SUPREME COUNCIL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18320, 10 August 1921, Page 5

SUPREME COUNCIL

UPPER SILESIA. FRAN CO-BRITISH DISPUTE. AN EASIER ATMOSPHERE. Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright LONDON, August 9. (Received Aug. 9, at 5 p.m.) The Paris correspondent of the Daily Chronicle says that an informal dinner talk on Sunday enabled Mr Lloyd George and M. Briand to create an easier atmosphere. When the Council assembled on Monday M. Briand consented to postpone the question of reinforcements, and to deal witn the political issue first. The real crux thus became whether Great Britain on one side is prepared to admit the principle that the industrial triangle in Upper Silesia should be divided and wtiether France, on the other hand, is prepared to modify her proposed frontier line, making it just for the whole of Germany. The British unalterable view is that the alignment of the new PolishGerman frontier must leave Germany reasonably content. After the postponement of the reinforcement question, the legal experts were requested to present their viewpoints. Then French experts formulated a scheme which gives the industrial areas to Poland, reversing the result of tho plebiscite "to the extent of giving sevenelevenths of the population which voted ror Germany to Poland. Mr Cecil Hearst explained the British proposals. First, that tne communes must be allotted according to the country lor which they voted; secondly, isolation of the communes must be avoided ; thirdly communes economically or geographically inseparable must not be divided. He pointed out that the population concerned totalled 2,000,000 in the 1522 communes, 678 of which voted for Poland and 844 for Germany, or 13-30ths for Poland and 17-30ths for Germany.—A. and N.Z. Cable.