The Daily News. MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 1921. THE SILESIAN TANGLE.

Taranaki Daily News, 15 August 1921, Page 4

The Daily News. MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 1921. THE SILESIAN TANGLE.

The exceptional interest taken in the Silesian question was not due to what Poland might gain or lose as the result of the plebiscite which was taken under the terms of the Peace Treaty, but to the possible danger of a catastrophe happening at any moment as the outcome of French hostility to Germany. Not only was the continuance of the Entente in serious jeopardy, but there were present all the elements for a future war. The Daily Mail’s Paris correspondent fairly described the situation when he said that Britain and France had, since the Armistice, been divided politically, the divergence over Upper Silesia being the final crisis, adding: “French extremists, who are in the majority, say: ‘Smash Germany, and all will be well,’ while the British say: ‘Smash Germany, and there will be a. universal catastrophe.’ By taking Alsace-Lorraine, Germany made certain there would be war in the future. Mr. Lloyd George is the true friend of France and the true guardian of British interests in opposing French madness by offering Germany the same dangerous reason for a new war.” Poland, so far as France is concerned, is a mere stalking-horse. France is obsessed (possibly not without some excuse) with tha determination to take advantage*of Germany’s defeat and present impotence to erect such effective barriers against any possible aggression by her old-time enemy that she was unable to discern that the danger she so ardently desired to prevent was being accentuated by her blind folly. The history of Silesia abounds with political changes. It was annexed to Poland in the early days of the tenth century, but became independent in 1163, and in the fourteenth century seventeen independent dukes reigned there, ruining the country by their feuds, so that in order to escape the grasp of Poland it acknowledged the sovereignty of. the Bohemian kings, subsequently becoming incorporated in the Austrian dominions, a great part of the country being eventually ceded to Prussia. Possessing great industrial assets, it was only natural that Poland should desire to repress Silesia, and as France, for her own protection, aimed at making Poland the strongest buffer - State possible, there is no doubt that, openly and covertly, she has been doing all she could to achieve her purpose, there being a strong party in France which even favored a rupture of the Entente in order to secure a free hand in dealing with Germany. Britain’s attitude throughout has been that the problem must be solved in the spirit of justice, and that France had nothing to fear if she used moderation and equity, further, that the Empire “was not going to be dragged into new wars caused by oppression or the use of superior force in the hour of triumph, for that would be an abuse of justice.” The plebiscites provided for under the Peace Treaty were taken. That there were irregularities. and possibly deliberate attempts to secure a preponderance of votes in favor of Germany, need not be questioned. Practically all that remains to be done is to settle the boundaries as between Poland and Germany. On .this point Mr. Lloyd George has clearly expressed the British view that a settlement must not be made at the expense of the majority of the population of the Powers concerned, adding: Any attempt, on the basis of the plebiscite vote, to manoeuvre the German population out of Silesia

would recoil upon its authors, and Britain would never support such a settlement.” This policy does not exclude the consideration of French security, to which the Supreme Council will give due consideration. Fixing the boundaries comes rightly within the sphere of experts acting under the guiding principles laid down by the Supreme Council. The instructions to the experts as now suggested by the British Premier provide for discussing the matter on the lines of one vote one value, the peasant vote not to outweigh that of the artisan; that the industrial area which was German by a two to one vote should go to Germany, and that contiguous areas should be analysed to show Which communes were vitally connected with the industrial areas. The crux of the whole matter is defining the determination of these industrial areas, a purely economic question. On these lines there should be no insuperable difficulty to a settlement of what is the last problem arising out of the Peace Treaty, and it is to be hoped that tfie matter will be dealt with without further loss of time and in such a way as to promote permanent peace.