THE CAILLAUX INTRIGUE.

Taihape Daily Times, 19 January 1918, Page 5

THE CAILLAUX INTRIGUE.

A FICTITIOUS OFFENSIVE,

THEN AN ANTI-ENGLISH PEACE

LONDON, Jan 17

The Daily Chronicle’s Milan correspondent states that with the understood connivance of Germany, General. Sarrail and Caillaux were to organise a fictitious offensive, culminating in a German offer of peace to France. Thereupon would begin official peace pourparlers in virtue of the secret preliminary agreement, w:hereby Germany would cede a small portion of Lorraine in consideration of the pledge that France would immediately sever all connection with Britain. France would then constitute a formal pact with the Central Powers with the object of forming a single federation of European States, whence England and Russia would alone be excluded. The documents, claimed that France and Italy should' rather aim at an ‘understanding - with ' Gennady, France being content to. re-; turn to the status quo and Italy fore- ; going her major pretensions-againdt Austria. Giolittian organs and 1 other, newspapers- were actively advocating these schemes. •

This damning dossier had been lying for a year in a locker at a Florentine bank hired by Madame Calllaux. It was opened by the Italian authorities upon the request of the French Government, and the contents taken to Rome under an escort of military, police, where each document was copied and photographed, copies being.forwarded to Captain Bourcharr don, who is collecting, evidence in Paris, against Caillaux. It is estimated,. .that■ ,Madame. Caillaux’s jewels were worth £ 25,000. r . f ‘; • “II Secqlo” points ...out 'that these amazing revelations tally with. Cfil;laux’s propaganda in 1917 among Italian politicians, in which he urged that the war was simply a struggle for world dominion between England and Germany, and that the interests of France and Italy were diametrically opposed to Britain’s triumph.

A JOURNALIST ARRESTED

Received 10 a.m. '

PARIS, Jan 18. Mr Hanan, correspondent of an Italian newspaper, has been arrested in connection with the Caillaux charges.