LITHUANIA

Southland Times, Issue 20498, 29 May 1928, Page 7

LITHUANIA

PRESIDENT PROCLAIMS CONSTITUTION. London, May 27. The Riga correspondent of The Times states that M. Smetona has proclaimed a Constitution, declaring Lithuania an Independent Democratic Republic and naming Vilna as the capital.—Times Cable. M. Anton Smetona was made provisional President in 1919, a year after Lithuania declared her independence. He resigned in 1920, but returned to politics in 1923 as as a Nationalist member of Parliament. In December, 1926, he organized a militarycoup by the Roman Catholic Fascist groups, overthrew the Socialist Government and made himself President. Professor Valdemaras was made Premier, and last year Valdemaras dissolved the Diet after a noconfidence motion had been pased and formed a Smetona-Valdemaras dictatorship. Later Parliament regained some of its power, as Professor Valdemaras seemed to be the dominant partner in the dictatorship. The latest development, taking place while Prefesosr Valdemaras is on a visit to England suggests that M. Smetona or the Government has taken advantage of his absence to oust him from his present position. The declaration of Vilna as capital of Lithuania is significant because the city, which was the ancient capital, has been in the hands of Poland for some years. There has been a long quarrel over the city, and a state of war existed since 1920, though little blood has been shed. The League of Nations intervened last year and arranged for a settlement of the dispute, but the negotiations, which began last February, have made little progress.