LEAGUE OF NATIONS.

C.369.1937.VIII. Geneva, September 9th, 1937.

REFORM OF THE CALENDAR.

Note by the Secretary-General.

The question of the Reform of the Calendar having

been inscribed on the agenda of the 98th session of the

Council, the Secretary-General has the honour to communicate

below to the Council the resolution on the subject adopted by

the Advisory and Technical Committee for Communications and

Transit on September 4th,1937.

"The Advisory and Technical Committee, '

"Considering the conclusions of the Fourth General

Conference on Communications end Transit in 1931 regarding

the simplification of the Gregorian Calendar and the stabilisa­

tion of movable feasts.

"Considering the Resolution adopted by the Inter­

national Labour Conference on June 24th, 1936,

"Considering the draft Convention for the Reform of

the Calendar submitted to the Council by the representative

of Chile,

"Considering the Council's decisions of January 25th

and May 27 th, 1937, by which the Committee was instructed to

examine the aforesaid draft in the light of the Governments’

Observations and to report to the Council before September 10th,

1937,

"Considering the Circular Letter of March 12th, 1937,

in which the Secretary-General of the League of Nations asked

all the Governments of States Members and non-Members to forward

to him, if possible before August 1st, 1937, any observations

which they might have to make with regard to this draft,

Communicated to the Council.

"Considering the replies sent to the Secretariat

by 32 Governments*,

"Whereas it is needless to capitulate once more the

unquestionable advantages from an economic and social point of

view both of a simplification of the Gregorian Calendar and a

stabilisation of movable feasts,

"Whereas the League of Nations has already had a

large number of schemes for the reform of the calendar submitt­

ed to it, not the least interesting of which is that submitted

by the Chilean representative,

"But whereas such reform can only be contemplated

if it meets with quasi unanimous approval,

"Whereas the 32 replies received by the Secretariat

may be classified as follows :

"Approve, at any rate in principle, of the Chilean

proposal:

10 States.

"Definitely opposed to this scheme:

5 States .

"No observations to submit :

6 States.

"Unable for the time being to take a decision in the

ma tter:

7 States.

"Consider that it would be premature to introduce

the reform:

4 States.

"Whereas it is thus clear from the replies so far re­

ceived that quasi unanimity among the Governments consulted

has not been attained and does not seem to be near attainment,

more particularly as 37 of the 69 States consulted have not

yet replied.

* Note by the Secretariat: The replies which reached theSecretariat before the end of the 20th Session of the Advisory and Technical Committee are reproduced in the Annex.

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"Whereas, furthermore in the course of the

examination previously made of this question, the organs

of the League of Nations have always deemed it desirable to

take account of the views of religious authorities,

"Whereas, in this connection most of the Orthodox

and Protestant churches have already stated that they have

no objection to the stabilisation of movable feasts though

such stabilisation, they declare should be subject to the

consent of all the Christian churches,

"Whereas, as is clear from the information convey­

ed to the Committee by several of its members, the Holy See,

after having previously stated that it could not consider

any change in the date of the movable feasts, has taken up

an even more definite attitude during the present year in

that it has approached certain Governments stressing more

particularly: (1) that the stabilisation of movable feasts

could not be separated from calendar reform, but such

stabilisation should be conditional on the meeting of an

Oecumenical Council; (2) that es regards the reform of the

Gregorian Calendar the introduction of blank days would

result in breaking the continuity of the weeks and be in­

compatible with venerable and long-established traditions,

"For these reasons

"Considers that it is not expedient for the time

being, to contemplate convening a Conference to carry out

a reform which in present circumstances would seem to have

no chance of being accepted and that, under such conditions,

it is unnecessary, until further notice, to retain the

question on the Agenda."

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Annex.

Ca l e n d a r r e f o r m .

Results of an enquiry among Governments undertaken in execution of the Council’s decision of January 2bth, 1937 (96th session)^

Up to September 4th, 1937, replies had been received from the following 32 Governments.

UNION OF SOUTH AFRICA.

July 13th, 1937.

The Government of the Union of South Africa con­sider that public demand for the reform of the calendar is not yet sufficiently widespread to warrant a draft Convention in that regard being concluded. They feel, moreover, that the fixation of Easter by international accord should pre­cede the consideration of the wider question of calendar reform.

ARGENTINE REPUBLIC

(Translation! July 26th, 1937.

The Argentine Government have given the question of the reform of the Gregorian Calendar their careful con­sideration in view of the advantages which it is desired to obtain.

They point out however, with regard to the draft Convention submitted to the Council by the representative of Chile, that this reform is not considered desirable; for they consider, in principle, that the present continuity of weeks should be maintained and should not be interrupted by the insertion of blank days not included in the ordinary week.

AUSTRALIA.

May 3rd, 1937.

The Australian Government has no observations to offer on the draft convention communicated to the Council by the representative of Chile and would be prepared to give further consideration to the matter if there were any pros­pect of general agreement being reached on the subject.

BRAZIL

(Translation fromPortuguese) July 1st, 1937.

The Brazilian Public Administration has given careful consideration to this matter, and an Inter-Ministerial Commission, on which the clergy were represented, was set up to study the Chilean proposal.

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As the outcome of this examination, the Brazilian Government is prepared to agree in principle to the draft Convention submitted by the Chilean Government, while reserving the right to take part in the discussion of the draft.

The Brazilian Government desires to submit one observation forthwith regarding the "Description of the World Calendar" attached to the draft Convention. In the third paragraph, it is stated that the intercalary or stabilising days, tabulated as December Y and June L, or December 31st and June 31st, will probably be observed as international holidays. The Brazilian Government suggests that these two days should be made compulsory international holidays, for which purpose a provision to this effect would have to be inserted in the text of the Convention. This suggestion is justified by the legal, commercial and statistical advantages which would result.

UNITES KINGDOM 0? GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND.

April 2?nd, 1937.

The Government of the United Kingdom are of the opinion that any consideration of the draft Convention would be premature pending further discussion of the principle involved in the reform of the calendar and of the particular method of reform to be adopted. They consider that the time will not be ripe for any further examination of the matter by the League until propaganda by those in favour of the alteration of the calendar has achieved more widespread and solid results than it has hitherto.

Hisremain of the been achieved attempting to reform.

Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom opinion that until the fixation of Easter has internationally no useful purpose is served by proceed with the larger question of calendar

BULGARIA.

(Translation) July 29th, 1957.

The Bulgarian Government is still studying the reform proposed by the representative of Chile. But as there are above all religious considerations involved in the question, it has also been submitted for examination to the Koly Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church which, in its turn, is anxious to obtain the views of all the Orthodox Churches, whose replies have not yet been received.

Pending the receipt of these replies, wbich will undoubtedly thro 7/ light on the question as a whole, the Bulgarian Government is unfortunately for the moment unable to offe$ any observations on the matter.

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CEILE.

(Translation) May 24th, 1957.

The Chilean Government, having authorised its representative on the Council of the League of Nations to present the draft in question, confirms its complete agree­ment with the terms of the draft Convention intended to solve the difficulties of an administrative, commercial, economic and educational character which arise from the present Gregorian calendar.

DENMARK.

(Translation) August 17th, 1937.

The Danish Government does not wish to make any observations on the draft Convention on calendar reform communicated to the Council by the representative of Chile.

EGYPT.

(Translation) August 25r5, 1937.

The Royal Ministry desire to inform the Secretary- General that this question is still being examined. They will not fail to communicate to him the observations which the competent authorities have to make on the draft conven­tion in question as soon as they are in a position to do so.

SPAIN.

(Translation from Spanish) August loth, 1937 .

The Spanish Government has informed the Secretary- General that, after having consulted the competent authorities, they have no objection to acceding to the draft Convention communicated to the Council by the Chilean representative, although they point out that serious difficulties would arise in international postal connections if the modification proposed were not adopted unanimously and made compulsory in all countries.

The Spanish Government recalls the historical ante­cedents of the reform and the various solutions which have been suggested to the League of Nations, and on v/hich they have already communicated their observations. The reasons which have led them to form the opinion given above are the following :

The draft convention was proposed by plenipoten­tiaries. The solution now put forward is superior to all others suggested up to the present, in view of the fact that it divides the year into equal half-years and quarters and fixes in a uniform w a v the position of the days of the week for all years and quarters to come. The division of the days of the year would create fewer difficulties for the interconnection between the Gregorian calendar and the reformed calendar, thus facilitating the comparison of observations and work carried^out, and the collection of statistics of all kinds with the greatest possible accuracy.

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ESTONIa

(Translation) July 29th , 1927

After examining with the greatest interest the draft Convention, the Estonian Government approves of the action taxen in the matter and is prepared in principle to co-operate in the realisation of the proposal. Nevertheless the appli­cation of the suggested reform of the calendar would be of practical value only if it were accepted by all or the vast majority of countries.

Should there be any likelihood of this, the Estonian Government will be prepared to go more fully into the question with a view to Estonia's accession to the Convention for the Reform of the Calendar.

UNITED STATES 07 AMERICA

Jane 2 5th, 1957.

The Government of the United States of America has no observations to make upon the craft Convention communi­cated to the Council by the representative of Chile. It expressed the wish however to be advised of any intergovern­mental conference which may be held to consider this matter in o^der that the question of representation may be considered.

FINLAND

(Translation) August 12th, 1957.

The Finnish Government has noted with great interest the draft Convention on calendar reform communicated to the Council by the Chilean representative, and will again give it their favourable consideration as soon as the great powers have decided to apply it.

FRANCE

(Translation) August 4th, 1957

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has taicen note of the draft with interest. The Government of the Republic con­siders, however, that the exhaustive examination of the pro­posals in question should be postponed until the powers have agr^ec3 to stabilise the festival of Easter.

GREECE

(Translation) August 20th, 1957

The Greek Government would, in principle, be in fa­vour of the acceptance of the draft Convention on calendar reform oommunicated to the Council by the representative of Chile, but with the explicit reservation that this proposal be signed and ratified by all States Members of the League.

The Royal Government considers that this condition is indispensable to the acceptance of the reform by the Greek people, who have strong feelings about their calendar and especially t: eir religious feasts.

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HUNGARY.

(Translation) August 31st > 1937,

The Royal Hungarian Government has no objection in principle with regard to calendar reform, particularly the stabilisation of Easter.

However, as Hungary has a Catholic majority, the Government must bring its attitude in religious matters into line with the dominating opinion in the country. It there­fore considers it important that the problan in question be settled in harmony with the intentions of the Holy See.

INDIA. ..

June 10th, 1937.

The Government of India communicated that, in its opinion, previous exploration of the question of calendar reform has conclusively demonstrated that no result of any appreciable value is calculated to accrue therefrom. They therefore favour the abandonment of the proposal to promote a convention on the subject.

ICELAND.

(Translation] August 17th, 1937

The Government of Iceland : does not wish to make any observations on the draft Convention on calendar reform communicated to the Council by the representative of Chile

LATVIA.

(Translation) August 11th, 1937,

The question of calendar reform being of interest to the most varied circles, the Latvian Government has under­taken a wide enquiry, which is not yet completed. They will not fail to communicate to the Secretary-General as soon as possible the conclusions which may be drawn from the results of this enquiry.

LI EC HENS TE IN.

(Translation' March 18th, 1937,

The Government of the Principality has no observa­tions to make with regard to the proposed reform of the calendar.

MEXICO.

(Translation August 17th, 193?.from Spanish.)

On receipt of the draft Convention communicated to the Council by the Chilean representative, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs invited the Executive Departments to study the question and to give their opinion on it. Further, the Director of the Observatory, who is at the same time Chairman of the Mexican Committee for Calendar Reform, took part in the discussions of these departments. The conclusions at which they arrived can be summarised as follows:

"Having examined the proposals for reform, the Com­missioners were of the opinion that it was desirable to accept the proposal involving the maintenance of the present division of the year into 12 months, but according to which the days would he arranged in the following way: The firstmonth of each quarter (January, April, July and October ) vo uld contain 31 days, and the other months 30 days. The quarter would begin on a Sunday and contain SI days in all, of which 78 would be working days and 13 holidays.

"To the days of the year arranged as above, a day would be added after December 30th, which would not bear the name of a v/eek-day , but be called 'year-end day’. In leap years a second day would be added after June 30th, which vo uld be called ’ leap-year dayT. Both these days would be holidays."

The question was then submitted to the President of the Republic, who gave instructions to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs that Mexico should support the draft reform referred to above wnen the question of calendar reform was discussed.

NORWAY.

(Translation ). September 1st, 1937.

The Norwegian Government accede to the draft Convention communicated to the Council by the representative of Chile, on condition that this reform is adopted inter­nationally. The Norwegian Government suppose that in that case the question of the stabilisation of movable feasts would be the subject of a separate discussion at a later date.

PANAMA.

(Translationfrom Spanish) June 28th, 1937.

The Government nas instructed the delegate of Panama to the League of Nations to support the calling of a Conference to adopt a new world calendar.

NETHERLANDS.

(Translation) July 20th, 1937.

The Government of the Netherlands would recàL 1 that in 1931 they transmitted to the Secretary-General of the League of Nations the report of the Netherlands National Committee for the Study of the Reform of the Calendar, which report the Royal Government endorsed.

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The principal conclusions of this report were asfollows :

1. Gregorian Calendar to be maintained ;

2. Minor adjustments would be acceptable;

3. The principle of the blank day is rejected ;

4. Even if the bjank day were to be accepted by theinternational community the division of the year into 13 months should he rejected ;

5. The fixing of Easter between April 8th and 15th might be accented.

The Royal Netherlands Governmentr s views have not changed since that date.

As regards in particular the scheme submitted by the Chilean representative, the Royal Netherlands Government have carefully examined it, They regret to say, however, that in their opinion the advantages of the revised Calendar would not make up for the serious drawbacks in several respects which would be involved by an interruption of the continuity of the present Calendar.

PERU.

(Translation from July 29th, 1937.Spanish).

The Peruvian Government has decided to adhere with reservations, to the Convention on the reform of the calendar, the period for the ratification of which expires on August 1st next.

POLAND.

(Translation) August 9th, 1937 .

The Polish Government has no observations to offer at present on the draft Convention for the Reform of the Calendar submitted by the Chilean delegation. It considers, however, that as the possible application of a reform of the calendar would necessitate lengthy preparatory work of a legal nature in the countries concerned, the time limit of January 1st, 1939, proposed in the draft Convention is undoub­tedly premature.

ROMANIA.

(Translation). August 27th,1937.

The Roumanian Government, despite its interest in the question of calendar reform and in the Chilean proposal, cannot at the moment agree to the suggested reform, in view of the opposition of the National Church. The Roumanian c h u r c h does not accept the proposal in question for scientific and astronomical, as well as for practical and religious, r e a s o n s .

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SIAM

July 17th, 1937.

Kis Majesty's Government has no observations to make on the draft Convention for the Reform of the Calendar.

SWEDEN,

Translation. August 24th, 1937.

The Qraft Convention on calendar reform put Before the Council by the representative of Chile has been care­fully examined by those interested in the subject tn Sweden.

It would appear from this examination that the advantages which might result from a reform of the calendar on the lines of the above proposal would hardly outweigh its drawbacks.

In the circumstances the Swedish Government regrets that it is unable to recommend the adoption of the draft Convention in question.

SWITZERLAND.

Translation. August 13th, 1937.

The Federal authorities have submitted the draft Convention to the Swiss Committee for the Reform of the Calendar ; the latter has set down its views on the draft in question in the Report which the Department encloses, in case it may be of interest to the Secretariat of the League of Nations.

Notwithstanding this communication, which is purely technical, the Swiss Federal Council must for the time being reserve its final decision regarding the desiiability of a reform of the calendar. It will not be in a position to adopt a definite attitude in this matter until it has learnt the opinion of the principal churches, and of the governments of countries with which it would be inconvenient for Switzerland not to have a common measure of time.

CZECHOSLOVAKIA.

Translation. August 28th, 1937.

The Government of the Republic of Czechoslovakia regret that they are unable at the moment to communicate their observations on the subject of the proposed reform of the calendar, the competent authorities ani the people interested not yet having been able to ascertain the consequences which this reform might entail in public life and in the functioning of public administration in Czechoslovakia.

As soon as the examination of the problem is at an end, the Government will certainly examine the draft convention in question and communicate their point of view.

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U.S.S.R. I'

Translation. August 15th, |937,

The PeopleTs Commissariat has communicatod to the competent authorities of the U.S.S.R. the draft Convention put forward by the Chilean representative. The observations made by those authorities will immediately be brought to the notice of the Secretary-General in the event of the present enquiry showing thet it is desirable to carry out the proposed reform at tho moment.