“The soil of Cholm and Podlasie has belonged to Poland for centuries; both territories are Poland’s children, consecrated by the blood of her martyrdom.... Now it seems that this land is to serve as a bridge for German soldiers and goods on their march to Eastern Europe, to the Black Sea and the Caucasus. And the Poles, bereft of every individual connection with the East, are to be plunged into deadly conflict with the Ukraine.” This is a peculiarly interesting document, as shewing that the Mittel-Europa aims of Germany were appreciated by the Poles, and also that they grasped the second reason of this seizure of Polish territory, namely the German design to produce enmity between the Ukraine and Poland, according to Germany’s invariable policy. Simultaneously the Poles received the official support of the British government to their protest, for it was announced in the _Gazetta Narodowa_ of February 29th, that Count Sobanski, the recognised representative of the Polish National Committee in London, had received official information from the Foreign Office that the British diplomatic agent in Kiev had been instructed to declare that England did not recognise the peace concluded between the Ukraine and the Central Empires, and would not recognise any peace with regard to which the interested Poles had not been consulted. This action of the Austrian Poles produced the desired effect, and the Central Powers under pressure this time from Austria, said they would reconsider the cession of Cholm to the Ukraine, and promised a mixed commission to decide on its fate with due regard to the wishes of its population. What conclusions the “mixed commission” will come to still remains to be seen. Kuhlmann on behalf of Germany hinted at the possibility of the new Polish frontier being moved eastwards instead of westwards, and simultaneously at Brest-Litovsk, Count Czernin announced that he would welcome Polish representatives at the negotiations. He declared that in his view Poland was an independent state, and that he desired the attachment of it to Austria, only if it was voluntary. The German press incidentally, bewailed the continued ingratitude of Poland, and the Union of German National Parties declared that German blood had been freely shed to _secure the independence of Poland_. Comment would be impertinent: we must only bow the head in reverence to the newly-discovered fact that one of Germany’s objects in the war was the independence of Poland. Nobody had guessed that! * * * * *