The New Foland

The new eastern frontier of Poland ran south-east from the Latvian frontier, then mainly due south, passing some 18 m. west of Minsk, and, further south, some 7o m. east of Pinsk; in the neighbourhood of OstrOg it turned slightly south-west and con tinued so for some 25 m.; thence it ran due south again till reach ing the river Zbrucz : this it followed till its junction with the Dnie ster, which separates Poland from Rumania. The Zbrucz section of the frontier coincided with the Austro-Russian frontier of and the whole of the new eastern frontier of Poland roughly cor responded to the frontier left to the historical Poland after the second partition in 1793.

Vilna.

Simultaneously, Poland was embroiled with Lithuania over the question of Vilna (q.v.). This town and district had been occupied by Poland on April 19, 1919, but were assigned to Lithu ania by the Curzon line. Russia recognized Lithuania's claims to them by a treaty with Lithuania dated July 12, 1920; but after wards, in the Riga Peace Treaty with Poland, she declared her desinteressement in the dispute. During their advance after the victory over Russia in 1920, Polish troops came into conflict with the Lithuanians. An armistice convention of Oct. 7 laid down a line of demarcation, which was to come into force on Oct. 1o. On Oct. 9, however, the Polish General Zeligowski took possession of the disputed districts by a coup de main. The Polish Govern ment disowned the general but made no serious effort to recall him. The territory was first organized as an autonomous province under the name of "Central Lithuania," then, a plebiscite having de clared in favour of Poland, it was incorporated in Poland as "the Palatinate of Vilna." Finally, the Conference of Ambassadors assigned Vilna and district to Poland on March 14, 1923. Lithu ania refused to recognize this decision and continued to consider herself as in a "state of latent war" with Poland, till at the autumn session of the League of Nations in 1927, she was prevailed upon to declare the state of war ended. This only opened the way for negotiations concerning railway communication, river transit, consular representation and diplomatic relations; all these things had been non-existent between the two countries since 192o, to the great economic detriment and inconvenience of the population.

The Ambassadors' Conference on March 14, 1923, not only assigned Vilna to Poland, but recognized the whole of Poland's existing northern, eastern and south-eastern frontiers in the name of the Allied Powers, the United States subsequently notifying the Polish Government of their acknowledgment of this decision.

Thereby, previous provisions for the future of East Galicia were repealed, and the province became an integral part of Poland.

Little Entente, France, Rumania and the Baltic States. —Surrounded by foes, Poland could not stand alone. The most important bloc in Central Europe formed after the War was that of the Little Entente (q.v.). Although Poland had many interests in common with the members of this alliance, she was unable to join it. She had no quarrel with Hungary; but the long drawn out disputes with Czechoslovakia on the Teschen, Zips and Javor zina frontier questions prevented a close alliance with that Power. Furthermore, Czechoslovakia had received a mandate over Carpa thian Russia and hoped to establish a direct frontier with Russia. So long as the fate of East Galicia remained in abeyance, Czecho slovak and Polish interests were bound to conflict. A commercial treaty between Poland and Czechoslovakia was indeed signed in 1921, but important economic antagonisms continued to exist, and relations between the two States only began to grow more cordial in the Locarno period (1925 and after).

From the first, France had designated Poland as the ally which should take over Russia's role on Germany's eastern frontier. France gave Poland military assistance against Russia in 1920, and diplomatic support in the Silesian and East Galician questions, helping her to acquire most valuable coal and oilfields and indus trial regions. France assisted Poland to organize and equip her army, lent her instructors and staff officers and made her generous loans for the purchase of war material. On Feb. 19, 1921 Pilsudski signed a Franco-Polish Treaty in Paris for the "maintenance of the treaties . . . the peace of Europe, the security of their territories and their common political and military interests." The Polish Government ratified this political treaty on May 3o, 1922. It was supplemented by six conventions concluded at various times before 1925, viz., a military one (unpublished), and a series of others, relating to commerce, to the possessions and rights of individuals, to the exploitation of the Polish oilfields by French capital, to the immigration of Polish workmen into France (four successive agreements, 1919-25), and to consular and juridical matters.