tries. At the International Seed-Testing Congress of 1928 at Rome and that of 1931 at Wageningen, the Netherlands, international rules for seed-testing and international certificates for analysis were adopted. These were last modified at Stockholm in 1934. A Congress scheduled to be held in Washington, D.C., in 1940 as a result of a Congressional resolution was canceled because of the war. The Department of State has renewed this invitation for May 1950. In preparation for the 1950 Congress a meeting of the Executive Committee was held in Gathenburg, Sweden, in August 1948 for the purpose of organizing preliminary plans for the Congress. It was agreed to prepare for consideration at the 1950 Congress the draft of a revised constitution as well as draft revisions of the international seed-testing rule. A Constitution Committee, set up for the purpose of preparing such a draft, met at Belfast, North Ireland, in August 1949. MEMBERSHIP Membership is confined to official seed-testing stations controlled by governments and associations of such stations. Current recorded membership totals 29 such stations, in the following countries: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Palestine, Poland, Portugal, Rumania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Union of South Africa, the United States of America, and Yugoslavia. PURPOSES, POWERS, AND FUNCTIONS The functions of the Association are (a) to advance all questions connected with seed-testing and the judgment of seeds by comparative tests and research, (b) to standardize methods and terminology, (c) to organize international congresses, and (d) to develop standard international certificates of quality covering agricultural seeds passing in international trade. STRUCTURE A congress is held approximately every three years, but a General Assembly may be called between the triennial congresses. There is an Executive Committee composed of technical experts in direct charge of official seed-testing stations, which functions between congresses when convoked. The president, vice president, and auditors are also technical experts. The secretary-treasurer is appointed by the president of the Association. A quorum for the General Assembly is 20, and decisions are obtained by a majority of those present and voting. Between congresses, votes may be cast by mail. English, French, and German are the official languages. The present president of the Association is W. J. Franck. FINANCES Annual dues of member states range from 10 to 50 pounds sterling, corresponding to one to five votes per member, as determined by the Executive Committee. Dues are based on the importance of the station represented. The Association also benefits from the donated services of individuals trained and interested in its work. UNITED STATES RELATIONS Authorization. Appropriation acts since the fiscal year 1925 have permitted the expenditure of funds for United States dues to the Association. On September 21, 1944, the Federal Seed Act of August 9, 1939, was amended to provide that funds appropriated for administering the Act, "within the limit prescribed in such appropriations, may be expended for the share of the United States in the expense of the International Seed Testing Congress in carrying out plans for correlating the work of the various adhering governments on problems relating to seed analyses or other subjects which the Congress may determine to be necessary in the interest of international seed trade." United States participation was financed by the Department of Agriculture under these authorizations until the fiscal year 1949. In that year United States participation was continued under the executive authority to conduct the foreign relations of the United States, and its contribution was financed by the Department of State. Payments. The United States annual dues of $250 were paid from funds appropriated to the Department of Agriculture from the fiscal year 1925 through the fiscal year 1948, except for the war years. In the fiscal year 1949, the United States quota was paid from funds appropriated to the Department of State. Participation. Employees of the United States Department of Agriculture as well as employees of certain State governments have been official delegates to the congresses. United States delegates have served on the executive and other committees. RELATIONS WITH OTHER INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS Prior to World War II, the Association exchanged publications with the Inter-American Institute of Agriculture (IIA) and participated in the International Coordinating Commission for Agriculture sponsored by the IIA. At the 1950 Congress consideration will be given to the future relationship between the Seed-Testing Association and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the successor of the IIA. BASIC TEXTS AND PUBLICATIONS Amendment to Federal Seed Act of 1939. 58 Stat. 741 (U. S. C. 1605). International Seed Testing Association.-Proceedings of the International Seed Testing Association. Published at irregular intervals, 1945-49. The Proceedings include reports of the meetings and technical papers relating to seed testing. Volume 10, No. 1, 1938, contains the Constitution of the Association. International Whaling Commission Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, St. Stephen's House, Victoria Embankment, London, England ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT On December 2, 1946, representatives of 17 countries, meeting in Washington, signed a convention for the regulation of whaling which provided for the establishment of an international whaling commission. This convention, which entered into force on November 10, 1948, represents primarily the codification, with modifications, of the regulations of previous agreements and additional long-range administrative machinery for amendment. The International Whaling Commission held its first meeting, May 30-June 7, 1949, at London, at which time its work was planned. MEMBERSHIP The Commission is composed of contracting governments which agree to ratify or adhere to the convention. The following contracting Governments had ratified or adhered to the convention up to and including June 30, 1949: Australia, Canada, France, Iceland, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Panama, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Union of South Africa, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. PURPOSES, POWERS, AND FUNCTIONS The purpose of the Commission is to safeguard the remaining world whale stocks by amending from time to time, within the framework of this convention as conditions may require, the schedule of regulations which form an integral part of the convention. The Commission is authorized to organize studies and investigations relating to whales and whaling and to collect and analyze statistical information, study, appraise, and disseminate information concern ing whaling stocks in collaboration with public organizations. The Commission is also authorized to publish, either independently or in collaboration with the International Bureau of Whaling Statistics and other organizations and agencies, such reports as it deems appropriate. STRUCTURE The convention provides that the Commission be composed of one member from each contracting Government, who may have one or more experts or advisers. Each member is entitled to one vote. The structure of the Commission was determined by the Commission at its organizing session and may be modified at subsequent sessions as required. Two standing committees were established-a Scientific and Technical Committee and a Finance and Administrative Committee. The Commission elects from its own members a chairman and vice chairman and appoints a permanent secretary and staff. The General Secretary is A. T. A. Dobson. FINANCES Temporary financial arrangements were made at the first meeting of the Commission by which member governments would contribute equal amounts toward the expenses of the organization for the first year. These expenses are not expected to exceed 1,200 pounds (approximately $4,840). UNITED STATES RELATIONS Authorization. United States participation in the Commission is pursuant to the ratification of the convention on the advice and consent of the Senate and deposit of the instrument of ratification on July 18, 1947. Ratification became effective upon entry into force of the convention on November 10, 1948. Payments. The United States contribution to the Commission for its first year of operation, i. e., June 1, 1949, to May 31, 1950, is estimated at 100 pounds (approximately $400), which will be paid from funds appropriated to the Department of State. Agencies Chiefly Concerned. The Departments of State and Interior and the Smithsonian Institution are the United States agencies chiefly concerned with the work of the Commission. The United States Commissioner is to have full voting rights. The method of selection of the United States Commissioner is to be determined in implementing legislation (not yet enacted). The United States acted as host at the conference which developed the convention and is the deposi tory government for instruments of ratification of or adherence to the convention. RELATIONS WITH OTHER INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS Article III, paragraph 6 of the convention reads as follows: "Recognizing that specialized agencies related to the United Nations will be concerned with the conservation and development of whale fisheries and the products arising therefrom and desiring to avoid duplication of functions, the Contracting Governments will consult among themselves within two years after the coming into force of this Convention to decide whether the Commission shall be brought within the framework of a specialized agency related to the United Nations." This article further provides that the Government of the United Kingdom shall initiate the consultation referred to in paragraph 6 quoted above. The Commission is authorized to publish reports in collaboration with the International Bureau of Whaling Statistics, at Sandefjord, Norway, which is an organization entirely maintained by the Norwegian Government. A special relationship is established between the Commission and the Bureau. Article VII of the convention provides: "The Contracting Governments shall ensure prompt transmission to the International Bureau for Whaling Statistics at Sandefjord in Norway, or to such other body as the Commission may designate, of notifications and statistical and other information required by this Convention in such form and manner as may be prescribed by the Commission." BASIC TEXTS AND PUBLICATIONS U.S. Department of State. Whaling Convention Between the United States of America and Other Governments. Signed at Washington December 2, 1946. Treaties and Other International Acts Series 1849. Pub. 3383. 1949. |