INTERNATIONALIZATION OF CHANNELS CONNECTING THE BALTIC AND NORTH SEAS.
[To THE EDITOR or THE " SPECTATOR.")
Sin,—The " League of Nations " which can internationalize the Aegaeo-Euxine Straits can internationalize the two " Belts." When we reflect upon the position in which the Scandinavian nations have been placed in this war, and also upon past history, surely the internationalization of the Belts will conduce to their well-being. Past history enjoins that the Baltic be neither a German nor a Russian sea. When I read, six months or so ago, In Dr. Jon Stefanssoia'a Denmark and Sweden (in " The Story of the Nations " Series, with an Introduction by Viscount Bryce) the following statement (.p. 24 of the Introduction), a propos of the War of 1864--" It is now known that Bismarck had made a secret arrangement with Russia. If Sweden-Norway assisted Denmark with their armies, Russia was to invade the northern ports of those kingdoms and to seise certain ice-free ports "—when, I say, I read that, the significance of which is brought home to us by the recent operations based on Murmansk, &c., I sought to verify it. Dr. Jon Stefansson did not answer my letter. The foremost British authority replied that he knew no direct confirmation of it. A very well-informed Swede wrote to me, on July 16th, 1918 :— " I have looked through Sveriges historic (The History of Sweden), Vol. L. pp. 30-38, which deal with the Danish-German War, 1863-1884. On p. 36 of the quoted very reliable work I find following sentence—' it was said about Russia that she was decided to thwart the schemes of the Scandinavianism with armed force.' This is the only suggestion in this direction I have found in the work I have referred to. The Russian diplomatic documents about this matter have certainly not been perused."
The passage quoted by my Swedish correspondent tends to con- firm Dr. Jon Stefaneson's statement and leaves us to form our own opinion of the incident narrated by the lute Lord Redesdale (Memories, Vol. I., p. 244), when Prince Gortschakoff thus addressed the British Ambassador, Lord Napier of Ettrick : " Alors, milord, je meta de cite la supposition quo l'Angleterre fasse jamais la guerre pour une question d'houneur." Could diplo- matic duplicity and effrontery go much further? The Bolshevists have favoured us with revelations of so many secret Treaties that possibly they may oblige us by revealing the Bismarck-Gortschekoff compact of 1863-64.—I am, Sir, &c., A. C. YATE. Beckbury Hall, Shifnal.
P.S.—Vide also Mr. C. Grant Robertson's Bismarck, p. 143.
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