THE PEACE CONFERENCE

Otago Witness, Issue 3403, 4 June 1919, Page 21

THE PEACE CONFERENCE

GERMANY STILL DEFI/YNT

THE CUTTING UP OF TURKEY.

(By Cable.)

OPINION IN GERMANY,

COPENHAGEN, May 15 (delayed). Public opinion in Germany, especially *mongst merchants and business men, is twinging round in favour of signing the treaty as being the only method of terminating the commercial and industrial stagnation in the country. THE HAGUE, May 15 (delayed). Despite the organised clamour, increasing numbers of people in Germany favour the acceptance of the treaty. The manufacturers are anxious to terminate the stagnation, and the masses to avoid the reimposition of the blockade. . Herr Bernstein, in voicing moderate opinion, admits that the majority of the Allied demands are reasonable. Germany has caused much devastation and committed many blunders, and must pay. *. The newspaper Freicht, -an Independent organ, asserts that an overwhelming majority of the proletariat and many of the bourgeoisie recognise Germany's responsibility for the war, the denial of which is Immoral and stupid. Baron Richtoven, the Democratic leader An the National Assembly, writing in the press, ridicules a relapse into aggressive patriotism and flag-wagging and ignoring practical politics. He declares that Paris |s justified In laughing at the pathetic indignant protests emanating from men who previously wanted to annex territories without consultink; the inhabitants. BERLIN, May 16 (delayed). Anti-Entente feeling is so strong that British .and American officers have been ordered to wear mufti lest they incite the populace. AMSTERDAM, May 16 (delayed). Crowds demonstrated outside the headquarters of the American Mission at Hamburg. The speakers freely protested against the disastrous peace terms. An officer attached to the mission consented to forward their demands to President Wilson.

A Berlin wireless message states that the Provincial Council of East Prussia has appealed to President Wilson to take action against the " brutal plundering," and has also requested Mr Wilson to consent to verbal negotiations with the German delegates at Versailles. COPENHAGEN, May 17 (delayed). Forty thousand Berlin demonstrators protested against Germany's disarmament, and expressed confidence in the Government, which should only accept a peace based on right. General .Hoffmann, addressing the Bavarian Assembly at Bamberg, violently protested against the terms, and rejected the idea of seeking a separate Bavarian peace. PARIS, May 27. , An insistent minority in Germany favours the signature of the Peace Treaty. The German Government's encouragement of the popular agitation against the signature embarrasses their freedom of action. Some correspondents point out that the Government will yield only after an actual further invasion. The .general consensus of opinion is that the military machine is in ruins. THE GERMAN DELEGATES. PARIS, May 19. Count Rantzau and the entire German delegation have returned. t It is rumoured among the .German delegates that the meeting between Count Rantzau and the Berlin emissaries' at Spa was stormy, and that it is unlikely that /Uou'nt Rantzau will return to Versailles. Herr Scheidemann may replace him. Herr Scheidemann, at a meeting of the Grand Council in Berlin, advocated an appeal for an international democracy alliance. -"' The Russian Bolshevist generals present ?rotested that the remedy was worse than he disease. * The opinion prevailed that armed resistance was impossible, and that as Count Rantzau and Heirr Scheidemann were unable to influence the Allies, acceptance was inevitable. ALLEGED DETERMINATION NOT < TO SIGN. LONDON, May 30. " The Berlin correspondent of the Daily Chronicle states that it is announced oh official authority that Germany will not • sign the Entente's peace terms, in their present form? May 31. The German Foreign Office has categorically declined to sign the Peace Treaty. Count Rantzau, addressing several of his departing colleagues at- Versailles, declared : " Tell Berlin I will never sign the peace preliminaries till they are seriously modified. Someone else may sign, but I won't." Possibly Herr Erzberger will replace Count Rantzau. GERMAN COUNTER-PROPOSALS. BERLIN, May 16 (delayed). There have been prolonged Government discussions on the propounding of counterproposals based on President Wilson's 14 points. One newspaper predicts that the Government will arrange to take a referendum of the people on the acceptance or refusal of the Peace Treaty in the event of the Allies refusing to make concessions. PARIS, May 16 (delayed). It is understood authoritatively that the German counter-proposal with reference to the Saar Valley agrees to the surrender of the coal, but Insists upon the retention of German political jurisdiction. BERLIN, May 27. The German counter-proposals are to disarm all battleships - and make conditions

for the restoration of part of her mercantile fleet. •

She refuses cession of Upper Silesia, the occupied territory to be evacuated at the end of six months; Germany to be accorded membership of the League of Nations; and witK no territorial changes without the population agreeing thereto. Germany offers to pav an indemnity totalling 100,000,000,000 marks. COPENHAGEN, May 27. The German newspapers contain the text of the counter-proposals. These declare that Germany is willing to reduce her armaments more than is demanded by the treaty. Germany proposes a special commission of all the belligerents to settle territorial and colonial questions, and to deal with the League of Nations question. She definitely declines to surrender Upper Silesia or any part of Prussia. Germany demands that Dantzig be a free port, and the Vistula neutralised. She offers to assume the direction of the German colonies under, the League of Nations. She. refuses to accept the punishment terms, and is ready to give an indemnity of 100,000,000 marks in gold, and a further 20 milliards .before 1926. , PARIS, May 28. The German counter-proposals demand peace according to President Wilson's 14 points, also an indemnity for the British blockade. They point out that Germany is now a strictly democratic country. The Allies will decline discussion, beyond the methods of application. May 30. •' Germany is willing to agree to the destruction of the military powers if allowed to enter the League of Nations on equal terms, according to the statement in the German counter-proposals. - ff __-. _ REPLIES TO GERMAN NOTES. PARIS, May 20 (delayed). M. Clemenceau, in reply to a German Note asking the repatriation. of prisoners, says the Allies cannot release those guilty of crimes. He was not aware that any alleviation of their position was possible, since their treatment always observed the laws of humanity. The Allies will restore personal property when prisoners are repatriated.

He agrees to the appointment of a mixed commission when peace is signed,, but must refuse complete reciprocity in the return of prisoners, in view of the treatment received by the Allies interned in Germany during the war. May 23.

Replying to Count Rantzau's Note regarding economic questions M. Clemenceau says the Note ignores the origin and results of the war. The Allies are only asking Germany ; to hand over four million tons of shipping, whereas Germany had sunk 12,000,600 tons during the war. M. Ciemenceau admits that important wheat and potato areas were taken from Germany, but these areas would remain free to export to Germany. ' Replying to complaints about lives being lost owing to the blockade," M. Ciemenceau reminds the Germans that there were greater ruthless aggressions. The reply concludes : "Nothing can prevent Germany regaining a position of prosperity in Europe. Her territories suffered less during the war than the other belligerents. Germany -possesses resources intact, which, together with importations, should suffice to reconstitute her. Moreover, the great reduction in armaments will mean a huge economy. The Germans' sufferings arise not from the conditions of peace, but from the acts of those who provoked and prolonged the war, the authors of which will not be able to escape its. just consequences. THE SAAR VALLEY. PARIS, May 25. The Allies' reply to Germany's Saar Note points out that the exploitation of mines is part of the general reparation as well as reparation for the destruction of. the French mines. The reply denies that the inhabitants of the valley are wholly German, and asserts that control will not be by the French Jmt by the League of Nations. Germany is also reminded that the inhabitants of the Saar Valley will be guaranteed certain social and fiscal liberties, and states, lastly, with a view to avoiding misunderstanding, that if Germany, after the expiry of one year after the plebiscite, has not effected the payments in gold, the League of Nations may revise the, reparation plan, perhaps liquidating the outstanding part of the mines. ALLIED- PREPARATIONS. IF GERMANW REMAINS OBSTINATE. PARIS, May 16 (delayed.) In view of possible eventualities, British cavalry units are proceeding to the Rhine. NEW YORK, May 16 (delayed). The New York Times Berlin correspondent inquired at the War Ministry regarding persistent rumours saying that the German military authorities had planned resistance against the Allies if the Peace Treaty is rejected. The officials denied the correctness of the rumours. They also declared that there was no truth in the reports that German scientists were devising a means of infecting a possible invading army with the germs of a fatal disease. Earl Curzon, Lord President of the Council, in a speech at a meeting of the Primrose League, said that in the event of Germany's refusal to sign the Allies were prepared for every emergency. No substantial modification of the treaty would be permitted. Our terms _ were in such contrast to the terms which Germany would have imposed if she had been victorious that he recalled Lord Clivo's phrase, " We stand aghast at our own moderation."

May 27. British and American marines have landed at Dantzig.

■ PARIS, May 28. Immediately Germany refuses to sign the treaty the Allied armies, after 72 hours' notice, will advance into Germany. Arrangements for blockading the coast are complete. MR LLOYD GEORGE FIRM. PARIS, May 30. Mr Lloyd George, addressing a Welsh division recently at Amiens, said : " The Germans have been reckoning on this war for years, even counting the number ot spikes per yard in barbed wire. We are bound, in order to prevent a recurrence, to make our terms severe. We must carry out the edict of Providence and see that the people inflicting these horrors shall never be in a position to do so again. The Germans, their newspapers, and their politicians say they will not sign. We say ' You must. If not at Versailles, then you shall sign at Berlin.' The world's future depends on this peace being imposed. If necessary, you soldiers will march to Berlin, though your leave be cancelled and your return home delayed." ALLEGED GERMAN PLANS. LONDON, May 15 (delayed). The Daily Chronicle's Geneva correspondent writes : ' The declarations by German statesmen show that they will sign the treaty with rage and revenge in their hearts, and will strive to render its obligations illusory. "It is now revealed from an unimpeachable source that the Cabinet Council in Berlin is rebelling against the Saar Valley disposition, and has secretly decided to provoke a revolution in Belgium, where Labour difficulties are considerable, and thereby endanger the British army of occupation, which will be then almost isolated between hostile Germany and the -Bolshevists in Belgium. It is calculated that this movement will spread through Luxembuig and the 43aar district, creating general anarchy and forcing the Allies to evacuate the entire region.

THE DATE FOR SIGNING. PARIS, May 16 (delayed)" The latest date for the signing of the German, Austrian, and Hungarian Treaties has been fixed for June 6. A PLENARY SESSION. Mr Massey and Sir Joseph Ward returned to Paris on Thursday night in order to attend a plenary session, at which the Austrian Treaty will be considered. There will be a presentation of the terms to Austria on Monday. THE FIUME QUESTION. PARIS, .May 26. The Italians and Jugo-Slavs have practi--cally settled their dispute on the basis «of Italian concessions in the hinterland of Fiume like those at Dantzig pending a plebiscite after a few years. The Italians are still resisting the Greek claims to the Dodecanese Islands. May 29. It is understood that the Fiume question has been settled, the city becoming autonomous, and Italy receiving the Adriatic Islands in exchange. .; THE DIVISION OF TURKEY. PARIS, May 18 (Delayed). Le Temps denies that the Peace Conference has actually decided to divide Turkey into several zones. The Council of Four, however, has considered two proposals : that the United States shall receive a mandate over Constantinople and Armenia; and that Greece shall take the coastal region having Smyrna as its principal centre. Regarding the division of Turkey, the third proposal is that Italy should administer Southern Anatolia, and the fourth that Northern . Anatolia shall include Broussa* and Angora, forming a Turkish State, whose independence France undertakes to safeguard. SMYRNA OCCUPIED. PARIS, May 16 (delayed). The Allied troops have occupied Smyrna on behalf of the Greeks, who have also despatched a force. There is great enthusiasm at Athens. May 17. „ The newspapers gave, prominence to the importance of the Greek occupation of Smyrna, which they regard as the end of the Ottoman Empire. ATHENS, May 30. A Greek transport embarked the Turkish garrison at Smyrna for conveyance to Broussa. It is reported that the Greek troops have established cordial relations with the citizens of Smvrna. ROME, May 18. Considerable newspaper agitation follows the news that the Greek*division authorises the occupation of Smyrna. It is pointed out that two-thirds of the Trieste trade was with Smyrna. Italy's claims to Smyrna are apparently not recognised. Although the newspapers advise calmness, they forcibly protest before the Paris Conference being sacri'ficed to profit either the Jugo-Slavs or Greeks. A TRAGIC BEGINNING. LONDON, May 31. The Daily Express Smyrna correspondent relates a tragic story regarding the Greek occupation of Smyrna. The Greek troops provoked the Turkish soldiers to fire a few shots, and then a horrible man-hunt followed, Greek civilians joining in with the troops. The Turks who surrendered to the troops were bayoneted and clubbed and flung into the sea, even when they were unarmed and under escort. Turkish houses and shops were raided.

When news of the happenings in Smyrna become known similar man-hunts took place in the surrounding villages, the Greek troops handing rifles and payonets to civilians, including boys from 12 to 16 years of aga.N

The Turks appeal to Britain and France not to hand over Turkey to her enemies. A DELEGATE RESIGNS. PARIS, May 23. L'Humanite publishes a letter in which Mr W. M. Bullit announces his resignation from the American delegation to the Peace Conference. He complains bitterly of Mr Wilson's acquiescence in the decisions regarding Russia, Shantung, Syrol, Thrace, Hungary, the Saar Valley, and Dantzig, and the abandonment of the freedoni 6f the sea 3 doctrine. PEACE CELEBRATIONS. THE BRITISH PROGRAMME. LONDON, May 17 (delayed). The peace celebrations on August 3 will include national services of thanksgiving in Trafalgar square, Westminster Abbey, and St. Paul's. Every church in the Empire will offer special prayers. On the 4th there will be a chain of bonfires from end to end of Britain, including 30,000 war flares, which will be visible for many miles and lasting 10 minutes. On the sth there will be military and naval pageants, and a merchant shipping pageaut in the Thames. THE PEACE TREATY. NEW YORK, May 18 (delayed). The New York Times Washington correspondent says that," according to information received from senatorial circles, the Peace Treaty contains a clause not included in the summary cabled from Paris. This clause makes the treaty operative when signed by three of the principal Governments and by Germany. The Echo de Paris says that President Wilson was the chief cause of the details of the Peace Treaty not being published, as he was afraid of an unfavourable debate developing in America during his absence. THE CHINESE AGREEMENT. PARIS, May 20 (delayed). Progress., information regarding tho Chinese agreement shows that the new divisions in the-spheres of influence in the Far East will be as follow:—British sphere—Thibet, Szechuan, and West Siam; French sphere—East Siam, Yunnan, Kweichau,'and West Kuangmung; Japanese sphere—Shantung, Manchuria, and Mongolia.

The agreement opens the Yangtse to the British, French, and Japanese on equal terms. The price of the Japanese recognition of Kolchak will be the withdrawal from the Russian spheres in Manchuria and Mongolia. •:' The Chinese are desirous of signing the. treaty, with a reservation respecting the Japanese clauses. • : THE HOHENZOLLERNS. LONDON, May 15 (delayed). A correspondent in Wieringen learns from the ex-Crown Prince that the exKaiser will never allow himself to be brought before a tribunal. He will-com-mit suicide first, and the ex-Crown Prince will act similarly if a similar demand is made for him. ROTTERDAM, May 27. The ' Courant, in an article which is probably inspired, hints that the Dutch Government may change the constitutional law so as to grant the Entente's demand for the extradition of the ex-Kaiser, but such assent will be conditional on certain provisions regarding the constitution of the court and the character of the trial. MANDATES. LONDON, May 19. Mr Hughes, Commonwealth Premier, is actively engaged in London in connection with the terms of the mandatory, the wording of which requires most careful drafting in order to secure the special interests of the different mandatories. Mr Hughes is also negotiating with the Supreme Economic Council" over the sale of Australian products. CAPETOWN, May 26. In replying to a question in the Assembly the Acting premier stated that the Government was bringing in legislation to give effect-to the principles of the mandate for German South-west Africa, but not this session. It was not intended to throw open the territory before peace, but meanwhile it was being surveyed with a view to settlement. PARIS, May 21 (delayed). The newspaper Humanite says : America at the eleventh hour declined a mandate for Constantinople. PROTESTS./ LONDON, May 18 (delayed). The Observer in an article demands the immediate raising of the-blockade, which it says is inflicting frightful misery upon Germany, especially on the women _ and children. The treaty must be considerably modified, otherwise mankind will certainly drift back to slaughter following on social and international dissension.- Democratic forces everywhere must resolve that the paper "peace shall speedily become a, real peace for a reconstructed and reconciled Europe, abiding by the single commandment, "There shall be no war." ZURICH, May 15 (delayed^. The International Women's Conference is protesting against the peace terms. Mrs Philip Snowden is the principal speaker. LONDON, May 21 (delayed). Thirty-three Labour leaders have signed a manifesto protesting against the peace treaty on the ground that it violates the Government's pledges and particularly Mr Lloyd George's -pledges to Labour on January 5. It is further urged that the treaty does not recognise the change following the German revolution, resulting in the establishment of a Social Democracy. The treaty contains germs of new conflicts, and creates conditions of unrest andv injustice, which must make the League

of Nations, if it survives, merely an in* strument o! Imperialism. MISCELLANEOUS. The Council of Four has agreed to allow the United States to retain the seized Qer* man shipping. It is semi-officially denied that an invitation has been sent to the Bulgarian plenipotentiaries. King Albert of Belgium is expected to visit the opening of the League of Nations at Washington in October. It is understood that safeguards agains| religious discrimination in the new Statei of Europe have been agreed to by tho Council of Four. Mr Bonar Law was pressed in the HousO of Commons for details of the intended Indemnity claims against Germany. Ho said that the various Allies had made provisional estimates, but they could not bf disclosed. The Council of Four continued the di» cussion on the Dutch-Belgian claims. 1$ is understood that tho Dutch admit thai the revision of the treaty would allow them the use of the mouths of the Scheldt and the Meuse, without concessions of sovereignty.