"_Professor Thomas G. Masaryk_, President of the Provisional Government and of the Cabinet of Ministers, and Minister of Finance. "_Dr. Edward Benes_, Minister for Foreign Affairs and of the Interior. "General Milan R. Stefanik, Minister of War. "The undersigned ministry has subsequently decided to accredit the following representatives with the Allied Powers: "_Dr. Stephan Osusky_. Charge d'Affaires of the Czecho-Slovak Legation in London, accredited with His Majesty's Government in Great Britain. "_Dr. Leo Sychrava_, Charge d'Affaires of the Czecho-Slovak Legation in Paris, accredited with the French Government. "_Dr. Leo Borsky_, Charge d'Affaires of the Czecho-Slovak Legation in Rome, accredited with the Royal Government of Italy. "_Dr. Charles Pergler_, Charge d'Affaires of the Czecho-Slovak Legation in Washington, accredited with the Government of the United States. "_Bohdan Pavlu_, at present at Omsk, is to represent our Government in Russia. "Our representatives in Japan and Serbia will be appointed later. "We have the honour to inform you that we have taken these decisions in agreement with the political leaders at home. During the past three years our whole political and military action has been conducted in complete agreement with them. Finally, on October 2, 1918, the Czecho-Slovak deputy Stanek, President of the Union of Czech Deputies to the Parliament in Vienna, solemnly announced that the Czecho-Slovak National Council in Paris is to be considered as the supreme organ of the Czecho-Slovak armies and that it is entitled to represent the Czecho-Slovak nation in the Allied countries and at the Peace Conference. On October 9, his colleague, deputy Zahradnik, speaking in the name of the same union, declared that the Czecho-Slovaks are definitely leaving the Parliament in Vienna, thereby breaking for ever all their ties with Austria-Hungary. "Following the decision of our nation and of our armies, we are henceforth taking charge as a Provisional National Government for the direction of the political destinies of the Czecho-Slovak State, and as such we are entering officially into relations with the Allied Governments, relying both upon our mutual agreement with them and upon their solemn declarations. "We make this declaration in a specially solemn manner at a moment when great political events call upon all the nations to take part in decisions which will perhaps give Europe a new political regime for centuries to come. "Assuring you of my devoted sentiments, believe me to remain, in the name of the Czecho-Slovak Government, _(Signed)_ "DR. EDWARD BENES, Minister for Foreign Affairs." CZECHO-SLOVAK DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE