KEEPING FAITH.
Sir Maurice Hankey, to whom the post was first offered, refused the then doubtful honour of captaining a ship that might have foundered on a dozen rocks, and so Sir Eric awoke one morning to find himself famous. He rose to the occasion, as men of our race have a habit of doing. At no time, probably, did he ever feel that the weight of the world was on his shoulders—or if he did, he went out to play golf. He was forty-two then : a young man for such a -position, unknown; =learned in much that constant travel teaches a man/ To-day at fifty-two his position is such at Geneva that every statesman, diplomatist, and journalist I have talked to, with- out exception, is of the opinion that there is no one of his- calibre to succeed him. The League would go on if Sir Erie left—we may be assured of that—but no one can think how it will go on and who will succeed him. That is proof of the international esteem he has won. The nations know that he will keep faith with them. When Commander Locker. Lampson criticized the expenditure of the League, there were many who watched how his countryman would manage the situation. Sir Eric scored a point that amused everybody. He admitted the desirability of economy. But, he added, another British delegate had demanded a Commission which would entail an expenditure of 300,000 Swiss francs. Would his countrymen and countrywomen first compose their diver- gencies of view Y Relapsing into attentive silence, he remained master of the situation, while his prestige rose with the repre- sentatives of those nations who thought that the Secretary General would be unable t ) withstand an attack made by his own country.
Previous page
