A DISTURBING INCIDENT

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 68, 14 December 1918, Page 6

A DISTURBING INCIDENT

At its face value an incident reported at Catt.nro holds serious , possibilities. Cattaro and its commodious gulf are situated on the Dalmatian coast, jiist outside the Montenegrin frontier as it was drawn before the war. It is now stated that about ten days ago two thousand Italian troops were landed at Cattaro, and attempted to enforce the lowering of the Slav -national flags, and that. trouble was only averted by the" presence of other Allied troops in force equal to the Italians. The immediate suggestion is t'hat.old: animosities between the Italians and the Southern Slavs —animosities it was hoped the downfall of the HapsduT.gs and Ihe dissolution of their Empire had stilled —are again ■ breaking out. Fuller information will probably show, however,, that the action of the Italians on this, occasion was due to some over-zealous subordinate nx.cceding his authority. Speaking both of Government and people there, is no doubt that Italy's views in regard to the disposal of the Adriatic seaboard have been very grcatiy modified' since she entered the war in 1915. In the interval the conditions of the problem have, o>' coirsc, been absolutely transformed. In 1915 the destruction of the Hapsburg Empire was far from being -assured, and Italy based the demands which were then endorsed by the Entente' Powers on the assumption tiiat it would continue k> exist'as (he ally of Germany. It was in these circumstances that she demanded, the right to annex not only the Trcntino, Istria, and a section of Alpine country east of the Isonzo, but a considerable tract of Dalmatia, inhabited chiefly by people of Slav race. The latter demand admittedly was inspired solely by a desire to make her strategic position on the Adriatic as far as possible secure. Now that the Hapsburg Empire his been dissolved and its subject races have been liberated, strategic necessity can no longer be allowed to determine the disposal of territory. This has been recognised as frankly in Italy as in other Allied countries. In August last Adriatic policy was the subject of extended controversy in the Kalian newspapers, and a London Times correspondent at Rome summed up the result in the statement that it was fairly evident that the bulk of Italian opinion would welcome aii official' declaration on behalf of the subject races of the Dual Monarchy and more vigorous action on their heh.ilf. That this estimate was sound was shown in the following month, when Italy officially issued the following declaration:—

Tho council [of Ministers] resolves to inform the Allied .Governments (hat the. Italian Government regards Ihe movement of the Jugo-Slnv people for the conquest of their independence and for their constitution, into a free State ,ns cone-ponding ■ with the principles for which the Entente is lighting, and also to the aims of n just fliul lasting peace. This declaration clearly implied ;i renunciation of tho demand Italy had made in 1915 for Dalmatian territory, since the bulk of the population of that territory is Jugo-Slav (Southern Slav). It cannot lie doubted that she stands by this renunciation, and will make no claims inconsistent with the freedom and independence of the Southern Slavs. There , are, of course, questions for adjustment, since-.in some places i'lo Adriatic . seaboard is peopled by Italian? and the country behind it by Slavs. A detail reason for belicvintr that the G'attaro incident was due to some sort of misunderstanding and did not arise out of a considered act of Italian policy appears in the fact that Italy has never laid claim to Cattaro at any stage of the war.