POLAND AND RUSSIA

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLI, Issue XLI, 19 July 1920, Page 5

POLAND AND RUSSIA

ARMISTICE PROPOSALS

ALLIES' TERMS LIKELY TO BE

ACCEPTED

Br CABLE-PEESS ASSOCiaTIOX-COPYBIGHT

<Ahs.-N.Z. Cable Assn.) LONDON, July 17. According to messages from Warsaw the Polish, disapproval of the armistice "terms account for M. Gradske's with--drawal from Spa on Wednesday. Opinion in Moscow is apparently divided. Tehitchenn and other moderates favor acceptance, but it is reported Trotsky's violent speech at a great gathering at Moscow won unanimous

applause, and the meeting passed & resolution declaring that peace would 'only be signed when the Reds enter Warsaw. The Daily Telegraph correspondent fit the Polish headquarters says the pifoposedi armistice with the Bolshevists is not welcomed by the Polish nation, which hardly realises its danger, but decisive military events are prob^ able before an armistice can be concluded. Vilna was evacuated on the 13th inst., and it is probable the Lithuanians hare already occupied the city. Two" hundred thousand- Polish fugitives from the district are fleeing, abandoning everything, fearing atrocities such as tie recent murder of the Polish prefect at Dubno and fortyeight companions. Audacious raids by small bodies of Russian cavalry through the woods are the chief cause •of the Polish defeats, but a clever Polish general could stop the rout.

The Morning Post's Warsaw correspondent reports that the Lithuanians and Poles reached an agreement, under which Hie former occupied Vilna. It is

■understood tne Lithuanians have an

. agreement' with "the Bolshevists, providing that the former be left in undfispir£ed' occupation. This does not affect the military situation, and the Bolshevists are able to continue ope;ra- , tions as if they actually held it. I All north-western Poland is now * awash, and a mighty trek to Warsaw is proceeding. The military are efficieifiij evacuating 100,000 people from Vilna and Minsk, and countless email Tillages are emptying themselves. Enormous hordes of people are moving along the highways . afoot, carrying their cooking utensils, and hot weather is causing much suffering.

It is difficult to foresee what will happen when Warsaw is reached. The «ity is already overcrowded, and food prices are prohibitive. It is likely the parks and open spaces on the chores of the Vistula will be converted into vast refuge camps.

The Bolshevists are coining into possession of a remarkably rich harvest, some of the corn being already stacked, for the peasants, like the townspeople, are fleeing before the ■Bolshevik terror, without pausing to ■destroy the hansests. WARSAW, July 16. It is doubtful whether Poland will -accept the British armistice proposals. The British Note to Lejiin has created a- mO6t unfavorable impression in Poland. It is considered inevitable, in view of its terms, that M. Grabski should leave Spa without consenting i*> the armistice. A Moscow message states that at a gre.at meeting, discussing peace with Poland, M. Tchitcherin favored the opening by Trotsky of inm:ediate negotiations. Trotsky, on the other hand, protested in • most violent terms, and obtained unanimous applause,, declaring that peace would be signed only After a triumphal entry of the Reds into Warsaw. It is reported from Spa that the Bolehevists agreed to Mr Lloyd George's proposal, except that they suggest that the peace conference be held at Brest" Xitovsk instead of London. PARIS, July 17. The Pelit Parisien states that M. Gradski, on returning to Poland from Spa, participated in prolonged and animated Cabinet discussions regarding the armistice terms, and ultimately overcame strong opposition. Formal notification of acceptance is imminent.

Moscow messages state that the belief is general that Mr Lloyd George's ierms will 13e accepted, largely owing to, Krassin's strong advocacy of moderation, pointing out that peace with western nations is what Russia most

needs