SILESIA’S FRONTIERS.

Taranaki Daily News, 10 August 1921, Page 5

SILESIA’S FRONTIERS.

ALLIES DISCUSS PROBLEM. DIVISION OF THE AREA. TWO INTERESTS OPPOSED. By Telegraph.—Press Assn.—Copyrtfijiit. Received August 9, 5.5 p.m. London, August 9. The Daily Chronicle’s Paris correspondent says an informal dinner talk on Sunday enabled Mr. Lloyd George and M. Briand to create an easier atmosphere. When the Supreme Council assembled on Monday M. Briand consented to postpone the question of reinforcements, dealing with the political issue first. The real crux thus became whether Britain, on the one side, is prepared to admit the principle that the industrial triangle in Upper Silesia is to be divided, and whether 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 Polish-German frontier must leave Germany reasonably contented. After the postponement of the reinforcements question the legal experts were requested to present their view-points. The French expert formulated a scheme which gives the industrial areas to Poland, reversing the result of the plebiscite to the extent of giving seven-elevenths of the population which voted for Germany to Poland. Mr. Cecil Hurst explained that the British proposals were: Firstly, that the communes must be allotted according to the country for which they voted; secondly, that isolations of the communes must be avoided; and, thirdly, the communes economically or geographically inseparable must not be divided. He pointed out that the population concerned totalled 2,000,000 in 1522 communes, 678 of which voted for Poland and 844 for Germany, making thirteen-thirtieths for Poland and seven-teen-thirtieths for Germany.—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn.