PROBLEM OF THE STRAITS.

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 17632, 8 December 1922, Page 9

PROBLEM OF THE STRAITS.

allied proposals. |_ ollAll commission or ! CONTBOL. £ ' Ptw >«oc»tfc«-COS>K;sW ; ) j a Cable Association.) ?' LONDON, December to. irnm Lausanne indicate thafc lP*£a is completely satisfied , .Hied discussions. hcad of the French deleit was an oxceltente - representatives are regarding tlic Darthe administrarif7ite Straits by an international ■b . nf control, including deleAllies the Black Sea 12, a,id Bulfia ; ia ; The , Al " jft, insist that the Turks expmin plicy in oldcr t0 fin a iwiderstanding. ft'ff Child (American observer), "•'SS'IOPt Pasha that the Aineiifavoured the comyioto §?" *f the Straits to merchant restrictions on the passage tjSmne correspondent of the Ev<MsJin" says the idea is more tiat t-be London ConferWj prime Minister will decide the ohjracter of the Entente. Tnrcertainly wait till after the KMC9 beforo makil,g Unj ' Veply majeriaily from the views Baiting fro® Moscoiv. 1 here are ik'winoOTms and evasions that assuredly will not employ if the Lire,united; but, on the contrary, Ig try them if the Allies are diM not only for the capital quesQ the Straits, but nlso for every S, question. Therefore maintenance wEntente is essential. | Later. M'Oown, speaking at tlio OonEje"ssid 31 Tchitcherm opposed £r Ppwera entering tho Sim its, owing to the preponderance |jrjM naval-pwer, but he wee con|jtol»TO x ft similar preponderance in ji|l«kS4») providing it was Russian, l ilies! proposals fell under two P< First, tta regulation of the jlipofmeSchant ships and warships; laijlfj jthe creation of demilitarised jjja on the shores of tho Straits. Cergjfocto must bp bo me m mind in to lecwe a lasting solution. In mtiEM, -Turkey, being neutral, would' jnsfree passage for her warships, ijetf to'tho snme limitation as durIjpeHie time regarding numbers. Jiß'&rtey- Wflß a belligerent, there Complete freedom- for neutral tho sam« limitajsfr'tl/h' " \ ■ lldftCGnrftn analysed M. Tolnitjp'4 j oliUm on-bahnlf of Russia for treatment -and seourity of Seroe for the Straits. He expreseoi Tksaa was thereby fc {sv'6u»4position, and he apijlSd- to iihe riparian! Powers to eay Ills could! bo i, r.B afi&otdy were at leged ; zone,poe : .t : on for 0 a, Russian le faithfuldesired! to letail later, >me general 1 said/ were and a eys;nol alwayjs he was glad acefully inion for tfoa pies. This iter part of tf two days t a certain regarding ly in Black A certain 1 and two omposed of rin, France, tea, Russia, aria, and Turkey preid whether J ild act or Lord Our"The Rus- ' written i there was in advance id vance in Signor Gar- I Allied plan t the Conrill Friday ha and M. U the deleUlied plan plan has hough Buse absolutestituted a I they did was very 1 to apply ■ such seas. Letts had it was useitaia could

ing the Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmora, and tho Bosphorus, is to be open in future, both in' peace and •war, to every vessel of commerce or of war, and to military and commercial aircraft, without distinction of flag. These waters are not to be subject to blccka.de, and no belligerent right is to bo exercised nor any act of hostility committed 1 within them unless in pursuance of a decision of the Council of the League of Nations. A "Commission of the Straits" is established with control over these waters, to which both the Turkish and Greek Governments delegate the necessr.ry pr/vrers. The Commission is composed of representatives appointed respectively by t-' c United States of America (if and .when that Government is willing to participate), the British Empire, France. Itay, Japan, Russia (if :' nc * when Russia becomes a member of the League of Nation;), Greece. Roumania, and Bulgaria (if anl whan Bulgaria bc.oines a member of tho League of Nations). Each Power is to appoint one representative, but the representatives oi' the United states, the British Empire, France, Italy, Japan, and Russia br.vo two rtes each, and the representatives of the other three Powers one vote each. The Oom-ni':-:sio!i c-ierriv's it; authority in com- : ivcte imhne-Klent-c of t! e loo.il authoI i itv. with" its own flag, b Agfit, and ! -eoaivte organisation. The Commission i is'eiiarccd with the execution of any i works n.cessury for the lmprovcm-nt ' of the channel.* or the appr. s-vhes t* ! i!:;ri).uirs. li>.'ht'ne.. buoying. t*-.o coni ivA ;■: -pilot;*.}.?!, and towage, tie c:.-n----i tn.i of a:.chni : ag<;s, the control _r.'ces-•-.arv to ns-.ure the execution in the r>orts of Constantinople and Haidar 1 Pi.-ha of the regime laid d wn in that part of tlu Treaty relating to ports ■■■. •ii-"i".vnv«, and railwavs, and the control of all' matters relating to wrecks I and salvage and lighterage i In the case of threats to the freedom of passage of the Straits, special provision is made for appeal by the Commission to the reoresentatives at Constantinoole of Great Britain, France, and Italv, which Powers, under the military provisions of tho Treaty, provide forces for tho occupation of the zone of the Straits. These renresentatives will concert with the naval and military commanders of the Allied forces the necessary measures, whether the threat comes from within or without the zone of the : Straits. Provision is also made for the 1 acquisition of property or permanent | works by the Commission, the raising I of loans, the levyiwr of dues on phip- ; ping in the Straits, the transfer to the Commission of the functions exercised within the waters of the Straits by the Constantinople Superior Council, of Health, the Turkish Sanitary Administration, and the National Life Boat Bervico of the Bosphorus, and the relaI tious of the Commission with persons I or companies now holding concessions relating to lighthouses, docks, quays, or similar matters are laid down. The Commission is empowered to raise aspacial police force, and .provision is made for dealing with infringements of the regulations and by-lawe or the Commission by the appropriate local courts, whether consular, Turkish or Greek. A ,peuial article layß down that all dues and charges inrposed by the Commission bhall be levied •without any discrimination and on a footing of absolute equality between all vessels whatever their port of. origin or destination or departure their flag or ownershipj or the nationality or the ownership of their cargoes. Articles analogous to the relevant provisions of the Suez Canal Convention of 1838 deal with the transi"*. of warships, prizes, the passage of be^perent -warships, and their stay within the waters under the control of the Commission, as well as their repair or replenishment with supplies or the completion of their crews, but the freedom of action of belligerents acting in pur- I suance of a decision of the Council of j the League of Nations is specially re- | served. Further regulations are to be '. laid down bv the League of Nations] regarding the nassage of war material and contraband designed for the enemies of ; Turkey and other kindred .matters. THE .ffiGEAN ISLANDS. . JBeutor'ti Telegrams.) ATHENS, December 6. A. meeting of the inhabitants of tie island of, Tenedos, off the coast of Asia Minor,' carried a resolution emphasising the determination that the island should lemain an integral part of Greece,. and declaring that j* it was annexed by Turkey the entire population would depart, after setting?/be to the town and villages. TROUBLE IN MACEDONIA. SOFIA, December 6. - ' Some thousands of Macedonian autonomists seized the town of Kustendil and cut communication with the capital. They arrested some inhabitants and took over the administration. With the exception of one woman being killed, no excesses are reported. The Government is taking steps to suppress the movement, which so far is purely local. CHRISTIANS IN CONSTANTINOPLE LAUSANNE, December 6. Ismet Pasha denies that the position of Christians in Constantinople causes anxiety. He declares that the reports, relative to the insecurity, of Greeks] are Greek manoeuvres, designed to influence the negotiations for an exchange of Turkish and Greek populations. LONDON, December 6. The "Daily. Telegraph's" Constantinople correspondent states that an all- j day conference between the Allied gen- j erals and Rafet Pasha discussed the j Turks' refusal to allow Ottoman Armen- j ians and Greeks to leave without Tur- '< kish visas, but the conference proved ' abortive. j Tho Turks are viewing the Lausanne ; proceedings unfavourably' and are adopting a policy of pin-pricks. The Turkish police seized the Bourse m consequnce of Turkish members' refusal to pay £Bl each. i In the House of Commons Mr Buxton asked whether the Government; would invito the co-operation of the Dominions to provide facilities for nonTurkish refugees from Asia Minor settling overseas. Mr Bonar Law said enquiries were being made on the subject. SAD PLIGHT OP REFUGEES. LONDON, December 6The' Constantinople correspondent of the "Daily Telegraph" says the plight ■ of the refugees is, more hopeless as the result of Angora's refusal to allow! Greek ships to enter the Black Sea ports, where scores of thousands are* awaiting transport. Angora's refusal was accompanied by an intimation that unless the refugees speedily cleared, (Continued at foot of next column.)

they would be returned to the interior. Many have fallen in the rush to the coast, and few will survive tbe return journey. Ten Greek ships have been secured, by the relief organisation. Qver 20,000 are foodless and going to Mersina, but all the ports in that neighbourhood have closed. A pathetic sight at Samson was an old.woman tottering along, carrying her exhausted husband, whose feet were frozen.