SECOND EDITION

DANZIG MOVE.

NAZI HEAD OF STATE REGIME UNDER HITLER POLES REPORT CLASH GERMANS CROSS FRONTIER By Telegraph—Press' (Received August 20, 2.15 "a.m.) ; LONDON, Aug. 24 A Danzig decree appoints HenAlbert Forster head of the Danzig State. Customs officers report that!' the Poles have closed the border between Poland and Danzig to stop food consignments to Danzig. The appointment of Herr Forster as State President of Danzig, effective as from yesterday, is interpreted •by tho German Government spokesman as "theestablishment of an authoritarian regime under Herr Hitler." It is reported that the British Consul left early this morning. Arrests by Nazis Reported The first determined "Nazi move to oust the Poles from Danzig is indicated by a Warsaw communique reporting that the Danzig secret police have arrested a number of Polish railway officials in the past 24 hours, and have also begun large-scale arrests of Polish civilians. The Danzig police at first superseded the Polish Customs officers at Zoppot and Oliva, examining" passports and baggage, ignoring the fact that " the railways are legally under the control of Poland. Negotiations Broken Off t y- [ When the Polish officials protested, the Nazis touched their revolvers and replied: "We act by right." The Danzig-Polish-German negotia- 1 tions designed *to settle the Customs problems have been brolten off. A decree places the Danzig Gestapo (secret police) under the direction-- of& the Senate President, Herr Greiser„and it thus becomes a separate organisa-. tion. • - It is reported from Warsaw that 20 Germans crossed the frontier and attacked a railway station in the Katowice district. They fired over 100 rounds and wounded three Poles. . Britons to-Leave Germany The speeding-up of-Poland's defence - measures has led to. serious delays to passenger trains engaged in the evacuation of civilians fropi the Polish frontier districts, and this has caused the Geiman press to predict a Polish coup d'etat in Danzig. . The British Consulate inf " Berlin, under, instructions from London, has advised Britons- to leave Germany. " Italian war preparations have suddenly been accelerated, and "responsible quarters are beginning to express the fear that war is almost inevitable within a few days. The Pope will broadcast, an important speech advocating the invoking of peace at 7 p.m. to-day, Roman time.

PREMIER SPEAKS

SITUATION REVIEWED MESSAGE TO HITLER "NO CAUSE FOR WAR" (Received August 25, 2.40* a.m.)' .-k LONDON, Aug. 24 Opening his statement on foreign affairs, the Prime Minister,- Mr. Chamberlain, said that when the House ad-. . journed earlier this month there "was no expectation that it would'be siirnmoned again to take the draistic steps now required to .deal with the situation. - Proceeding to deal with- the Polish position,' IJr. Chamberlain' said one - could not help being struck- by the similarity between the German stories of Polish atrocities and the similar allegations about Czecho-Slovakia last year. He drew a contrast between "the German attitude and the calm and ret strained demeanour of Polish statesmen. Russo-German Pact ! u After referring to the manner in which the Russo-German pact had been negotiated, while conversations ■ with Britain were preceeding, the Prime Minister said he would not pass final judgment on the pact until there had been an opportunity of consulting ,with . France . '.v. 7The pact had been hailed in Berliii as «a great diplomatic victory, and it vras said that Britain and France were no longer likely to fulfil their obligations, to Poland. His first.duty was to remove, that illusion. The guarantee was given *• to Poland before there were any nego-" tiations for an agreement with' Russia, .and was not in any way dependent on it. ' V Britain's First Duty " How can we with honour go back on an undertaking so often said Mr. Chamberlain. " Our first duty is to make it clear that our relations with Poland and other countries are not affected."

Turning again to the German attitude, Mr. Chamberlain said nothing I had been done to menace the legitimate interests of Germany. In view of the German attitude, the British Government had determined to leave no room for possible misunderstanding, and Sir Nevile Henderson had been sent to Kerr Hitler with a message from himself. In this it was stated that war between the two countries would be the greatest possible calamity. With that iu mind, he informed Herr Hitler there was nothing arising from the Polish situation which could not.and should not be resolved without war:

The reply was a restatement of tho thesis ifcliat Eastern Europe was a sphere of influence in which Germany should have a free hand.