WARNING TO RUSSIA.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 19142, 7 October 1925, Page 11

WARNING TO RUSSIA.

IBBELEVANT TOPICS.

INTRIGUES IN EUROPE. IMPERILLING WORLD PEACE. TCHITCHERIN DENIES CHARGE. GERMAN LEADERS THREATENED. By Telegraph—Press Association--Copyright, (Received 5.5 pin.) A„ and N.Z.—Renter. LONDON, Oct. 6. The Paris correspondent of the Morning Post says the French press generally reminds M. Tchitcherin, Soviet Commissar for Foreign Affairs, that the present moment is unsuitable in which to attempt another RapaUo conp. The very announcement of another treaty between ■Russia and Germany while the Locarno conference is in progress, would, the papers say, banish the idea of a security pact. Le Temps says: "The theory appears to bo that the Germans can use the possibility of a treaty with Russia as a threat, hut the blackmail has been raised too soon. This talk of a pact between Germany, Poland and Russia, or an alliaiinca between them, plus Italy, is the stuff dreams are made of. Berlin says M. Tchitcherin denies that he has been intriguing for a military alliance between Russia, Germany and Poland. He characterises the reports as pure inventions Despatches from Germany state that President Hindenburp;, the Chancellor, Dr. Luther, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Herr Stresemann, and other prominent members of the German Cabinet received threatening letters in connection with the Locarno conference on the proposed European security pact. In consequence of these threats exceptional precautions were taken when the delegates were leaving Berlin for Switzerland. Detectives accompanied the train on which they travelled.

CONFEKENCE OPENED.

DRAFT PACT CONSIDERED. PROSPECTS OF AGREEMENT, (Received 11.35 p.m.) Renter. LOCARNO. Oct. 5. The European Security Pact Conference opened here to-day. The Mayor welcomed the delegates. Mr. Austen Chamberlain, British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, in his inaugural address, said he hoped the conversations would ho kept free and informal. They were all meeting on a footing of perfect equality and without a formal president. The conference decided to waive discussion of a general nature, in order to immediately consider the articles of the draft security pact, which had been drawn up by the experts of the Powers in London, .Agreement was at once reached in regard to certain articles. Amendments were proposed to other articles which were reserved for fuller examination by the legal experts. Others again were reserved for later examination by the conference. All the delegates are delighted with the celerity with which the conference began the discussions and with the progress which has already been maiTi The Germans themselves regaj-d the session as auguring wet! for the final success of the conference.

GERMANY'S TWO DEMANDS. BLUNDER OF THE NATIONALISTS. LONDON, Sept,. 27. British arid French political circles welcome the Allied firmness regarding the German attempts to introduce irrelevant, topics at the Pact Conference. It must he admitted, however, that neither in Paris nor London were Germany s demands regarding the evacuation of Cologne and responsibility for the war taken very seriously. It always has been recognised, says the Paris correspondent 01! the Times, that they were intended as a sop to the Nationalists, who must now he convinced of the hopelessness of their enterprise. They are merely regarded as having committed the characteristic blunder of putting the Foreign Minister, Herr Btresemar n, in an unenviable position. Le Temps says it cannot understand how the Nationalists came to make such a mistake when they must have known that the Allies would not allow the Locarno negotiations to be deviated. The paper hopes that, as a result of this incident, the Germans will have learnt that the Allies are unitedly determined to thwart any tampering with the treaty of "V ersailles. "A slap in the face for the Government," is how the majority of the Berlin newspapers describe the Allied reply to the German declarations. The Nationalists, of course, pretend that nothing extraordinary has happened, but elsewhere the opinion is very strongly expressed that the reopening of the question of responsibility for the war at present, instead of strengthening the hand of the German delegation, has definitely weakened it before the conference has begun. "The Nationalists have indeed won a victory—not over the Allies, but over the German people," declares the Vossische Zeitung. "They have succeeded in bringing upon Germany a humiliation such as she has not suffered since the Versailles Conference." The Berliner Tageblatt says the stigma of responsibility for the war cannot be overcome by repeating denials already, made, but by painstaking historical research. Nor will the evacuation of Cologne be hastened by such typically Nationalist gestures.