l Staff.

The Lithuanians, too, stir uneasily. There is, perhaps, more in
their claim; they request the world not to confuse them with the
Poles and they protest against incorporation with Poland. But
should a number of little states be created, sliced from the map
of Russia, they would enjoy but a short independence before
falling, one by one, into the maw of Prussia.

Every one sympathises with the Poles and hopes for the
establishment of a really free and independent Poland, and not a
Poland under the rule or protection of either Austria or Germany.
It will be a great experiment, because in the past the great
state of Poland, one of the greatest in Europe, was broken
because of the incapacity of the Poles to rule themselves. Their
armies showed great bravery, the Polish cavalry, winged like
angels, terrified enemy cavalry horses and charged often to
victory; but the Polish aristocrats, camped with thousands of
retainers at the place where the King was elected, sat patiently
waiting for the highest bidder before giving their votes.

And the King once elected, the Polish diet accomplished nothing,
because any noble who voted against a proposition could defeat
it. This was the so-called "liberum veto" so fatal to Poland.
Katharine of Russia, that clever, wise, dissolute but great
German Princess, placing a puppet favourite on the Polish throne,
insisted on the retention of the "liberum veto" in the Polish
Constitution, because she knew that by the mere existence of this
asinine institution Poland could be counted on to commit suicide
for the benefit of the watching spoilers, Russia, Prussia and
Austria.

But a new, real Poland would not be governed by its aristocracy,
and under a democratic government the splendid Polish race could
be trusted to work out successfully their political salvation.

Should the strong man fail to appear in Russia and the Bolsheviki
continue to rule, then the confusion of Russia may not prove an
immediate help to Germany.

In the first place, no one now works in Russia; the population
will be in want of food and will not have any great surplus to
export; and it will be a long time before Germany can draw any
material help from the Steppes of incompetency. Had Russia
immediately settled down to a new form of government, the case
might have been different, but now Germany or some power in
Russia must first organise that vast country for production under
new conditions before Germany ca