Le Nord : revue internationale des Pays de Nord - 01.06.1938, Blaðsíða 46

LE NORD
Mr. Joh. Ludw. Mowinckel, the Minister for Foreign Affairs
of Norway at that time, had been very hopeful when the con-
vention was signed on March 24th, 1930. In laying it before the
Norwegian Storting, he said that it meant the first important
step to create better conditions of international commerce; it
meant in his opinion a first preparatory step towards peace in
the field of customs tariffs and towards establishing an atmo-
sphere of calm and confidence favourable to further negotiations.
He was very disappointed that the initiative failed, and he was
driven to approach his aim by other means.
Then in August 1930, one of the directors of the foreign office,
Mr. Rolf Andvord, now Norwegian Minister at Buenos Aires,
happened to suggest to him that a treaty might be concluded
between four states which had apparently in the main pursued
a concordant policy in the discussions of that year, i. e.
besides Norway, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands. They
perhaps might be willing to pledge themselves not to increase any
customs duties without giving due notice to the other parties and
granting them an opportunity of formulating any objections they
might have, and of discussing matters. Mr. Mowinckel at that time
was on holiday in Denmark and took the opportunity to have a
conversation about this question with the Danish Foreign
Minister, Dr. Munch. Encouraged by this conversation he in-
structed Mr. Andvord to prepare a formal memorandum out-
lining the principal provisions of the convention planned, and
this memorandum was transmitted to the Foreign Ministers of
the governments indicated, who were all present at the Assembly
of the League of Nations in Geneva on September ijth, 1930.
At the invitation of Mr. Mowinckel, the four Foreign Ministers
met at the Cháteau de Yeyrier, outside Geneva, on September
20th, and from that meeting a communiqué was published to
the effect that they had agreed to enter into negotiations in order
to formulate a convention that would put into practice at least
between the nations there represented the principles established,
though not carried into effect, by the International Convention
of March 24th.
So the program of forming a nucleus of economically non-
combatant states was put before the public, and, on October 29th
of the same year, the Norwegian Government transmitted to the
other three governments as a basis for discussion a draft of the
convention they had planned. The draft was sent to the Belgian