ABSTRACT
The first Labour government faced daunting tasks as it assumed office in 1924. For the most part, the doubters waited to see how effectively their leaders would carry out the policies they took to be those of the larger labour movement. Optimistically, the committee proposed that the Labour Party issue a "Manifesto to the Peoples of the World" designed to demonstrate the superiority of Labour's democratic methods of diplomacy to those of other parties and other governments. A long memorandum entitled "Labour, the League and Reparations" argued that success could only be achieved by approaching some middle ground. Concern over the handling of reparations was paralleled by suspicion that the government had abandoned Labour's commitment to the policy of "open diplomacy." Most of the Labour government's official advisors were as opposed to the Optional Clause as they were to the Draft Treaty of Mutual Assistance.
