ITALY AND AUSTRIA.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 297, 25 May 1915, Page 6

ITALY AND AUSTRIA.

Till: jMI:)',;!,!01S AT ISSUE "'ill' riii)l of Hit* quarrel lies between Italy iiiid Austria (says .lolm Ueyh.-id in the iMmedir. Star) ill tin- question oi tin) sen, and, as Siguor (iinlitti said, geography is a real argument in the iiniti.lT. 'l/mk at the nmp and you will recognise the accuracy of his judgment. Only ill th" Adriatic—at Trieste, along the'coast of Istria, in the Qnarnero and Oniarnoroio. and along the Dalmatian coast— docs Austria-Hungary touch the sea. tiler expanding commerce depends upon the freedom of her maritime, communications. Trieste ami Finnic are her principal ports, and Tola, at the sip-v of the Istrian Peninsula, is her naval base. ITer ahilitv to control her communications through tlihe Adriatic has heen the' touchstone of her policy. It was the inspiration of the vast naval projects, as vet but partly realised, ;>i

Admiral Count Montecuecnli. With an enemy in command <>f th<' Adriatic there could'be no security either for her territory or licr trade. At all costs she must secure the freedom of the Straits ol Otranto, or cease to exert influence in the Balkan Peninsula and unywhere-be-yond the sea. Hence Trieste was to lie iiromdit forward as a true naval h-w. I'ola' was to receive an enoriuous addition of works, Sobcnico was to be developed, and -20 Dreadnoughts and a multitude of torpedo craft were to dispute with Italy the command ol :hc Adriatic.

To Italv this command was and is nothin- less than vital. N<*t forgetting the terrible lesson of Lissa. flip had, made hi r naval preparations far ahead of Austria, and was u:>! to be outsiripr„.,l in ilm race. She sees the kmg IV.I--matian coast, as well protected, and the ideal haunt for the operations or destroyers and submarines, opposite to her "own .xtemlcd sandy coast line, which has no good .lateral sheltered harbors southward from Venice, between Ancona and the Oulf of Maufrcdoim. She would have no safeguard against military aggression if tin- Adriatic were in coni'mand of an enemy, and hostile forces landed in the vicinity of liinutii and Ravenna, followed by advances against Bologna and I'evrara. or disembarked in the neighborhood of T'ccara for an advance against Home, might iim ply final disaster. Italv lias prepared to defend herself both bv naval and military means. Hy the building of Dreadnoughts, and the enormous expansion of her destroyer and submarine flotillas, with Voni.o, Murano, Ancona, ISrindisi. and Taranlo as the bases of these light craft, she has endeavored to make herself secure at sea. On land the army has been reorganised, the peace strength has been increased, and much money has hcc-.i devoted to military objects, including the strengthening of Venice, Verona and the defences of the north-east frontier, with the creation of a fortified cam)) between Udine and the sea, additional works at Cadore and Osoppo, on the line of the Tugliamento. and generally behind the line of the Isonzq. Italy, said Admiral Mirabello, when Minister of Marine, wishes to live' by herself, and not on the sufferance of others. Such, then, is the situation existing between the two countries which a few months ago were co-members of the Triple Alliance. If Italy took up arms against Austria-Hungary the position of the latter Vould become desperate. What would happen in a land campaign we cannot forecast. In the naval sphere the blockade of Austria-Hungary, which the French are maintaining at a distance, would become severe, and by naval and military means Trieste might be reduced. The coasts of Istria and the islands of the Dalmation - coast might be the objects of attack. Dalmatia might he. conquered, and Bosnia and Herzegovina menaced. It is, in short, in the immense dangers which hostilities with Italy would present to Austria-Hungary tiiat the promise of peace arises, and by means of concession it may yet be realised, but Italy will not be content with a small concession to lier requirements, if she is not to be free, to move in any situation that might arise from the fall of Constantinople or in operations against the Turks.

"ITALIA IRREDENTA." MOVEMENT OXi THE FRONTIER. (Daily-Chronicle). That Italy is near the parting of the ways is sliowri by every telegram that now cornea from Rome. It is known that she desires to fulfil her traditional aspirations and to round off her national unity by the incorporation of the Italian communities across the frontier that still remains under Austrian rule. Whether she will achieve her object by diplomacy or by war depends upon Vienna. Germany is favorable to the Italian demands, but her Ally is proving unexpectedly stiff-necked, and matters are rapidly approaching a crisis. In order to make the situation fully intelligible, we append a brief account of the territories in dispute. Italia Irredenta (or "Unredeemed Italy") consist's of the Italian-speaking districts of Austria-Hungary. They ore (1) the Trentino or southern portion of the Austrian Tyrol; (2) Trieste and Istria; and (3) to a slight extent -Dalmatia The Italian population of these regions amounts altogether to about a million. In the Trentino and Trieste it constitutes tiie majority. The Trentino, or Italian-speaking portion of the Austrian Tyrol, is the narrow tongne of Austrian territory that runs southward between Lombardy and Venice as far as Ijago di Garda. It is a region of high alps, narrow valleys and gorges; one of the beauty spots of Europe. -.n manners, custom, dress, language and sentiment the population is Italian. The towns and villages not only have Italian names, but have typically Italian aspect. Save for a few hotolkeepers, officials and military men. no one speaks German. In culture the Trentino is as Italian is Lombardy. Trentino, the capital (30.000 inhabitants), is proud of its statue of Dante and its beautiful Italian '"Renascence cliurches. A STRATEGIC WALL. On the other hand, the region is very sparsely inhabited. It is by universal admission administered well, but uusympathetically. Erom the Austrian, and even .more from the German, point of view, its heiglits and passes form an ideal strategical frontier. Access from

the south is chiclly along the Adige vallev, which narrows into deep gorges that,' a handful might hold against a host. A strong hostile army advancing as far as Trent would have the Ihivarian ironlicr only eighty odd miles to the north; Munich and Southern Germany would he at its mercy. After the Prussian defeat of the Austria lis at Koniggrafz in .inly. Wi'h Vienna made nonce with liciin, and Piedmont was left with the alternative of continuing the war with Austria single-handed, or of accepting the cession of Venice ami making pence at once. 'She chose the latter. Austria's condition for surrendering Venice was that the Trentino. which at the moment was o'-cupiod by teiribaldi and his volunteers, should be evacuated. Uarilmhli, though nominally an irregular, was reallv attached to the Italian armies, and', therefore, compelled to obey instructions from headquarters. When the order reached him he uttered his famous phrase of reluctant assent. "T will obey." That day ltnl- ■ ian Trredentism was born. It bus remained a force of Italian politics ever since.

"FAITTIFULLF.ST TRTKSTF.." Trieste is the other great object of Italian desires. It is Austria's commercial outlet to the sea. and one -of the great ports of the world. Ten or fifteen vears ago nearly two-thirds of the population' tin l!«li>, HilUlim were Italian). That proportion is said to have dwindled now to little more, than half, if not an actual minority. The Italians constitute the hanking, trading and prosperous middle, class. The rest of the population is mainly Slav. Until comparatively recently Trieste remained curiously loyal to Austria. It remained stoadfasf.lv faithful to Vienna throughout the Italian and Hungarian revolutions and earned the title of Cite Fidelis-ima. One of Austria's most gratuitous and characteristic stupidities has been the systematic annoyance and persecution of'ltalian Trieste of late •years, particularly under the. Governorship of Prince Ilohenlohc. The rc.oilL has been dee]> and growing irritation in Italy and the alienation of all sympathy tmnng tlie Italians of Trieste.

Until marly the end of the eighteenth century the province of Istria formed part of the Republic of Venice. To-day the majority of tin; papulation is said to be Slay, thanks to systematic Siav colonisation by the Austrian authorities and pressure upon the Italian population. Dalmatia has only a small percentage of Italians, lout, strategically, its indented and many-isled coast is of vital importance for the naval 'command of the Adriatic. Italy's desire, in fact, for the possession of the Dalmation coastline and of Dunizzo and Valona is fiased not upon "Trredentism," but upon her intention to make and keep the Adriatic an Italian lake. Possession of the opposite coast of that sea would shelter nearly one-half of Italy's long and exposed coastline from attack.