leave
them in no doubt that if we declined the Ukrainian demands we should
probably come to no result with that country, and should thus be
compelled to return from Brest-Litovsk without having achieved any
peace settlement at all.

"When I had finished, the Prime Minister, Dr. von Seidler, rose to
speak. He pointed out first of all the necessity of an immediate
peace, and then discussed the question of establishing a Ukrainian
crown land, especially from the parliamentary point of view. Seidler
believed that despite the active opposition which was to be expected
from the Poles, he would still have a majority of two-thirds in the
House for the acceptance of the bill on the subject. He was not blind
to the fact that arrangement would give rise to violent parliamentary
conflicts, but repeated his hope that a two-thirds majority could be
obtained despite the opposition of the Polish Delegation. After
Seidler came the Hungarian Prime Minister, Dr. Wekerle. He was
particularly pleased to note that no concessions had been made to the
Ukrainians with regard to the Ruthenians resident in Hungary. A clear
division of the nationalities in Hungary was impracticable. The
Hungarian Ruthenians were also at too low a stage of culture to enable
them to be given national independence. Dr. Wekerle also laid stress
on the danger, alike in Austria, of allowing any interference from
without; the risk of any such proceeding would be very great, we
should find ourselves on a downward grade by so doing, and we must
hold firmly to the principle that no interference in the affairs of
the Monarchy from without could be tolerated. In summing up, however,
Wekerle opposed the point of view of the Austrian Prime Minister.

"I then rose again to speak, and declared that I was perfectly aware
of the eminent importance and perilous aspects of this step. It was
true that it would bring us on to a down-grade, but from all
appearances, we had been in that position already for a long time,
owing to the war, and could not say how far it might lead us. I put
the positive question to Dr. Wekerle, what was a responsible leader of
our foreign policy to do when the Austrian Prime Minister and both the
Ministers of Food unanimously declared that the Hungarian supplies
would only suffice to help us over the next two months, after which
time a collapse would be absolutely unavoidable, unless we could
secure assistance from somewhere in the way of corn? On being