PEACE TREATIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3433, 30 December 1919, Page 17

PEACE TREATIES.

JAPAN AND THE PACIFIC ISLANDS. -RATIFICATION OF TREATY DEFERRED. (By Cable.) PARIS, December 25. Owing to the German delegates returning to Berlin for consultation, the ratification of the Peace Treaty before the New Year is impossible. " Herr von Leasner's necessity to obtain n»w instructions from his Government will probably delay the signing oi the- protocol until January. The Allies adhere to the amount of dock tonnage demanded from Germany, but there is a loophole left for possible reductions. ANOTHER CONFERENCE. DOMINIONS NOT REPRESENTED. .IMPORTANT QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION. LONDON, December 24. The conference to be held in Paris during January will be a miniature of the great conference held in January, 1919. It will discuss many of the same questions, dealing with reparation, boundaries, and armaments. The dominions will not be represented. The conference is part of a great combined European-American effort to deal finally _with the treaties and to get the Turkish Empire satisfactorily divided. A Franco-British understanding, of which a large loan is a prominent feature, includes a Syrian agreement and the handing over of Damascus to France. The position relating to the Hedjaz has. not been reconciled by the conferences. The main difficulty remains in disposing of Constantinople. THE SCAPA SINKINGS. PARIS, December 18. The Germans tried many dodges when confronted with the meeting of Ministers and Ambassadors which has replaced the Supreme Council. They produced figures having Allied experts' estimates of Germany's shipping material. The Allies agreed to accept 200,000 tons of dock material as compensation for the Scapa sinkings, plus 50,000 tons of new ships, which the Germans undertook to construct within a limited period. Germany also offered half-built Dreadnoughts instead of cruisers and destroyers, claiming that the latter were necessary to police her shores. M. Clemenceau drily replied; "Why have not the Dreadnoughts already been broken up in accordance with the treaty?" December 23. The Allied reply to the German Note of December 15 has been delivered, accompanied by a verbal statement that the Allies desire to take into account Germany's economic difficulties, and will reduce, their demands if they are shown to err regarding the valuation of Germany's harbour material. Herr von Leasner, after receiving the Allied reply regarding the Scapa Flow reparation, departed for Berlin for the purpose of receiving his Government's instructions. There has been no rupture in the negotiations. The German delegation has decided to reconsider its- decision to return to Berlin and intends to communicate by telegraph instead. CONSIDERATION BY SUPREME COUNCIL. PARIS, December 25. The Supreme Council has received reports of interviews with von Leasner. It appears that only the German naval experts who came to discuss the Scapa Flow scuttlings returned to Berlin, where they received their instructions in view of the Allies refusing to modify their demands for dock materials. Marcel Hutin states that Allied representatives are proceeding to Dantzig and other ports to investigate the amount of material at Germany's disposal. - D'ANNUNZIO QUITS FIUME. ROME, December 25. A message from Milan states that d'Annunzi has quitted Fiume, and his followers have begun the evacuation of the town. The local National Council is now in possession, pending the Supreme Council's settlement, which is expected in January. The Cabinet approved of the agreement concluded with Signor d'Annunzio, and normal conditions have been resumed in Fiume. Two plebiscites resulted favourably to the Premier's proposals. The Gov ernment promised to maintain integrally the line fixed by the armistice, to recognise Fiume's right to decide her own fate, and to assist in the restoration of civil administration and business activity by conceding credit in order to overcome the currency difficulty. The Government also promised never to allow Fiume's sovereign rights to be diminished or violated, and to accept no solution that would separate Fiume from Italian territory. December 25. An official communique states that the Government's proposals in connection with Fiume amounted to a command to Signor d'Annunzio to evacuate. There are conflicting reports regarding the situation at Fiume. One states that Signor d'Annunzio, with a number of his supporters, including- officers, are prisoners. Major Jomman and Commander Rizzo favoured the acceptance of the Government's proposal, and handed their resignations to d'Anmmzio. The commander of a destroyer from Zara on Tuesday delivered the communication, ?>ointing out the gravity of the situation n Dalmatia. and stating that d'Annunzio's landing could not be permitted.

ALLOTTING THE MANDATES. PARIS, December 25. The Supreme Council has adopted a convention dividing the mandates over German South-west Africa between Great Britain and Belgium. The convention relating to the Pacific colonies has been deferred owing to the Japanese representatives requesting time to receive instructions from their Government before the mandates are finally settled. MANDATE OVER PACIFIC ISLANDS. PROTEST BY JAPAN. - PABIS, December 26. The Supreme Council considered the suggestions prepared by the commission, which recently sat in London, regarding the mandates over the former German colonies. The first questions concerned East African territories, ceded partly to Britain and partly to Belgium, and were approved. These will be administered according to the type of Mandate B (Article 22 of the League of Nations Covenant). Other projects concerning territories in the Pacific and Africa, which will be administered according to the type of Mandate C, with administration similar to that of the mandatory nations, were approved by the three delegations, the Japanese reserving approbation in reference to the British mandate over the Pacific Islands. Mr Matsui objected on the grounds that if the Australian regime were applied to the islands Japanese immigration would be debarred, as it jvas in Australia. Japan's position thus would be worse than before the war, when by agreement with Germany she had full freedom of immigration into the various German possessions. Mr Matsui added that such a state of things would be . paradoxical after Japan's naval effort, which, especially at the outset of the war, assured the policing of the Pacific. LONDON, December 25. The Japanese attitude over the Pacific mandates astonishes, and ha 3 embarrassed, the British Foreign Office. Mr Matsui, on behalf of Japan, strongly objects to the Australian regime in islands south of the equator. The Japanese attitude is especially disappointing because Lord Milner persuaded the dominion delegates to agree to Japan receiving an identical mandate north of the equator as Australia and New Zealand had received in the south. Mr Matsui states that he cannot agree to the issue of mandates until he has referred the matter to Tokio, but it is well known that his uncompromising attitude is duo to instructions already received from Tokio. UNITED STATES RESERVATIONS. WASHINGTON, December 18. Senator Hitchcock (Democrat) asserted, that President Wilson would never accept the treaty with Senator Lodge's reservations, but would probably accept compromises. December 21. -'The New York Times's Washington correspondent states that many Republican Senators are angered at Senator Lodge's opposition to a treaty compromise, and say that they will request him not to interfere with the conciliatory steps taken by the Republicans and Democrats. It is understood that the Democrats offered a resolution in the Senate requesting Vice-president Marshall to appoint a committee of 10 Senators to draw up a resolution for the ratification of the Peace Treaty, which will be approved by Senate. Senator Lodge objected, upon which the resolution was tabled. December 22. Senator Hitchcock, in a statement, said: '"I have personally conferred with many Republican Senators,, all of whom evince an earnest desire to see a treaty compromise worked out. Article 10 is still a difficult point on which to get an agreement. I feel sure that President Wilson will accept a mild reservation of article 10, but he will not agree to the exclusion of the article and the covenant. There is considerable misunderstanding concerning President Wilson's exact position regarding the treaty. I am certain he will accept a compromise, though he will not offer any." December 23. Senators Lodge and Underwood conferred, and it is reported that steps towards a Treaty compromise are progressing satisfactorily. December 24. Senator King announces that he has formulated a treaty compromise which he will introduce into the Senate after the holidays. Senator Lodge's reservations, with small changes, will form the basis of the new proposals. Senator Hitchcock stated that he had tried to dissuade Senator King from offering any compromise on the ground that it should come from the Republican reservationists. NEW YORK, December 24. The New York Sun's Washington correspondent says thftfc Sca-ator Lodge, in a statement, declared that a compromise was drawing near, "but," he said, "it will be acceptoble to the Republicans only if the reservations are retained; but I am not certain whether President Wilson will accept any compromise, save the ratification of the treaty without reservations." The New York Times Washington correspondent states that it is reported that the Republican mild reservationists and " middle-grounders" have served an ultimatum on Senator Lodge, stating that unless he expedites negotiations in connection Nfr'Jth the treaty they will person:uv%\jtiate with the Democrats. KURDISTAN. LONDON, December 19. The Daily Express Geneva correspondent states that the Armenian Bureau reports that Enver Pasha has been elected King of Kurdistan. It is believed that he wishes to imitate d'Annunzio.