0, 595.1922.VII.

Translation.

LEAGUE 0? NATIONS.

Geneva, August 28th,1922.

Austro-Hungarian Frontier Question.

Report by M. Hymans.

Articles 27 of the Treaties of St. Germain and Trianon

indicate a certain number of points through which the frontier

line to be drawn between A ustria and Hungary is to pass.

The Venice Protocol of October 13th, 1921 provided for a

plebiscite in the of the tom of (Oedenburg). As

a result of this plebiscite the town and neighbourhood were defin­

itely incorporated into Hungary.

With regard to the remainder of the frontier between

Austria () and Hungary, a Delimitation Commission ap­ pointed by the Conference of Ambassadors and consisting of

British, French, Italian and Japanese representatives, together with Austrian and Hungarian Commissioners, made a study on the ground, and, after considering the proposals of the two

States concerned, decided to submit to the Council of the three Reports relating to certain proposed modifica­ tions (documents circulated to the Council: C.410,419,420).

The portions of these Reports giving the proposed modifications, with the Commission's reasons for reoommending them, are repro­ duced later in this document. It need only be mentioned here that they relate to three districts: those of PAMHAGEN, LIEBING and the PINKA VALLEY, which it is proposed to include within the Hungarian f r o n tie r .

Note: An explanatory map is annexed to this memorandum (Annex 6). The regions affected by the decisions of the Commission are coloured red, but the boundaries marked must not be taken as definite. The reports actually propose to change certain points mentioned in the Treaty, without precisely defining the detail of the frontier. 2 —

The legal foundation of the Council's action is indicated iatlie S ecreta ry -G e n e ral' s memorandum, C.423, dated June 29th

1922, which has "been circulated to the Members of the Council.

its meeting on July 19th, the Council agreed to give a decision on the proposals of the Delimitation Commission, and the two

Governments have agreed to accept its decision-

In signing the Venice Protocol and agreeing to a plebiscite at Oedenburg. male a sacrifice, the general object of which was to defer to the wishes of the Powers and help to restore good neighbourly relations with Hungary, but at the same time to retain intact the remainder of the territory assigned to her by the Peace Treaty, Austria has freely accepted in advance the decision of the Council of the Lea m s of Nations as to the re­ mainder of the Burgenland frontier; she has confidence in the

Council's impartiality and is convinced that it will recognise the spirit of conciliation of which ehe has already given proof, to the advantage of Hungary, seeing that the latter is now in pos­ session of the Oedencurg territory*

In other cases, modifications in the frontiers fixed by the Treaty, according to the procedure laid down in the covering l e t t e r of May 1920, can be ju s tif ie d ; but in th is case due wiight should be given to the Iwavy sacrifice to which

■Austria lias already agreed, thereby showing a singular spirit of conciliation, particularly as the dangerous situation which tos relieved by this sacrifice had been created by the threatening attitude of Hungary, who refused to submit to the pro­ visions of the Treaty,

Austria did not ask the Delimitation Commission for any modification of the demarcation in her favour, although the matter leaves in Hungarian territory a considerable number of communes which are German by speech and Austrian by sentiment, for gho wished above all that the provisions of the Treaty should

be m aintained and respected»

The Peace Conference, in assigning the Burgenland

to Austria, wishud not only to grpup populations of the same

origin together, hut also to give to Austria an agricultural region

which might help to supply . The value of the Burgenland

has already "been conniderably reduced by the loss of its capital,

Oederiburg, which is also the centre of its system of communications»

The removal of this town not only diminishes the economic

yield of the Burgenland, but renders its government more

difficult. The proposed modifications would multiply these

difficulties bj: cutting the vital communications of the region

at three points, particularly at Lookenhaus, (Leka).

The Treaty has alread 3r b'on put into force in this

region, and the Austrian administration has been working since

the beginning of 1922» The population voted at the elections for the Austrian National Assembly and the local Diet, and

the members sen t to vote have made no p r o te s t. I t has q u ie tly resumed its work, which is of great value to Austria, These are new and very forcible arguments against the proposed changes.

By the transfer to Hungary of the districts covered by the Commission’s Reports, the population would incur more serious losses than those which the Commission has s fought to remedy in accordance with the spirit of its instructions* Certain places, both in the Burgenland

ûnd in Hungary, might perhaps profit by these frontier ohangae, but at the expense of the Burgenland as a whole. 4 -

The serious consequences of such alterations would affect the Austrian State itself. The

Federal Government wished Ur gently t6 ditew the attention of the Council to the political and economic effects of a decision which would add onj more difficulty to the problem cf the reconstruction of Austria. It considers that no further stress need "be laid upon this aspect of the question, the gravity of which the Council understands.

The Austrian Government, which has never ceased to show its respect for the frontier fixed by th

Treaty, ventures to hope that the Council will refuse its approval to any further modifications of that frontier, which would compromise the vital interests of Austria and of her unfortunate people.

The considerations ur^ed by the Hun arian

Dele rate in favour of the Report of the Delimitation

Commission .ill b~ found later in this report, but in reply to the general considerations submitted by the

Austrian Government the Hungarian Representative wishes to make the following statement: - 5 -

By the Hungary lost two-thirds of her

former population and three-quarters of her territory.

In signing this Treaty, the most crushing treaty of modern

times, the Government was convinced that the solemn promises

contained in the Covering Letter cf May 6th, 1980 - signed by

M. Miller and and addressed to the Hungarian Delegation with a view to rendering the signature of the Treaty less onerous - would he kept in fu ll0

Unhappily, these hopes* which the Hungarian Government and people were justified in entertaining, were disappointed.

The provisions of the Covering Letter were not respected by the Delimitation Commissions, which rejected all, even the best-founded Hungarian claimst

It was only in the Austro-Hungarian and 3erho-Hungarian frontiers that the Commissions thought fit to make slight modi­ fications in the lines fixed by the Treaties, modifications

¥/hich were based on economic reasons which it was impossible to question.

If the Council of the League of Hâtions refuses its appro­ val to these p ro p o sa ls, which rep resen t ihe minimum of the Hun­ garian claims, the Hungarian Government will be faced by a most serious situation, inasmuch as the National Assembly and public opinion fully cxpect that the territories a signed to us by the

Commission w ill be re sto re d to Hungary»

The political situation which would be created in Austria by the adopting of the conclusions of the Delimitation Commission could not be so giave, in view of the fact that public opinion in the neighbouring Republic is completely absorbed in the economic and f in a n c ia l c r i s i s and in the p o l i t i c a l problem of union with Germany, and shows very little serious interest in -6-

the question of the boundaries of a newly-acquired province.

Moreover, the Austrian Government has had to reckon with the possibility of losing territory in the Burgenland, considering that the Venico Protocol does not refer solely to the plebis­ cite, but, also, quite explicitly, to the question of de­ limitation between the tv/o neighbouring States. In assuming, by this Protocol, the obligation of submitting to the décisions of the Delimitation Commission or of the Council of the League of

Nations, Austria has admitted that modifications in the frontier may be decreed; it also appears, from the unilateral character of this obligation that only frontier rectifications in favour of Hungary were contemplated at Venice; for, if the pos ibility of modifications in favour of Austria had beon considered, a similar obligation should logically have been innosed upon Hungary.

Finally, it mv.st be pointed out that the agricultural pro­ duce of the districts which should be restored to Hungary is insufficient tor the needs of their own inhabitants, so that transfer of these districts could in no way affect the Austrian food supply. - 7-

11a Proposals of the DeIf m ltatio n Commission.

The Commission pro os os three rectifications (see C 418,

C 419, 0 480.}

A, PAM HAG BN -,

The Commission desires to be relieved of the obligation

of allocating to Austria the village of pamhagen (mentioned

by name in Article 87 of the Treaty of Trianon ),

Reasons.

In order to lessen the difficult!es due to the inevitable partition of the flood area of the RAÀ33 and of the organisation

of the hydraulic system in that region»

RESULTS OF1 THE COMLIISCION1 S 3NQUIRY,

It, The ontire region described as tho "flood area of the

Raab" is covered by an immense hydraulic system intended :

to protect the cultivated lands against floods :

to drain off the standing waters in the district to the

east of the southern part of Lake Neusiedl; and on the other hand to irrigate the -oeaty lands of the Han sag vhen they are

completely dried up in mid-summer;

and to continue the draining of Lake Neusiedl.

2o In this immense system the Hinser Canal plays an importait and ccmplex partc By the Treaty of Trianon it vtas very wisely assigned in its entirety to Hung a ry » I t v’as indeed d e s ira b le

that the whole of this vital and delicate organisation should te entrusted to one country, and preferably to Hungary, si nee most of the hydraulic installations are situated in her

territory, and since the Association to deal ”i th the Raab

11 loo is i s n Hungarian Company, I

-8-

3 , The Hungarian experts presented the question in a light favourable to Hungary, and the Austrian experts were clearly unable to dissociate themselves from their national sympathies.

But their r en or t s and arguments plainly show that the districts assigned to Austria are so closely depaident on the existing hydraulic system that even the conscientious application of

Articles 292 and 293 of the Treaty of Trianon would probably be insufficient to protect the interests of the inhabitants throughout those districts,

40 If the problem could be regarded from a purely hydraulic point of view, there is no doubt that the most satisfactory

solution would be to transfer to Hungary all the commîmes within the flood ar-a of the Raabc

But the task: of the Commis3ion is rendered very delicate

by the fact that the racial and economic interests in this

region are conflicting, A large majority of the population of

the communes concerned is German-speaking (see the figures quoted

in letter Mo » 65 from the Austrian Delegate), and in the

course of i t s en q u iries on the ground, the Commission a sc e rta in e d

that the majority of the inhabitants are in sympathy with the

Austrian Republic «

5» In or dor to arrive at definite conclusions concerning the

final demarcation of the frontier, the Commission thinks it

necessary to consider the matter further and to pur sib i t s

investigations«, It does, however, definitely consider that

it should be relieved of the obligation of leaving the village

°f PAM HAG EE on the Austrian side of the fro n tier.

Owing to its immediate proximity to the ^inser Canal the

interests of this district are closely bound up Hith this.

Moreover, the frontier line which r'0 'ild have to be adopted, -9-

if the conclnsions of the present report were not approved, would divide the communal lan d of PAMHAGEN in a more disad­ vantageous manner for the inhabitants than would any frontier which gave this village to Hungary. The vague replies of the peasants render it difficult to guess what decision they would take if they were obliged to choose between their Austrian sympathies and their material interests; but there is every reason to suppose that the material interests would gain the day» It is clear that the peasants would prefer to reconcile the two conflicting interests by being transferred to Austria with the whole of their commune, the Sinser Canal, and the entire hydraulic system; but such a solution cannot be contemplated,

6. Economic reasons similar to those already given, favour the tra refer of the village of VALLA to Hungary» But the

Commission does not feel called mon to m ke proposals to this effect, as the people of tile village (which is further from the

Canal than PAMHAGEN) have declared themselves more plainly in favour of Austria.

Proposed demarcation likely to secure a majority of the Votes of ______the Commissi on?______

Such a proposal would be based on the text of Article 27 of the Treaty of Trianon, in so far as it refers to the district under consideration, provided that the text were modified as follows (paragraph 4)

The phrase "a line to be fixed on the ground passing south of PAMHAGEN ,T should be deleted, and the following phrase should be substituted: "a line to be fixed on the ground passing south of VALLA”. - 10-

B. - LIEBING.

The Commission asks to he relieved of the

obligation of drawing the frontier line to the south­

east of the v i l l a g e o f LIEBING (mentioned by name in

Article 27 of the Treaty of Trianon).

Reasons;

1. To enable such forest villages as LIEBI1TG,

RATTERSDORF, HAMMER and LEKA, fo r which communication

with Austria is difficult, to receive the necessary

additional food supply from Hungary.

2; To arrest to some extent tho economic decay of

the town of KOSZEO (GUNS), (x)

3. To lessen the difficulties for the Hungarian

frontier district due to the allocation of all forests .

to Austria, which is already rich in timber.

4. To lessen th e economic d i f f i c u l t i e s due tc

the inevitable dismemberment of a large estate.

(x) This question is closely connected with that of the water-supply of that town. - 11-

Results of the Commission's inquiry.

1. The cultivated land in the communes of this region is

somewhat r e s t r i c t e d , and is not commensurate with the f a i r l y

large population of the villages. This population is there­

fore obliged to ob tain food from outside. The various com­

munes are also obliged to import hay for the feeding of their

cattle. It is quite natural that these su.; .lies should be

obtained from Hungary, as that country possesses a surplus,

and also because these communes find the best market for

their produce and their labour in Hungary, especially in

the town of KOszeg.

The majority of t e inhabitants live by forestry

(w ood-cutting, haulage of wood to KOszeg, etc }. A c e rta in

number of workers (masons, e t c ) also find employment in

KOszeg, and the peasant women have been in the h a b it of

marketing their poultry at that town.

2. Whereas communication with Küszeg is easy, it would be a difficult and comolicated matter to establish

commuiication v ith the different Austrian centres. The

Austrian delegate recognizes these difficulties, since

he s ta te s , in his. l e t t e r No. 103, th a t a railw ay w ill

shortly be constructed which wi11 pass through Liebing,

Hammer and Leka. Nevertheless, there i° every reason

to believe that Austria will not be in a position to build

railways for some time to come.

The region in q u estio n v.ould obviously find a

far worse market for its wood in Austria than in Hungary, which has no forests. Partial, if not complete, unemployment among forestry workers would be the disastrous result of such a measure. -12-

3. The inhabitants of tho villages under consideration, al­ though German-speaking and partly Austrophile, realize the difficulties under which they would have to live if they were separated from Hungary. Kost of them know th a t rrtiszeg is as necessary to them as they are to Küszeg.

At Leka, only the sawmill workers, who form a mere minority in the commune, have, for political reasons, shown a firm desire to be attached to Austria. On the other hand,,

the majority of the municipal officials and all the leading persons in the commune have pointed out the economic dis­

advantages which separation from Hungary would entail.

At Liebing, those who are in favour of Austria have accused the Hungarian Government of "administrative negligence"

(in the matter of roads, water-c ourses and schools) which could

easily be remedied; they have not, ho-, ever, brought forward any valid economic argument in favour of attachment to Austria.

The pro-Austrians of have only urged political or sentimental roasons.

As a general rule, the inhabitants of the forest

villages wish to be left in peace, and they state that many

of them already find great cifficulty in obtaining food.

4. The tovn of KOszeg has no easy system of

communication with the outeide world, and lias maintained a

somewhat isolated existence in the midst of the rsgion

°f i'-hich it was the chief town. The demarcation of the

frontier according to the Trianon line would bring about

the rapid decay of this town. If its intercourse with

half - the communes whth which it had been in close touch

hitherto (especially the wooded districts ) were rendered

increasingly d i f f i c u l t , i t s commerce v-ould rap id ly d e c lin e . - 13 -

The number of .-ereons travelling',' and of export permits issued, as quoted by the Hungarian Delegate in his letter lTo; 379, proves the im; ortance of the traffic be tv. een the town and the district immediately to the north- w est»

The tov:n water-supply woi Id be endangered by the allocation of Rattersdorf to Austria.

Finally, if the tov.n were deprived of all tho surrounding mountainous districts, it uould have to abandon the hope of making good i t s losses by attracting Hungarian tourists-. It must be noted that the frontier region-^ ^ is the only more or less mount - tainous district v hi eh may be left to Hungary.

5. In short, it is in the general interest that the property of ?rince Esterhàay should continue to be worked under the best ossible conditions and ihould reduce the greatest possible out ut. The

Trianon line maker over to Au; tria the whole of the forjî.ts in thi. pro arty, 'while s large art of the oultfcatod land rem ains in Hungary-. Tho Commission thinks it necessary to rstain within Hungarian terri­ tory a small portion of the forets on the property and the Leka sav/mills , in order that the necessary timber may be supplied to the agricultural ::.rt of the nroporty which remains in Hungary.

( 1 ) studied on the spot. - 14-

PROPO3AL POR .1 r'.OHVITR LIliS KICK :,&Y o^OUEn

a l l ij o p j t y <%? vo t.j oîj1 n:i coîÆiioJioi!.

This would be a proposal basod up on Article 27 of

the Treaty of Trianon, with the following modification:

Delete the paragraph :

” A lin e to be fizzed on the ground passing so u th ­

east orixlt of Loosmand, Olmod and Liebing, and north-v/est of

K8s%eg and the road from Kflszeg to Salamonf a. ,T

And insert in its place the following:

,T A line to be fixed on the ground passing south­

east of Loosmang and of Olmod, leaving to Austria the village

of Re^ozeliethely, and to Hungary the road from Leibing to

Leka aswoll as the village of Leka, and then returning to

Point 883 (TrottkfJ ). "

C. IÏAGYIIAKDA. (Valley of the Pinka ).

The Commission asks to be relievet of the obligation

of adopting a frontier passing east of Hagynarda and through

Points 273, 260, £41 and 257 (localities specifically referred

to in Article 27 of the Treaty of Trianon).

KTA-.QKo EOT: THIo RSÇÏÏTiST:

(1) In order to reverse the decision concerning

the assignment of several Communes with a Croat majority,

whose inhabitants, being very attached to Hungary, and being,

moreover, bound to that country by vital economic interests,

have demanded unanimously that they should not be separate?:

from Hungary.

(2 ) In order to divide between Au:;tLia and

Hungary, after the matter ha j been gone into more fully, the

Croat and German "Commîmes in the Pinka Valley. This is a Selicate task because the ocono.dLo inter eat a, the racial

affinities, the diversity of the o-jiniona hioh he.vo been

expreszoc and the necessity foi talcing into account the fact

that an important highway runs along the valley in most ion, make the problem very involved.

(3) In order to reduce the inconvenience cause-

both to the town and to the nil'ro :ding con try by the less­

ening of the area dependant on oaonbathely .

f4) :?o avoid a division of the forest-land of

.?ornoapati and to assign to Hungary this estate which od-

cupies a position in relation to Szoribathely, sinilar to

that occupied by the forest-land of Leka in relation to

Ttfaeg.

He suit j of th e enouiry 0 : irrie-: out by the .Commission

f1) The region in ouestion is inhabited by Croats

and Germans. I’hcre are very fe"- inhabitants of ilagyar origin,

but a considerable part of the population speaks ïlagyar, in

addition to its own language.

Some Communes in this region have remained' very at­

tached to Hungary. ïn particular, the inhabitants of

folso-Csatar, liagynarda, Kisnarda end Osem, in spite of the

presence of the Austrian authorities, pronounced themselves

very strongly in favour of Hungary, it would: therefore appear

undesirable that they should remain Austrian. In addition

to th e ir strong Magyar sym pathies, i t is clear that their

opinion is base.- largely on economic grounds (e.g. their re­

lations with Szombathcly).

(2) i-s regards the Communes of the .-?inka Valley

situated between Felso-Csatar and Hagysaroslak, the opinion

of the inhabitants is divided. ,0 1 :1 0 are in favourof Hungary,

some are in favour of Austria, end others /aver. - 16-

Thorje who are in favour of Hungary declare that a3 they cannot convenient lv'vprocure what they require at

Szombathely they are forced to make th e ir purchases, at

considerable e::;.ense, in distant Austrian centres; certain handicraftsmen (shoemakers for instance ) lacg raw materials;

certain Communes with cultivated land insufficient to feed

their inhabitants would obtain the requisite foodstuffs more e a s ily if they remained Hungarian; communication with

Austria is somewhat difficult ; a certain number of agricul­

tural labourers who used to go to work as harvesters in Hungary more would find it/difficult to do so if they were Austrians,

Those who are in favour of Austria bring forward

linguistic cmc1 political arguments ; they also declare th at

it is more convenient to sell their agricultural produce

in Austria ( through merchants who travel through these

Communes) than in Hungary, and that, moreover, they can ob­

tain in Austria everything they require ; some of them add

that if they are assigned to Hungary they will be short of

wood.

On the other hand it must not be forgotten that

the road which follows the Pinka Valley is a very important

line of communication.

For all these reasons, the Commission will have to

maize further investigations and enquiries in order to deter­

mine a frontier line which will safeguard all interests con­

cerned. It is sufficiently clear that in the face of ouch

numerous and often mutually conflicting claims, it will not

succeed in reaching a solution which will satisfy all the

interests involved and that, therefore, it will be forced to

adopt a necessarily imperfect solution. But in the Commissions - 17 -

opinion it is oui to clear that the frontier line it -./ill at"opt - i f the conclusions reached in the present rep o rt are approve" - will be ranch fairer than a frontier lino fixef in accordance with a strict interpretation of the

[Treaty of Trianon,

(3) I'he advantage liich would accrue from leaving some of the Communes of the district in question to

Hungary is still further increased by the fact that uKombathely is situated in the immediate neighbourhood.

This town will, in any case, lose much of its importance as an oconomic centre and will consequently suffer con­ sidérable loss; it is therefore the duty of the Commis­ sion to attempt, as far as possible, to mitigate this loss,,

Finally the forest-lanf of Pornoapati (the property of the

">ince of Bavaria) forms a compact whole which it would not be desirable to partition. It includes, apart from the f o re s t-la n d , a sawmill land an e le c tr ic power s ta tio n ; the latter being intended at a future date to furnish light for tho Hungarian villages. A large number of the inhabi­ tants of j-ornoapati are engaged in exploiting the forests and are employe" in carting wood to Szombathely , A con­ siderable number of those inhabitants have come from Hungary and are pure Ilagyars, Finally, the exploitation of the fo­ rests, in order to be profitable, requires the market of

Szombathely, in the same way as Szombathely requires these forests in order to obtain, at reasonable rates, the wood

it needs; for 'as in the oace of l.dseg)ë-5 the Trianon frontier line would deprive Hungary of all the forests in this district - 18-

proposal for s frontier line which mar secure a majority

of the votes of the Commission »

This frontier line which, for the reasons given above,

cannot yet "be indicated with precision, would be based upon

the text of Article 27 of the Preaty of Trianon, modified as

f ollows :-

Delete the paragraph:

"Thence southwards to Point 234 about 7 kilometres north-north east from P inkamindszent, a line to be fixed

on the ground passing east of Rohoncz and Magynarda and west of Butsohing and Dozmat, then through 1oints 273, 260

and 241;"

and insert in its place the following:

"Thence southwards to the junction of the road from

Nagysaroslak to inkamindszent and the administrative

fro n tie r common to th ese two Communes":

A line to be fixed on the ground passing to the east of

Eohoncz, and thence to the oint common to the administrative frontiers of the Communes of Jnczed, _>chachendorf and Csen,

thence east of the villages of 1inkaovar, of Hemetlovo, of

Ivionyorokerek, P in k ak ertes and N agysaroslak, and passing

to the west of the villages of Butschinf and Dozmat and of

Points 273, 260, 241 and 234 (possibly through those last two points).

The conclusions set forth in each oi the three reports were reached by a majority of 5 to 1. - 19-

Smi'.aBY 01 -l’HL OB-jUIiTMIOW ; 0:' ï'ÏÏ^ AUoTKIAM iiJjl:tiliiiaujL'i .ljiT I"V_j GAI TIC 13 IiJ G x’Hij 1 AOIGoALd 0 ÆL D."J1 XUITAïIOIî CCLMI,oI0N.

All the three frontier modifications proposed are at the expense of Austria. The iirst ,which concerns the

PiiiHAGi® district, affects a commune, the population of v/hich is e n tire ly German, v h ich v/ishos to remain under

A ustrian a d m in istra tio n , and the n a tu ra l boundary of v/hich

7/ould be formed by the s o -c a lle d "EIliuIAi OAIIAL”. In order to settle the hydro raphical conditions of this district, arrangements must be made by agreement, but this is the express duty of the Technical Hydrographic jjïstom Commission, created by Article 293 of the . eace treat/.

The .'ungari an Je le gat ion has sta te d t h a t , i f £ AMI AGEE is assigned to Austria, Hungary will not allow the waters of the RAAJ3 to pass across the frontier, as this action can only be regarded as a formal v io la tio n of the A rtic le already cuoted. It is therefore very difficult to see in this any justification for the proposed change.

oimilarly, in connection with the district around lIAblES and LOCKEKHaUu, the proposed modification is open to both economic and linguistic objections. The geographical situation of this district requires its connection by rail with the more northerly communes of the LUHGESLAbD. If this railway had to be constructed in the mountains, instead of following ÿhe natural line of the river valley and the road, the result would clearly be harmful to Austria. Austria cannot admit the justice of driving such a deep wedgo into this territory with the sole object of leaving a great landed property in Hungary undivided. This district has been under .user i an rule for a year, and no complaint has yet been heard. - 80-

The position in the district dealt with in the Third

Report of the Delimitation Commission, that of the IKKA

VALLEY, is very similar. In this case, Hungary claims a

fertile valley, the produce of which supplies the BULGEDLaED

communes situated to the west in a more mountainous and

less fertile region. If this area, v/hich forms an economic

unit, were arbitrarily divided by the loss of its productive

districts, how could the population in the mountains live,

when cut off from their natural source of supply?

These general remarks must in each case be dealt with more in detail. 1. lAMHAGEN.

It is true that the Hansag possesses a hydraulic system

dependent upon the Hungarian Company referred to for its completion, operation and management, but it doos not therefore follow that this system is so completely indivisible that the partition of the territory in question would create a serious danger. in point of fact, that part of the territory which is assigned to Austria is drained, while that which remains

Hungarian is irrigated by tho hydraulic system* These two parts of the system are, it is true, in a certain relation, but it does not follow that this relation is absolutely indi sp ensable.

'.Vith regard to the danger from floods, it must be remembered that the ...ustri an territory is drained by two canals flowing into the Einser Canal. Should these be insufficient, a third canal, flowing into Lake Neusiedl or into the Einser Canal, might be constructed. This would not place the Hungarian territory in any danger, as the frequent floods in this district are not produced by waters flowing from the .ustrian territory, but by the periodical spring floods of the and the

Babnitz. Moreover, the Einser Canal is large enough to receive the waters of a third drainage canal. The Hungarian territory - 21-

is also protected against an;, possible floods from the

Austrian territory by two darns, one south of the 'inser Canal

and the other north north east of Kapuvâr.

The ... ungarian Government has also laid stress upon the

importance of tho iamhagen lock for tho irrigation ox the

Hungarian territory south of the ..inser Canal, and has argued

from th is th at j.amhapcn should be assigned to Hungary. The

value ox th i s argument ma; bo gauged when i t i s pointed out

that the lock in Question has not been working since 1916. jurther, the ...us'crian Government would be prepared to entrust

the working of the lock to the ssociation against the Raab

flo o d s.

The fears of tho 'ungarian Government that the existence ox this association will be threatened unless the whole district is assitned go Hungary are devoid of all foundation.

The sEmaciation's operations extend over an aroa of 345,000 arpents (195,500 hectares), including lake Neusiedl. Apart from the /ustrian section, the association's sphere of action still covers 267,000 arpents (152,650 hectares) , i.e. 77.6,. and, if the area covered by lake Neusiedl be deducted from the territory ceded to .-ustria, the territory lost io the

Association would only amount to 20,800 arpents (11,900 hectares), which could certainly not threaten the association's existence.

The work of cultivation undertalc en in the district has hitherto only served Hungarian interests. The division oi this district has made joint action necessary. .ustria has no intention of acting in future without consulting

Hungary. The jermanont Technical Hydraulic System Commission created by the Treaty of Trianon, the jurisdiction of which covers th e w o rk in Question, can prevent on e State from acting either a- einst the interests of the other or without previous consultation with i t .

Further, the population itself regards as unimportant, the

alleg ed - 22-

all eg e& dangers involved in a partition 0 1 the region; otherwise, it would be impossible to ox; lain \ hy th e people ol I am h ag en decided in la v our oi union with A u s t r i a au the tim e o i the delimitation Co m a l s s i o n 1 s en;.uir;y, and \/hy t h i s com.'iune and all the other communes oi the district adcressed petitions to t h e League of Nations entreating it n o t to detach Iamhagen from A u s t r i a . I t i s not to b e supposed,therefore, t h a t t h e population is dissatisfied with the frontier line fixed by t h e leace treaties ; on the contrary, these f a c t s prove that the annexation of p a m h ag en to Hungary would deeply v ou n c! t h e feelings of t h e w h o le d is tr ic tc L00ZSWHAU3 ( Li&Zft. ) DISTRICT .

The territory claimed by Hungary comprises the four communes of Liebing, Rattersdorf, H amine r-Teuoht and , with a to ta l population of a ,381 Germans and 124 M agyars. These four communes also have requested the League of nations not to separate them from Austria. The surrender of this territory to Hungary would therefore hurt both the interests of Austria and the feelings and vis he b of the people concerned.

The reasons advanced by the Inter-Allied Delimitation Com­ mission in support of its proposal to assign the territory in question to Hungary are as follow : - that the economic relations between the four communes and the tom of Koszeg (Guns) arc high­ ly developed ; that their communications with the remainder of the Bur gen land and Austria leave much to be desired ; that the forests in this district are of minor importance to Austria,

whereas for Hungary, which is relatively poor in forests ,their importance is considerable; finally, the Delimitation Commis­ sion points out that the allocation of the four communes to

Austria rould be prejudicial to the development of the property of Prince Esztorhazy.

It cannot be denied that the economic relations bet ere en the communes in question and the town of Koszeg (Guns) are very close. They are, indeed, so close that it would have been reasonable to assign to Austria the tom of Koszeg ( Guns ) .which has a large German population. If the Peace Conference, for reasons which Austria does not venture to criticise, did not think fit to draw this conclusion,7 it does not follow that y X Hungary should now claim the country dependent on this toir.1-, and should urge economic considerations which -"ere ignored when the allocation of the tom itself va-s under consideration. Hotre.ver ,

Austria has no intention o_f freaking off existing; relations on the new frontier, for this would have an unfavourable effect on the economic l i fe of h er om n a tio n a ls in the Bur geniand ; she - 24-

-prcrgpses, on the contrary, to encourage these relations by every means in her power. Moreover, the conclusion of an agreement with Hungary relating to frontier traffic ras governed by these considerations.

with a view to improving the communications between Austria and that part of the Bur gen land ivhich lies between the Stooberbach and the

Pinka, the Austrian Government proposes to construct a railway from liebing through Kirchschlag to Edlitz. This line , which would con­ nect at Liebing with the D. Xreuz-StrMartin-Liebing lin e, would thus connect the centre of the Bur gen land with the Austrian railway system, and would at the same time serve the interests of the hill country through which the Zobernbach flows. The loss of .» iobing would necessitate a diversion of the proposed line, thereby depriving this area of a railway which it needs. The economic loss incurred by the Bur gen land would be far greater than the disadvantages involved for the town of Zoazeg (Guns) by the allocation of the four communes in question to A u stria . I t should be poin ted out once more t hat t he transfer of the territory claimed by Hungary would divide the south of the Bur gen land into two parts , almost comple tely separated from each other, without any practicable communication between them.__

Su oh a se ri o us de t e r i ora tio n in the_ economic and po 1 i ti c a l c qnd itio n s of the ontire south ofthe Burgenland should certainly outweigh all____ the argamejits _which migh t be adduced in favour of the assignment of the four communo s to Hungar y .

yith regard to the arguments concerning the_importance of the forests for Austria and Hungary respectively, and those relating to

~^ie—^velopment of the property of Prince Lszterhazy, Austria need

Hiy refer to the existing agreement on frontier traffic . The ^1 dest

£2ssjble application of this agreement in the cases nor under djscus- gion_n-jii -[3e a]_]_ the__more advantageous for both countries, in that jhgir interests are directly served_by a regular exchange of_timber X from__the one side and agricuItural oroduoe from the other, > St5** 3.__ the piiika valley

In the opinion of the Inter-Allied Delimitation Commission, a t o ta l of 13 communes, w ith a popu latio n of 2,073 Germans, 870 Magyars and 4,340 Croats should be surrendered to Hungary.

Although these fig u re s show th a t n e ith e r the Germans nor the Magyars are in the majority, it can be seen that the German population is more than double the Magyar population. If the

Delimitation Commission suggests that the. alleged Hungarian sympathies of the Croats should be taken into consideration, and that some of the 13 communes should be given to Hungary and the others to Austria, according to nationality, the carrying out of this propesal would inevitably meet with insurmountable difficult­ ies, due to the intrinsic unity of the entire Pinka Valley. Consequently, the Delimitation Commission itself has not arrived at any agreement on a definite frontier line, which, it considers, should be fixed by means of a subsequent e n q u iry .

Apart from these considerations of nationality, the Delim­ itation Commission refers to two other reasons which, in its opinion, require a rectification in favour of Hungary of the frontier line as fixed by the ieace Treaties; the disadvantages for the town of Szombathely (Steinamanger), and the close relations between the frontier region of Pernau (Pcrnopati) and the town of Steinamanger ( Szombathely) c The observations submitted with regard to tho economic relations between Koszeg

(Guns) and the four communes referred to in Uo. 2 apply equally to these arguments, against which must further be urged the''two following considerations showing why it is necessary for Austria

"fc® remain in possession of the Pinka Valley.

While it could net be claimed that this valley is of any considerable importance for the town of Szombathely (Steinamanger), the centre of a large agricultural area, the valley is required -26-

to supply the mountainous districts northwest of the pinka,

aGd is therefore vitally necessary for the food supply of the

Austrian Burgenland. The ?rob lem of Austria's food supply

has not yet been solved. Nobody could v>ifch to fix the frontiers

in such a way as to deprive Austria of fertile lands, ^nd

thereby to increase the difficulties with which she is struggling.

The Iocs of bchandorf and Sohachendorf would cut the

-Rechnitz railway, thus completely separating the 1 attar

town from the rest of the Burgenland. The allocation of tho

pin&a Valley to Hungary would raise great obstacles to the

construction and working of the very necessary Gussing-fiechnitz

line, as this line would have to cross the frontier several

time s .

A solution unf vourable to Austria would therefore Involve her in losses which would not have a merely local importance. but would seriously affect the economic life of the wh^le of

the Burgenland and of .iustria herself o -27-

SUMMARY OF THE OBSERVATIONS O?1 TES DELEGATE OF THE HUNGARIAN GOVERNMENT, TO MEET THE OBJECTIONS RAISED AGAINST THE CONCLUSIONS OF THE DELIMITATION COMMISSION.

The "Verbal Statement” submitted at the session of the

C o u n c il in London (Annex 2) c o n t a i n s all the arguments in

favour of the confirmation of the decisions taken by tho

Delimitation Commission with a viev; to rectifying the line

drawn in the T reaty of Trianon (see; for the Pomcgy (Pamhagen)

r e g io n , "Statement” pages 5 and 6; for the Rendek (Liebing)

r e g io n , pages 6,7,8, and 9; and for the Pinka Valley, p a g e s 9,

10 and 11, )

In view of the fact that these three points have been

exhaustively dealt with in these statements and that the latter

are drawn up in a very clear form, there is no need to refer

to these points again in this summaryu

It is therefore enough to point out that Pamhagen is part

of a hydro technical system -'hich, the Commission has considered .

should not be divided.. The communes in the neighbourhood of

liebing and those in the Pinka Valley depend entirely from the

economic and educational point of view, on the Hungarian towns

of Koszeg (Giins ) and Szombathely (Steinamanger), so that it would

be impossible to destroy co-oneration between the various

economic factors in those districts without completely para­

lysing each of the component parts,

With regard to t'ne objections urged by the Austrian Dele­

gation, the following facts should be pointed out :

1) The proposed modifications affect the frontier over a

distance of 54 kilometres, the total extent of the frontier bet­ ween Austria (Burgenland) and Hungary being 284 kilometres.

The area of the Burgenland (without the plebiscite district

of Sopron) is 431628 hectares, while the three districts which, under the most favourable circumstances, ’"'ould be restored to

Hun? 'x y in accord me e vith the conclusions of the Delimitation

Commission, have a total area of 24,000 hectares, i.e. one-

eighteenth of the rhoie territory.

The to ta l ~>o - uL: tion op the to’genland, vithout the Pleb­

iscite are?.., is 300,000 and the communes ’ hich should be re­

stored to Hungary have a population of 10,000 - 12,000, of 50/b Germane; mixed nationality /{£0/u Croats and i.Iagyars).

It is obvious, therefore, that the rli: tricts vhich should

be restoied to Hun^a iy form only a very small oart of the "3urRen­

iant, and that, c onc-equent ly, the modifications proposed by the

Commission do not in any v,ai7 affect the territorial basis of the

T reaties,

2) It is clear that the demonstrations in favour of Austria

in the v rious communes in question are rl\ie solely to the

■iressure brought to be r by the Austrian authorities, since these very communes had previously protested against union vith

Austria, and in many of them, demonstrations in favour of

Hungary took place at the time of the Commission's visit.

3) The total production of cereals and foddar in the

territories in question is insufficient for the needs of their population fthe total shortage in one year (1920) amounting to

4,493 quintals ; ) their allocation to Hung a coaid therefore in no way affect the Austrian food vupply.

4) The Austrian Memorandum reproduced above advances against

the conclusions of the Co a ission various arguments based on considerations relating to communicati0 ns by road and rail.

The replies of the Hunterian Delegation to theae v rious

observations are as f ollovvs

(a) It is true that, if liebing and Leka ( Lockenhaus ) were assigned to.Hungary, the road from Leka to -drgdlény a nr1, that which passes through the valley of the uytingySs would not meet in Austrian territory; but it would be easy to remove this dif iculty by improving the Communal road, about 2 kilometres ions, which -'asses between Geresdorf and Lan geek and unites the two main roaris mentioned above»

(b) The interruption of the Pinkafeld-Eeehnitz railv/ay line would not involve any serious loss to Austria, since it could be remedied either by an additional -protocol to be drawn up by the

Delimitation Commisr ion, or by an agreement between the two States, as has been dons in the case of the railway lines passing through

Sopron, where the free movement of passengers end goods is fully assured,

fc) ":7ith regard to the proposed construction of a railvay frcm

Liebing to Bdlitz, it should be pointed cut that the AusLrr.an

Government, owing to its financial difficulties, will probably not

Is able to carry out this project in the near future. If, however its execution became possible at a later date, this railway could be constructed in the valley of the Rabnitz, starting from Ober- loisdorf (4 kilometres north of liebing),

(d) Similarly, the connection between Rechnitz and Gtissing could be effected by a cross-line passing through Gyepfifiizes and

Szent-Mihaly and making use of the lines air ;ady in existence.

It is cl e r thenm from the above that the transfer of the territories assigned to Hungary by the Déliait at ion Commission would not form a -.erious obstacle to i.he execution of plans for the imrovement of communi eat ions between Austria and the Sur gen- land, and thst the southern ^arts of the 1'tter could be connected by railv y lines even If the disputed communes passed to Hmrvry»

(5) V/ith regard to the hydro technical questions, the following facts should be pointed out:

It is admitted that the Hansag lands owe their economic value - 30-

entirely to artificial irrigation or, more accurately to artificial watering «

that this watering can only be effected by mem 3 o f the waters of the River Raba, (Raab) f o r the two dams in the E inser

Canal, by which the watering is now effected, '■ ri 11 have to be removed for hydraulic and economic reasons as soon as permanent irrigation works are Installed;

that the part of the Han sag which would be detached from

Hungary and assigned to Austria could not benefit by the waters of the River Raba, and that consequently this district would be­ come completely dried up and be condemned to economic rain.

The Austrian "Memorandum" recognises that "the two parts.... are...in a certain relation", but it is unable to indicate any means by which Austria could protect the disputed region against the danger which threatens it = The sentence "but it does not follow that this relation is absolutely indispensable" is a more negation, and does not in any way solve the arobleme

It is not in the district assigned to Austria that floods take place. The only problem in the t district is that of the drainage of stagnant voters, but if this problem is not satisfactorily solved it may also cause considerable economic loss ♦ These waters cannot be drained into Lake Neusiedl (Fertoto ) for the level of this lake is very variable and denends on the working of the lock at Pomogy (Pamhagen ). The Einser Canal alone can receive these waters, and therefore if the district in question passed to Austria, tnis drainage would also meet v-ith difficulties, as both banks of the Einser Canal are in Hungarian territory.

Floods from the Danube and the Rivers Lajta , Raba, Repcze and

Ikva former! 7 threatened this district situated between the Danube an~ Lake Neusiedl (Fertoto). The danger was only removed by the - 31 -

installations constructed and. maintained by the "Association

to deal with the Raba jTloods". The work of this Association

covers the entire district and cannot be divided. The cost of

its maintenage was covered by the subscriptions of all the in­

terested po: ties within the Association's area. It is obvious

that a district, the interests of which -ire mutually so inter­ dependent, could not be divided without causing heavy loss to all parties concerned, Hov' could the "Raba Association" collect subscriptions from those cf its members who were transferred to a foreign country, and hov could such members obtain their rights in the neighbouring state,.

It is not accurate to say that the lock at Pomogy (Panhagen) serves to irrigate the region to the south. The lock has nothing to do wi th irrigation. On the contrary, its object is to re­ gulate and counteract the various effacts produced by the waters of Lake Neusiedl (rerttita ) of the Damube and of the Rivers Repcze,

Rapeza and Ikva.

The statem ent th a t the lo ck a t Pomogy (Pamhagen ) has no t bearn working since 1916 is at variance ■ 1th the f;>cts. The lock is under the control of a. permansnt managemait. A lock keener, living close by, works it according to instructions from the

Managing Board of the "Raba Association"»

The Austrian "Memorandum" refers to the as istare e Wiich the permanent Hydraulic System Commission provided for in Article 293 of the Treaty of Trianon, v?ill give in this area, but the work of this Commission, which has already been formed, has not hitherto proved satisfactory. The Commission was unable, for instance, to prevent the excessive felling of the forests in the parts de­ tached from Hung^T, a ni the unfortunate results of these measures -32-

are already beginning to be felt in the waterways sjstem of tho dismembered Hungarian territory. îhirther, in snite of the

Commission, the Hungarian Hydraulic Companies have not yet boen able to obtain posseg j ion of their maps, plans, drafts, etc.. in the detached territories, although these documeûts are in­ dispensable to the work of the Companies. Hov/ could the necessary steps be taken for tile urgent repair of a burst dam occurring in a foreign country when the rivers are in flood, if it were ne ces sa iy first to sum non a meeting of the permanent

Commission, at which no question can be decided except by the votes of representatives of the various States? formerly a

Hungarian Sub-Prefect had power to take measures against such a danger v ith in 24 ho u rs.

The model hydraulic system in Hungaiy, and the results ob^- tained over an immense area under drainage, are threatened by the ne- frontier lines, It is more than doubtful whether a

Commission could ensure agreement and teaceful co -o p era tio n between States in which unfortunately mutual confidence is lacking % -33- prawslat i on ■>

OBSERVATIONS 3Y THE .OJSTRIAIf DELEGATE ON

THE SUIjE 1ARY SUBMITTED BY THE HUNGARIAN

DELEGATE,

T

Austria has already submitted her remarks on the general asporfc o£ the question, particularly from the political stand- p o in i; o

II,

The situation in the three areas affected by the Reports of the Commission has already been briefly explained,

III.

These brief observations have been developed in do tail from the economic, administrative and technical standpoints.

The Austrian Representative need only reply in a fow words to the Hungarian Delegation on the points which have not yet been discussed :

1) If, as the Hungarian Expert states, the Communes in the neighbourhood of Dieting and those in the Pinks Valley depended economically on the Hungarian towns of Koszeg and Szombathely, the state of economic stagnation which he sees fit to predict would necessarily have already arisen since tho establishment of the present line of demarcation. A year has passed, and nothing of the kind has happened; economic l i f e has autom atically adapted i t s e l f to the new co n d itio n s, which in no way p rev en t the continuance of an active trade on both sides, such as will, no doubt, be maintained after tho establishment of the final frontier.

With regard to the intellectual aspect, it need only

,e pointed out that the population of these Communes does nou BPt3ak Hungarian, and, consequently, has no interests of this nature across the T reaty f r o n tie r . - 34-

2a)a» In the Treaties of Saint Germain and Trianon, a line

about 185 kilometres long, intended to form a basis for the demarcation of the new frontier, was drawn on the map» Tho frontier: of the plébiscita area fixed by the Venice Protocol diverges from this base line» Tho two portions still intact of the lino laid down in the Peace Treaties do not exceed a total length of 165 kilometres# The proposed modifications affect throe districts, which represent a total of no less than 54 kilometres, i,e0, one third of that portion of the frontier line which was not affected by the Venice Protocol» Austria considers that so extensive an alteration would endanger the very foundation of the Treaty line, and would infringe the- instructions given by the Conference of Ambassadors to the Delimitation Commission# This fact is sufficiently demonstratod by an examination of the following figures:

Area of the Burton land ceded to Austria by the Peace Treaty »«.,»«...... 437,063 Hect :

Population of the Bùvgonland ceded to Austria by the Peace Treaty ...... ,. 345, C82

Area of the Burgenland ced-ed to Hungary by the Venice P ro to co l ...... 28c466 H ect:

Population of the Bur gen land ceded to Hungary by the Venice P ro to co l ...... 50,025

Area of tho districts affectcd by the Commissi on1' s R eports ...... 24,343 Eect :

Population of the districts sffeotcd by the Com­ mission* a Reports ...... 11,922

The total" liss suffered by Austria would, -^"e — G—1 v e an a« e a of 5<:, 8 09 ho 5 j :

^ tii a p up V. la ' j l v.i oi ...... b.A.Srf ^1^ l*®o, 1 Zfo of the area and 1 Ti“fo of the population of theBuzgon- land as assigned to her by the Peace Treaty,

It is somewhat important that attention should ba drawn to tho distribution of nationalities among the population

01 11,922 new claimed by Hungary, While it is true that thq - 35- propcrtion is 5Cfo Germans a g a in s t 50fo Croats and Magyars, the exact figures for three nationalities are : 5,SGI Germans,

4,345 Croats, 1,542 Magyars, i,e ti 50$ Germans{ 36*5fo G reats, and 13,.dfo Magyars6 l) , The attitude of the population, which is distinctly in favour of Austria, is in no way due to any pressure from the authorities, The statement to that effect requires a caté­ gorisai denial. Perhaps the nua t convincing; proof of its falsity is the fact that demonstrations in favour of Hungary have "been possible in Austrian territory, as the Hungarian Ex­ pert himself admits; they have not. however, been as frequent as the demonstrations in favour of Austria which have taken place in Hungarian territory and which have been witnessed by tho members of the Delimitation Commission, particularly at Rab&flses, Jakachaisa and Folscronok, e) « It is rather curious that, the Hungarian Export should allege that all the districts claimed by Hungary for local economic reasons are not p a r tic u la r ly f e r t i l e <, I t is d i f f i c u l t to find any one of these districts to which the opinion put forward by the Hungarian Expert could be apolied. The fer­ tility of the Pamhagen and Pinka Valley districts is well known, and the forests round Liebing and Lockenhaus have a special importance for this dlstrict;,which, situated as it is in the mountains, finds in the produce of its woods an exchange commodity which is a b so lu te ly in d isp en sab le as compensation fo r the insufficiency of its agricultural produce,, d) » The Hungarian Expert is not blind to the serious difficulties created for the whole of the Burgenland by the proposed losses of territory, which cut its communications in the frontier district, and to the advantages offered by the configuration of the ground for the line of the railways pro­ jected by Austriac He is kind enough yo offer us a great deal -36-

of advice with rogard to remedies fur the difficulties to which the proposed modifications of the frontier line would lead. But the remedies which he suggests are insufficient, whether he advises the construction of the roads and Railways alone different lines, or whether he attempts to reliore the situation which he wishes to bring about by an Agreement for the regulation of transit, such as the Agreement concluded on the subject of traffid through Oldenburg,

Apart from the question of expense, there is no doubt that roads and railways could be constructed to take the place of those of which it ia proposed to deprive Austria; but such routes would no longer lead to the places which they are intended to serve, and the latter would remain, as hitherto, outside the system of canmuni cat ions,

With regard to the advantages which would accrue to the Burgenland from an Agreement concluded on the subject given of free transit across the tarritory/back to Hungary, tho example of Oedonburg is not very encouraging. Passengers treated as "goods in transit'r across Sopron in locked carriages which wait there for long periods in the middle of the day without the passengers being permitted to leave their dompart- ments. The part of the population to which this kind of

"free transport" applies does not regard it as a happy solution

of the problem. And what would happen if one day these "goods in transit" were refûsed free passage to the frontier?

Would a railway line have to be hastily constructed? Surely

it is A ustria who should decide on the moment when the

construction of the proposed railways is to begin. It is, more­

over, certain that she will not be able to construct railways

a lower cost than at the present time, when she wishes to - 37- p ro v id e work for her unemployed*

It is of vital interest for Austria that hor communi­ cations should not "be dislocated "by the proposed "cut” at Loekonhaus and Liebing and that she should "be able to extend them to those localities whose food supply is threatened oy tho proposed modifications of the frontier. o„ ) The hydrographie questions doalt with at the "beginning of this document by the Austrian Representative do not appe ar to require comment "beyond an emphatic statement that, from the hydroteclinio point of view, Hungary would not suffer any lose through the maintenance of the frontier line laid down in the Treaty: for the REinser Kanal" remains wholly in Hungary.

It will be easy fc:v Austria, for her part, to safeguard the interests of Pamhagen, ana if Hungary should oppose every attempt to eome to an agreement on this point, tho necessary action would be taken by the Permanent Technical Commission for

Water Control, in which Austria has fiill confidence and whose work she would consider herself bound to assist with all tho means in her power»

Austria, therefore, again submits her request that the

Council w ill reject the proposals of the Commission, which Hungary supports by arguments insufficient to justify the serious loss with which. Austria is threatened. She requests that the frontier line fixed by the Treaty of Peace should be maintained.