March 31, The manner in which the situation is} developing in Czechosolovakia suggests that the various minorities in that country are all intending to seck some degree of autonomy. The recent accession of strength to the 'Sudeten Germans, making them, it is now claimed, the strongest party in' the whole country, seems to be paving the way for further demands upon the Government by! other parties, and, though the reports on the subject are of necessity sparse, the general twend of information is to the effect that sooner or later, and more probably sooner, the "Sudeten Germans will demand, and Probably secure, an increase in their representation in the various departments of government. In this connection it is interest~ ing to recall the outline by Herr Konrad Henlein, their leader, of their aspirations' given in a speech as far back as 1934, In that year he condemned Fascism and asserted the Qualities of National-Socialism in comparison with it. His claims then were (1) liberty holding meetings, of the press and of speech, (2) equality of all in the eyes of the lay, (3) protection of all honest citizens against denunciations (4) administrative autonomy in decentralization of all spheres of social and state life, which as an expression of political sovereignty, do not necessarily have to be administered directly by Government organs, (5) creation of autonomy bodies on the lines of international law, and an increase in the sphere of direct activities of district and provincial municipalities and (6) the inclusion. 9f Germans on a pro rata basis into the army, executive und administration. Those were the terms on which it was possible to have secured a united Czechoslovakia in 1934, and while developments since then have made the' aspirations of the Sudeten Germans higher than ever before, it is possible that between those demands and whatever the Government) may ultimately set forth as a basis of settle ment there will be found some basis of compromise.
One of the sayings best remembered of the fate Rt. Hon Augustine Birrell was to the effect that minorities must suffer. To some extent that is one of the drawbacks of democratic states, where the will of the majority must prevail, for it is one of the {faults of human nature that, no matter how, endeavours may be made to make the yoke of j the majority easy on the necks of the minority they have not always succeeded, M. Stefan Osusky, Czech Minister in Paris, has recalled jow Bohemia enjoyed independence as carly as the seventh century, while, even under the: Hapsburgs, the juridical existence of the sovereignty of Bohemia was clearly recogniz~ ed. During the centuries Germans settled in the country and by their industry and intelligence greatly contributed towards the build ing up of the national culture. On that basis] he admitted that the Germans should be considered partners in the common task, but it could not be expected that the Czechoslovaks should allow themselves to be expelled from) their own house built at the price of their sweat and blood. When after the conclusion of the Great War that country came to be carved out, during the reformation of the map of Europe, sufficient regard was not paid to} ethnical considerations and a very substa number of Germans came within the boundaries of the new Czechoslovakia. claimed by the Germans that their nationals in the minority in the new state, and because] of the inability of the Reich then to protect them, were deprived of even the minimum of minority rights. Dr. Milan Hodza, Prime Minister, in a speech at Prague declared that fall existing Jaw relating to the German-speaking minority would be consolidated in new measure which would form the basis for the settlement of the minority problem. That) may or may not prove to be the solution of] the problem which has now arisen, for] undoubtedly there are some, and it is believed a very large number of the Sudeten Germans who desire absorption in the Reich, though on the other hand there is a proportion still willing to" keep within the sovereignty of} Czechoslovakia.
Lord Noel Buxton suggests that a plebiscite on the lines of that-held in the Saar should be Held to allow the Sudeten Germans to decide their own fate, permitting the voters a) choice between retention of the stains quo} with certain concessions by the Czechoslovakia government and transfer outright to} the German Reich. 'The proposal that this) should be done by voting in small districts the fate of which might depend upon the local' vote, is probably the rock on which this new] scheme would founder if it were considered. for it would lead to the transfer of districts close to the frontier deciding in favour of adhesion to the Reich, and the establishment of autonomous districts within that territory which in the main would still desire to stay with Czechoslovakia, It sounds a very ingenious scheme, but it seems doomed to failure on the ground' that it would satisfy neither side, It would not restore all the Germans to the Reich, nor retain for Czechoslovakia that full degree of territorial sovereignty Which is hers by right. On the face of things it still appears that the best sol tion in @ manner most calculated to satisfy the Sudeten Germans. That in effect is 9 compromise, which undoubtedly will call fo more concessions than those demanded by Herr Henlein, in 1934, Lord Noel Buxton' scheme, if put into effect, would have th: result of transforming the' present comparatively clear cut boundary between the two countries into something resembling the coast-Jine of Norway with the all attendant incon: veniences to both countries. Furthermore it seems to be altogether too complicated, 'The compromise has everything to commend it. 'So long as the minorities are safeguarded the 'Sudeten Germans should have no real' cause for complaint; justifiable complaint would then be a reproach upon the Czechoslovakkians, and might also justify the absorption of certain portions of the country into the Reich, though should this occur there might then be created Czechoslovakian minorities under German domination,—merely a case of putting the boot on the other foot,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.