It is necessary to bring about, with no delay and very discreetly, the dispatch of messages to the Prime Minister Nitti and to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Tittoni from the mayor, from societies, etc., of this garrison, expressing the people's keen desire to be annexed to Italy. A copy of said telegram should be transmitted to me. THE MAJOR: THE MAJOR-GENERAL: FORESI. SQUILLACE. To return to the events at Blato--while we were waiting for the Yugoslavs a woman made her way as far as the corridor, flung herself down on her knees and entreated us to protect her. Major Verdinois gave us his word of honour that no Yugoslav with whom we spoke would, for that reason, be arrested. Perhaps he was overruled by his superior officers--at all events he arrested and deported to Italy, in the night of June 19, no less than ten persons, that is, all the Yugoslavs who spoke to us at Blato, with two exceptions. [We cabled this to the Paris Conference, and after some delay the unfortunate men were repatriated.] WHAT THE MAJOR SAID For what happened before our arrival I am indebted to the chemist Radimiri, from whose report the following is an extract: "At ten in the morning Major Verdinois had summoned to his office the communal doctor, Moretti, and the secretary, Dragunić, both of them Yugoslavs. He told them that two Englishmen who were cruising about in the _Porer_ would very likely be coming up that afternoon to Blato and he would permit no sort of demonstration. The doctor, he said, would be held responsible for any disorder; and as Moretti was about to make this known to the people, who were just coming out of church, the Italian adjutant approached him with a paper and ordered him to read it to the Yugoslavs. This document--it has been preserved--is in the Serbo-Croat language and was given to the doctor because the adjutant, who did not know the language, mistook it for another one. It was an exhortation to the people, urging them to have nothing more to do with the Yugoslav _intelligentsia_, which had made a great deal of money during the War. 'And you have given your blood for four and a half years and what has been your benefit?' Dr. Moretti made a personal appeal for the maintenance of order, and the people, having called out 'Long live Wilson!' went their divers ways in peace. Nevertheless three platoons appeared, each with one officer and one N.C.O. The adjutant's platoon distinguished itself, for while the arditi attacked anyone they saw, including women and children, with the butt end of their muskets, Lieut. Giovanoni laid about him with a dog-whip. Several of the soldiers made for a group of four young fellows; three of them escaped and the fourth, Peter Kraljević, was struck with a rifle so severely across the face that he was bathed in blood. As he tried to defend himself he was shot at from a distance of three paces: one bullet went through his nose, another wounded him in the forehead.