MEMEL TRANSFER

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 59, Issue 138, 24 March 1939, Page 5

MEMEL TRANSFER

RATIFICATION OF THE TREATY. FREE PORT FOR LITHUANIA. MUTUAL NON-AGGRESSION. (United Press Association —Copyright.) LONDON, March 23. It is reported from Kaunas that the Lithuanian Parliament has ratified the transfer of Memel. The treaty effecting the transfer contains four clauses: (1) The Memel district is reunited with the Rei,ch. (1) The Lithuanian Army and police will immediately evacuate the territory (other administrative questions resulting from the change in sovereignty are reserved for special agreement). (3) A free port zone jn Memel is granted to Lithuania. (4) A. mutual agreement of non-ag-gression is to be signed. The Nazi leader (Dr. Neumann), in the Memel Diet, proclaimed the anschluss and announced the sending of a telegram of thanks to Herr Hitler. The meeting closed with the singing of “Deutschland Über Alles.” The Nazi police chief (Herr Himmler) has arrived in Memel. A message from Tilsit says the first German troops will enter Memel at dawn and take over the garrison before the Fuhrer’s arrival. A motorised column awaits the order to advance across the Queen Louise bridge, spanning the frontier river. Tilsit is celebrating to-night and the bridge is floodlit with a huge illuminated swastika on the Memel side. German bombers flew low during the day. - JOINT DECLARATION. :>/. 1 t ' ‘ ;,i?■ SOVIET APPROVES SUGGESTION. POLAND WANTS STRONGER. TERMS. rLONDON, March 23. “ The Times ” says the British and French Ministers discussed the British suggestion for a joint declaration regarding the Hungarian and Rumanian tension and the situation in Memel. Britain was able to report that an affirmative reply had been received from the Soviet, hut nothing definite had been communicated from Poland, for whom the suggested draft does not go far enough. { The question therefore arose of strengthening the wording of the declaration and making the terms of cooperation more explicit, v, •~’tThe idea of a conference has not been dropped. The British’ and French discussions will he resumed to-day. UNDERSTANDING WITH RUSSIA. URGED BY LABOUR DEPUTATION. I* ■ . (Received This Day, 9.45 a.m.) LONDON, March 22. A meeting of the three national Labour executives, after considering the international situation, appointed a deputation to meet the Prime Minister (Mr Chamberlain) to-morrow. The deputation urged Mr Chamberlain to enter into closer understanding with Russia. Mr Chamberlain was noncommital, but it is understood that he revealed that the conversations with Russia are going on well.. A further joint meeting will foe held to consider the situation in the light of the deputation’s report and possibly decide on a policy.

POLAND APPREHENSIVE. NOW VIRTUALLY SURROUNDED. COURAGEOUS DECISION URGED. WARSAW, December 23. The seizure of Memel has increased uneasiness. Poland sees itself virtually surrounded on three sides by German troops, since Lithuania is now regarded as merely a German protectorate, with the independence of Latvia and Estonia also threatened. Apprehension was voiced in Parliament by a Government Deputy (M. Dudzinsld), who introduced a motion declaring that Poland was endangered by the emergence of the stark imperialism of Germany, and demanding courageous decisions instead of a purely defensive foreign policy. Several thousand members of the Polish Social Democratic Party demonstrated in Warsaw, speakers denouncing the annexation of Memel, Bohemia and Moravia as robbery. There were cries of “Down with Germany. We/will never give up Danzig.’’ ,The police prevented a march to the German Embassy. ALLEGED SPIES ARRESTED. SECRET POLICE AT MEMEL. (Received This Day, 9.45 a.m.) MEMEL, March 23. Twenty-nine, including a Jew and several Lithuanians, have beep, arrested for suspseted espionage. Herr Himmler instantly began organising secret police.