The Star. SATURDAY, MARCH 8, 1919. BELGIA IRRIDENTA.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 12572, 8 March 1919, Page 8

The Star. SATURDAY, MARCH 8, 1919. BELGIA IRRIDENTA.

~w Early in January it was announced that Belgium at the Peace Conference would ask for a review- of tho treaty of 1839, under which Belgium ivus deprived of the principal portions of her provinces of Limburg and Luxemburgl, and that Holland would be prnacheJ in a “friendly manner” to renounce her monopoly of tho Scheldt, which “unnecessarily bottled up the Belgian port of Antwerp.” A glance at tho map will speedily determine how true is this latter statement. In approaching Holland in tho direction mentioned Belgium would bo well aware of tho fact that her neighbour would not surrender possession of the Scheldt mouth and Limburg unless some satisfactory compensation were forthcoming, and that compensation could only come by giving Holland some territory at present belonging to Germany. Tho diplomats of a hundred years ago acted in accordance with the conditions as they saw them. In 3.815, by the Congress of Vienna, Belgium and Holland became united under the kingship of Prince William Frederick of Nassau, taking the name of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the idea being to form a buffer between France and Prussia. The union lasted only sixteen years. The Belgians rose in revolt and the outcome was tho treaty of London signed in 1831. Under that treaty Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (Queen Victoria’s uncle) became tho first King of tho Belgians. Later Belgium was saved from rcconquest by the Hutch through the intervention of Franco, but she lost a portion of the territory south of the Scheldt, Luxemburg and the southern portion of Limburg. Later trouble again arose with Holland, and it was found necessary to send a French army, backed by an English fleet in tho Scheldt, to dislodge the Dutch from Antwerp, It was not until 1839 that tho difficulties between Holland and Belgium were finally dispersed. In that year the Powers (Britain, Russia, France,. Austria and Germany) became alarmed, fearing that another European war would break out, and Belgium was practically compelled to sign tho Treaty of London on April 19, 1839, by which tho territory in dispute was surrendered to Holland. Perpetual neutrality of Belgium was embodied in the treaty, that treaty which Germany referred to aa a “scrap of paper.” It was a treaty based on tlie old system of mutual safeguards against mutual jealousies, in which the wishes of tho Belgic people were not consulted, and by which their affairs were arranged for them very much ns the Great Powers of those days willed and decided. Belgium is now bent upon having what she regards as the wrongs of eighty years ago righted to her satisfaction. The Commission on Belgian Affairs has decided in favour of the abrogation of the treaty, and thus the way is paved for the Peace Conference to examine the whole position and to render a decision that will he based on very different grounds from those which , led to its coming into existence.