DISPUTE SETTLED

Hokitika Guardian, 14 January 1935, Page 8

DISPUTE SETTLED

Yp'GO-SLAYIA AND HUNGARY"

LONDON, January 10

The settlement *)f the Yugo-slav-Hungarian dispute*is generally regarded at Geneva as one of the most important achievements of the ' League of Nations. The supreme virtue of the Council of the League as a safety valve for national passions was amply vindicated by tlu> meetings. When the representatives of the Little Entente and Hungary, each with their supporting Powers, excited and exhausted themselves in charge and counter-charge, those present in Geneva were left with a feeling of thankfulness that such an accumulation of suspicion and bitterness could be brought into the light of day and allowed to evaporate in harmless oratory before it gave rise to irrevocable deeds. If the resentments and antagonisms which inspired some of the speeches on both sides had been allowed to simmer beneath the surface instead of being publically declared,’ then, it seemed, an explosion in Europe would have been a question only of if not- of days. Air. Anthony Eden and the “neutral” speakers—Dr de Madariaga was one—who followed him, showed no in’clinattion to take the justice of tne Yugoslav charges for granted, and to fasten sole responsibility without more ado on Hungary, writes the Times correspondent. The result was to produce, not a general feeling of satisfaction' that the Council had shown itself able and willing to take an impartial view, but a; state of extreme tension in quarte-s where it had been assumed beforehand that a large majority would join in the condemnation of the accused. It was even rumoured that one of the parties to the accusation, whose representatives woi Id find themselves in difficultii < at home if they failed to get satisfaction at Geneva, might withdraw from the Court.

Mr. Eden more concerned with the ominous events in Central Europe than with oratorical manoeuvring for position within the Council, achieved that rough justice which can be measured by the equal disappointment of excessive expectations, on both sides. Mr. Eden’s claim to ' a certain detachment from the immediate issues of tbf< Hungarian-Yugoslav dispute was appreciated as it deserved, and his refusal to treat the case of either party otherwise than on its merits, though 1 not wholly pleasing to some of his audience, did'something to stead the Council in its judicial role^and to calm the passion's which the opening speeches in the discussion had so evidently roused.

The resolution which was finally adopted pronounces a general condemnvtion of acts of terrorism, insists on the punishment of the individuals responsible for the Marseilles murders, and conveys an indication that there may have been dereliction of duty on the part of Hungarian officials.

The action taken' by Yugoslavia to; expel Hungarians from their country created an unfavourable atmosphere for the opening of the debate. Fortunately, the Government at Belgrade not merely revoked the general order of expulsion which they had drafted agairtst all Hungarian citizens in Yugo-slavia; they also suspended the special deportation of some two or three thousand Hungarians which was in process of being carried out. The expulsions appear to have been of a brutal an'd drastic nature; but neither so brutal nor so extensive as was first reported. In Geneva itself an encouraging point was that the representatives of Frnpce and Italy were working together with equal devotion for a peaceful solution, although in 'the first part of the debate before the Council they had taken opposite views. M. Laval had openly espoused tile case of Yugoslavia, Baron Aloisi that of Hungary. The League council’s resolution was received with acclamation in the Yugoslav press, always uniformly inspired by the official press department. The Government's own organs, Vreme and Novosti, display such headlines as “Hungarian Capitulation” and “Hungary Under the Supervision of the League,” and the claim that Yugoslavia has obtained full and honourable satisfaction for the murder of King Alexander is given prominence in the press as a whole. Tn Hungary, too, the news of agreement was received with signs of relief. The agreement is described as a really sound one which, while it satisfies Yugoslavia feeling, safeguards the dignity of this country.