asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the appointment by the President of the Council of the League of Nations of the chairman of the SinoBritish Commission to determine the southern section of the boundary between Yunnan and Burma marks any new departure in British policy with regard to boundary commissions.

There is no fixed rule in regard to the method of appointing the President of an International Boundary Commission, and the method to be adopted in the case mentioned by my hon. and gallant Friend is one which has been applied with success in previous instances.

Is this the first time the League has been asked to provide a chairman for a Boundary Commission?

No, Sir. The latter part of my original answer states that it is not the first time that this method has been applied with success. I can give the hon. and gallant Member one instance. The International Arbitration which settled the boundary between Iraq and Syria was presided over by a chairman nominated in this way.