MINORITY QUESTION

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 114, 10 November 1934, Page 11

MINORITY QUESTION

POLAND & THE LEAGUE *

CONFERENCE DROPPED

' (From "The Post's" Representative.) LONDON, September 28. Poland lias withdrawn Her proposal that an international conference should be held to devise equal treatment for minorities all over the world. ~ Mr. Anthony Eden; Lord Privy Seal, reproved Poland in the Sixth Committee for trying to force the League in», . to another abortive conference. He said it ■ would only aggravate" exist^ ing differences in the world. A confer- - ence on the subject under.League auspices would be bound to^ fail and harm Geneva in -world opinion by adding just one more 'high-minded but ultimately useless conference to' a list which is too' large already. Colonel Beck, the Polish Foreign Minister, it will be remembered, had previously caused a stir By stating that Poland wolald* jiot co-operate with an. international organisation in regard'to the Minorities question, thereby repudiating the minority treaties. There were good reasons, said Mr. Eden, for the special minority treaties. The countries that, by the peace treaties,, obtained large accessions of_ territory received as their nationals large blocks of people racially con- - nectcd with neighbouring unfriendly, States. ' < . ■ "The object of the minority treaties was not to -perpetuate the problem, but to solve it," said Mr. Eden. "There aro practical difficulties in univergalisation. There are certain countries in the world where the admixture of races, religions, and languages is so'ihultifarious that it would surpass the wit of man to. classify .them into majorities and minorities. Jt would be difficult indeed within tho area of Great Britain to say whicli wns " tho majority ' and which the minority." After Mr. Eden's speech tho Polish, delegate said he would withdraw' the proposal for a conference. This did not mean, he said, that Poland had atan- - done'd Jts point of view. Baron Aloisi of Italy, which has German minorities under its rule in Italian Tyrol, said the Polish' case was a special one. i - - The Hungarian delogate stated- that tho Hungarian minority problem in Humania was acute. Bumania, in his opinion, had violated 'every clause of the Minority Treaty. .For example, in 49 Transylvanian towns, out" of .67,000 Hungarian children, 16,000 only were allowed to attend Hungarian schools. The greater majority, of the children, in those parts went without education. .