POLISH WAR.

Taranaki Daily News, 19 July 1920, Page 5

POLISH WAR.

BOLSHEVIKS ADVANCE. SLIGHT OF POLISH PEOPLE. CHOPS AND HOMES DESERTED. 8j Telegraph.—Press Attn.—CopyrUM, Received July 18, 5.5 p.m. London, July 17. According to messages from Warsaw the Polish disapproval of the armistice terms account for M. Gradske's withdrawal from Spa on Wednesday. Opinion in Moscow is. apparently divided. Tchitcherin and other moderates favor acceptance, but it is reported Trotsky's violent speech at a great gathering at Moscow won unanimous applause, and 'the meeting passed a resolution declaring that peace would only # be signed when the Reds enter WarSaw.

The Daily Telegraph correspondent at the Polish headquarters says the proptsed armistice with the Bolsheviks is '• ■.■■••■' coined hy the Polish nation, tc 1 >■ !i bardlv realises its danger, but decisive military events are probable before an armistice can be concluded. Vilna was evacuated on 13th inst., and it is probable the Lithuanians have aires dv occupied the city. Two hundred thousand Polish fugitives from the district are fleeing, abandoning everything, fearing atrocities such as the' recent murder of the Polish prefect at Dubno and forty-eieht companions. Audacious raids by small bodies of Russian cavalry through the woods are the .chief cause of the Polish defeats, but a clever Polish eeneral could stop the rout.

The morning Post's Warsaw correspondent reports that the Lithuanians and Poles reached an agreement, under which the former occupied Vilna. It is understood the Lithuanians have an agreement with the Bolsheviks, providing that the former l be left in undisputed occupation- This does not affect the military situation, 'and the Bolsheviks are able to continue operations as if they, actually held it. All north-western Poland is now awash. anS a mighty fcrek to Warsaw is proceeding. The military are efficiently evacuating IW.OOO people from Vilna and Minsk, £nd countless small villages are emptying themselves. Enormous hordes of people are moving along the [highways afoot, carrying their-cooking utensils, and hot weather is causing much suffering. It is difficult to foresee what will happen when Warsaw is reached. The city is already overcrowded, and food prices are prohibitive. It is likely the parks and open spaces on the shores of the Vistula will be converted into vast refuge' camps. The Bolsheviks are coming into possession of a remarkably rich harvest, «ome of the corn being already stacked, for the peasants; like the townspeople, are fleeing before the Bolshevik terror, without pausing to destroy the harvests. —Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn

Received July 18, 5.5 p.m. Warsaw, July 16. It is doubtful whether Poland will accept the British armistice proposals. The British Note to Lenin has created a most unfavorable impression in Poland. It is considered inevitable, in ■view of its terms, that M. Grabski should 'leave Spa without consenting to the armistice. A Moscow message states that at a great meeting, discussing" peace with Poland, M. Tchiteherin favored the opening by Trotsky of immediate negotiations. Trotsky, on the other hand, protested in most violent terms, and obtained unanimeus applause, declaring that peace | would be signed enly after a triumphal I entry of tie Reds into Warsaw.—Aus.N.Z. Gable Assn.

A HOPE OF PEACE. ARMISTICE TO BE ACCEPTED. Beceived July 18, 11.5 p.m. Parig, July 17. The Petit Parisien states that M. Gradeki, on returning to Poland from Spa, participated in prolonged and animated Cabinet discussions regarding the armistice terms, and ultimately overcame strong opposition. Formal notification of acceptance is imminent. Moscow messages state that the belief ut general that Mr. Lloyd George's terms will be accepted, largely owing to Krassin's strong advocacy of moderation, pointing out that peace with western nations is what Russia most need*.— Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn. ! BBITISH GOVERNMENT INTERVENES. ABMIBTICS PROPOSALS. London, July 14. In the House of Commons, Mr. Bonar Law read a telegram sent by the British Government to the Soviet Government on July 11 proposing an immediate Russo-Polish armistice, whereby the Polish armies would Immediately withdraw to the eastern boundary of Poland and, as soon as possible thereafter, representatives of Soviet Russia, Poland, Lithuania, Latuvia and Finland would assemble in London, under the auspices of the Peace Conference, to negotiate the final peace between Russia and its neutral States. Representatives of East Galicia will also be invited to take pari in the conference. , The British Government also proposed simultaneously an armistice between the Soviet forces and General Wrangel on ihe basis that General Wrangel's forces should immediately retire from the Crimea, which would be neutral during the armistice, and that General Wrangel be invited to London to discuss the future of his troops and refugees, but he would not be a member of the conference.

The British Government binds itself not to assist Poland in any purpose hostile to Rnsßia, and to take no action itserf hostile to Russia. Britain is also bound under the covenant of the League of Xations to defend the integrity of Poland within certain frontiers. If, therefore, the Soviet Government, despite its repeated declarations, is not to be content with the withdrawal of the Polish armies from Russia on condition of a mutual araistiee, but intends to take action hostile io Poland in Poland's own territory, the British Goveminent and the Allies will feel bound i to aßsist Poland to defend its existence ' with all means at their disposal. The Polish Government declared willj bigness to make peace with Soviet Russia and negotiate for an armistice on the above basis as soon as it is informed that the Soviet also agrees. It is reported from Spa that the Bolsheviks agreed to Mr. Lloyd George's proposal, except that they suggest that the peaee conference he held at Brest l Litov«k instead of London,