22 SEPTEMBER 1923, Page 2

To Jugo-Slavia the port of Fiume means a great deal,

as it is her one outlet to the Adriatic. Nearly three years have passed since the Treaty of Rapallo was signed, and practically nothing has been done towards putting it into effect. Perhaps Fiume is too small a unit to be free and self-governing. It may be said that a population of four hundred thousand persons cannot possibly support a harbour which costs about £400,000 a year. But even if the Rapallo arrangement had been perfectly practicable, the war of the factions at Fiume would have wrecked it. In any case, we should have been very sorry to have to draw the boundaries of Fiume in accordance with the Treaty. It was agreed that, as far as possible, the boundaries should conform to the Corpus Separaium of Maria Theresa, but an important part of the port known as Porto Barros and the Delta did not exist in the days of Maria Theresa.

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