perhaps you will see that it is supplied to the delegation.
The Polish Permanent delegate to the League, who by the way has been absent from Geneva since early in June, was regarded by Mr. MacWhite as friendly, but I have no personal knowledge of his views.
Mise, le meas,
[signed] Seán Lester
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