as he has been appointed Russian ambassador in London, we may assume that his inclusion is merely pro formâ, and that he will be unable to take any active part in the deliberations. The Polish question cannot be solved by the irresponsible discussions of a few political fossils.
A striking contrast to this well-meaning but futile act is provided by the reception in Poland itself of President Wilson’s reference to an “united and independent Poland” in his address to the Senate. Not all the efforts of the German and Austrian censors could prevent the news from spreading like wildfire throughout the country. In Warsaw there were great demonstrations in front of the American Consulate. Especially remarkable was the telegram which the embryo Polish Government has addressed to President Wilson:—
“The provisional Council of State of the Kingdom of Poland, which has just been convoked in terms of the proclamation of 5 November, by which the German and Austro-Hungarian monarchs have solemnly proclaimed the reconstitution of the said kingdom, joyfully takes cognizance of your Note. For the first time in the war the head of a strong and neutral state, who is also the representative of a great nation, has officially declared his conviction that the independence of the Polish State is the only just solution of the Polish problem, and the indispensable condition of a just and lasting peace. As a token of its gratitude for such a wise and noble recognition of the rights of the Polish people, this provisional Council of State, the nucleus of such a future government, in its own name and in the name of the Polish nation, sends you this telegram.”
The Poles cannot be blamed if the attitude of Washington overshadows that of Petrograd. And yet we firmly believe that the Tsar’s action represents a very genuine step forward, even though its true effect is for the moment impeded by his unfortunate reliance upon men who in no way represent the Russian people.
M. Stürmer Abroad
The Russian ex-Premier, M. Stürmer, whose attempts to bring about a separate peace with Germany last summer were denounced so valiantly in the Duma, is reported to be visiting Copenhagen incognito (see Times, 12 February). It is also announced that Count Albert Mensdorff, late Austro-Hungarian Ambassador in London, and through his grandmother related to the House of Coburg, is about to undertake a diplomatic mission to the Danish capital. Is there any connection between these two facts? Or will the late German Foreign Secretary, Herr von Jagow, occupy his leisure in resuming negotiations which, for a time, he imagined to have succeeded?
The Liberation of Bohemia
It is interesting to note that some of those who in Parliament and in the press were most active in the cause of Bulgaria a year or 18 months ago, are now making a desperate effort to prejudice public opinion against Bohemia, and to challenge the policy of the Allied Note to America. The Nation, in its issue of 17 January, expressly declines to accept as part of “our programme of restoration and
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