The First Assembly of the League of Nations in 1920 prepared to give effect to article 8 of the Covenant, the first two paragraphs of which read: "The Members of the League recognise that the maintenance of peace requires the reduction of national armaments to the lowest point consistent with national safety and the enforcement by common action of International obligations. The Council .......... shall formulate plans for such reduction for the consideration and action of the several Governments." That Assembly decided "to instruct a Temporary Commission to prepare reports and proposals for the reduction of armaments as provided for by article 8 of the Covenant." In the following year the Second Assembly defined the task more clearly in a resolution instructing the Temporary Mixed Commission to make proposals for the reduction of armaments which, in order to secure precision, "should be in the form of a draft Treaty or other equally defined plan, to be presented to the Council, if possible, before the Assembly next year" (1922). In the course of the ensuing year the Temporary Mixed Commission was able to formulate certain principles which, in its opinion, might serve as a basis for the draft Treaty which it had been instructed to draw up. After discussion of these principles the Third Assembly passed a resolution--the famous {218} Resolution 14--recognising that in existing circumstances many Governments would be unable to accept responsibility for a serious reduction of armaments unless they received in exchange a satisfactory guarantee of the safety of their country, and suggesting that such guarantee could be found in a defensive agreement binding them to provide immediate and effective assistance, in accordance with a pre-arranged plan, in the event of one of them being attacked. The Temporary Mixed Commission were instructed to prepare a draft Treaty on these lines. The result of their labours was submitted to the Fourth Assembly last year in the form of the Draft Treaty of Mutual Assistance, which was referred by the Assembly to the Governments for their observations. 2. Certain Governments accepted the draft Treaty in principle: very few intimated their readiness to adhere to its actual terms. His Majesty's Government, in a note which has already been made public,[1] explained the reasons which would render it impossible for them to subscribe to the Treaty. 3. When, therefore, the Fifth Assembly met on the 1st September of this year, the labours of four years, which had been devoted to the preparation of a scheme for giving effect to the obligation undertaken by all signatories in article 8 of the Covenant, had not succeeded in establishing agreement, and there seemed no prospect of making any further advance along the path which had hitherto been followed. 4. Some new direction would have to be given, and the presence in Geneva of the British and French Prime Ministers gave a special importance to the meeting.