rACK S'NKX 606 FIUME: tie Only Possible Solution A LECTURE DELIVERED IN GLASGOW UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE WEST OF SCOTLAND COMMERCIAL COLLEGE BY ERNESTO GRILLO, M.A., D.Litt. 1 The Italian war must not cease as long as a single foreign flag waves this side of the Alps, from the mouth of the Var to Fiume." M&zzini, 1848 "The Italian war must end only with victory in the Trentino, Venezia, Trieste, and Fiume." Idem, 1856 PUBLISHED BY THE INTERNATIONAL BOOK STORE 148 SAUCHIEHALL STRHET, GLASGOW PRICE ONE SHILLING PREFACE To MY BRITISH FRIENDS As you are all lovers and admirers of Latin and Italian culture and civilisation, I hope you will forgive me if I address to you this small booklet, in which you will find condensed the whole of the Fiumian dispute. Being one of those who made every effort to induce Italy to throw her lot in with the Allies, I feel that it is my bounden duty to give a clear exposition of Italy's point of view at this critical moment. Whatever the final fate of Fiume may be, please be ;i->mvd that Garibaldi's ideal "Britain is t he Italian element has always been predominant. Indeed, the language of Dante ha- al \\a\- I n used in the municipality, in the tribunals, in the Chamber of 6 Commerce, in the literary societies, in the schools, and in all daily affairs. The inhabitants of Fiume are so much attached to the Italian tongue that they insist that all the people living; in the immediate neighbourhood of the town should learn it. An American writer justly remarked about the inhabitants of the city " that the books they read were Italian, the clergy preached to the people in Italian, the officials addressed their con- stituents in Italian, so that within the walls of the city the Italian spirit and language found a congenial soil." Population. The following figures show the real state of affairs regarding the Free City of Fiume and its territory. The total population numbers 46,264 inhabitants; of these, 31,094 live in the municipal district and 15,170 in the sub-communes of Plasso, Cosola, and Dreiiova. You will notice that I have left out the little borough of Susack, situated further south, which is inhabited chiefly by Croats, but even if Susack is included, the compact Italian element would still out- number all the rest of the population formed of Croats, Slovenes, Serbs, Hungarians, Germans, &c., without taking into consideration that the Hungarians, along with the rest of the non-Slav population, prefer an Italian to a Jugo-Slav Fiume. The following tables will give all the particulars that the public require in order to understand the question of the mixed population : I. POPULATION ACCORDING TO NATIONALITY. Total. Percentage. Italians, - 28,911 62-5 Croats, - 9,092 19-6 Slovenes, 1,674 3-6 Serbs, - 161 0-4 Hungarians, - 4,431 9-6 Germans, 1,616 3-5 Others, - ... 379 O8 Town District. Total. Percentage. Italians, - 19,684 63-4 Croats, - 5,529 17-8 Slovenes, 919 2-9 Serbs, - 128 0-4 Hungarians, 3,178 102 Germans, 1,353 4-3 Others, 303 1 Sub-Communes. Total. Percentage. Italians, - 9,227 60-8 Croats, 3,563 23-5 Slovenes, 755 5 Serbs, 33 0-2 Hungarians, 1,253 8-3 Germans, 263 1-7 Others, - k . .- - 76 0-5 II. POPULATION ACCORDING TO AGE AND RESIDENCE. Over 20 years of age and 5 years' residence. Total. Percentage. Italians, - 16,597 65-0 Croats, 4,596 17-7 Slovenes, 937 3-7 Serbs, 65 0-3 Hungarians, 2,324 9-1 Germans, 844 3-4 Others, 193 0-8 III. NATIVE-BORN, OF FIUMIAX PARENTAGE, ACCORDING TO NATIONALITY. Town District. Total. Percentage. Italians, - 9,891 90-0 Croats, 490 4-5 Slovenes, 46 0-4 Serbs, 6 0-1 Hungarians, 324 2-9 Germans, 202 1-9 Others, - 27 0-2 Sub-Communes. Total. Percentage. Italians, - 4,303 71'0 Croats, 1,604 26-5 Slovenes, 127 2-1 Serbs, Hungarians, 14 0'2 Germans, 7 0-1 Others, 60-1 IV. NATIVE-BORN, OP FIUMIAN PARENTAGE, AGED OVER 24 YEARS. Total. Percentage. Italians, - * 7 8,316 85-8 Croats, 1,036 10-7 Slovenes, 62 0-7 Serbs, 4 Hungarians, ... 139 1-4 Germans, 121 1-2 Others, 14 0-2 V. NATIVE-BORN, OP NON-EIUMIAN PARENTAGE, RESIDENT SINCE BIRTH AND AGED OVER 20 YEARS. Total. Percentage. Italians, - V.: V - 9,612 85-5 Croats, 1,294 11-5 Slovenes, 123 1-1 Serbs, 9 0-1 Hungarians, 103 0-9 Germans, 92 0-8 Others, - - ' - 8 0-1 This census,, which was published by " Modern Italy," was taken by order of the Fiumian National Council. It shows that the whole population of Fiurne in November, 1918, consisted of 46,264 inhabitants, while the official Austro-Hungarian census, taken eight years ago, gives the whole population at, roughly, over 41,000, the majority of whom were Italians. It will be seen that there is a mere difference of four or five thousand between the Fiumiaii and the official Austro-Hungarian census. To an unprejudiced observer tin's difference, after eight years, will not appear so extra- ordinary when it is considered that we are dealing with u prolific southern race. Even the statistics of the dead from the fifteenth to the twentieth century prove the Italian character of the city; they show that 80 per cent, of the dead were Italians and only 7 per cent Croats. Significant Incidents. The mixed population and the hatred which exists between the Croatians and the Italians very often give rise to serious popular outbursts. A very remarkable incident is related by a correspondent of the Westminster Gazette, at which he was present. "I remember," he says, "an extraordinary incident happening in Fiume when I was staying there in 190G, which brought home to me the fierce passions aroused by the racial cross-currents in that city. We were sitting at a restaurant facing the sea, when suddenly a crowd came down the street with shouts of ' Long live Croatian Fiume.' They were immediately answered by defiant cries of ' Long live Italian Fiume,' and in a minute men were at one another's throats, revolver shots rang out, and tables and chairs were overturned. I was told that Hungarians, enraged at the claim that Fiume should belong to any country but Hungary, also joined in the fray. I know that we hastily took refuge in an hotel." Why Fiume was not included in the Treaty of London. Much has hitherto been said about Fiume having been omitted from the Treaty of London. Amidst the conflicting explanations which have been brought forward none of them gives the Italian side of the question . Tin- tact that Italy did not insist on the annexation of the city in that Treaty redounds to the credit of the Hal in n statesmen. They never contfin plated complete disruption of the Austrian Empire, and justly thought that Austria. Hungary, and Cxcdio-Slovakia should not 10 be cut off from the sea. Fiume being the only natural outlet for these countries, it was fair that their claims should not be overlooked, when we take into consideration the fact that the Italian population of Fiume enjoyed many privileges and favours under the Austro-Hungarian rule. At present, however, circumstances have completely changed. There is the self-determination of Fiume to be considered. Croatia is no longer part of the Austro- Hungarian monarchy, but will be united to a greater Serbia, enjoying not only the benefits of the ports of Spalato, Ragusa, Metcovic, Cattaro, but also of the five ports of Buccari, Porto Re, Novi, Segna, Carlopago, just below Fiume, leaving, on the other hand, Hungary, Austria, and Czecho-Slovakia without any outlet what- soever to the Adriatic Sea. We cannot emphasise too much the fact that the Croatian trade through Fiume represents only a very small part of the entire tonnage of the city, and that 93 per cent, of the whole tonnage goes to or comes from Austria and Hungary. We must keep in view the fact that not Croatia but Hungary built, at the expense of nearly 50,000,000 crowns, the harbour, moles, and warehouses; and that, if the ethnic laws were to be dis- regarded, it is Austria-Hungaiy who should have the benefit of the port. Under the changed conditions, would the Croats and the Slovenes allow the neutralisation of two strips of land in the midst of their territory in order to give Austria and Hungary access to the sea? If Fiume were to change hands and be given to any other nation, it would become evident that the commerce of the hinterland would be far better guaranteed under Italian than under any other rule. It is worth noting that the Ukrainians, the Austrians, and the Hungarians themselves declared they would rather see the port ruled by the Italians than by the Croats. 11 Croats' Claims. The Croats base their claims to the city and its surroundings on economic and commercial more than on national grounds. They assert that, without the port of Fiume, their new state will be unable to exist, because it will find itself cut off from access to the sea. This argument, however plausible to a superficial on- looker, becomes utterly untenable, not to say ridiculous, to a keener and unprejudiced observer. First, because the commercial reasons which are invoked as decisive do not really exist; the commerce of Croatia only represents a very insignificant percentage of the commercial move- ment of the port, and even the official Austrian statistics show that, hitherto, the Slavs have only made very little use of the port of Fiume. Secondly, because the new kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia, and Serbia (Jugo-Slavia) has been provided with excellent outlets and harbours along the whole Adriatic coast. Fiume not needed by the Slavs. The possession of Fiume is not a vital economic necessity for the new State. This statement finds its irrefutable confirmation in the commercial statistics of the port. They show that the great part of the trade of Fiume comes from territories which are not within the political and geographical agglomeration of the people who now constitute Jugo-Slavia. The trade of the new State of Croatia, Slavonia, and Serbia is not directed towards Fiume, for the simple reason that this town is pot in the centre of the country, and is not accessible without great expenditure and a long railway journey. Professor Civijic, the eminent Serb geographer and politician, in a moment when party politics ;m tor any ships or mivy they possess. " We \\ill lake over certain (ierinan Colonies, South- We^t Africa, (iermaii Kast Africa. Samoa, anil New (iuinea. &C. It \\e take over I hose Colonies for our territorial safety, \vliy should not Italy take over the territories \vli icli are I la! laii 1" 24 Ladies and Gentlemen, we in Italy have always hailed the British. Fleet; we do not forget that we owe to it many debts of eternal gratitude, which include the safe landing of Garibaldi in Sicily; the heroism which it displayed to save the inhabitants of Reggio and Messina from the effects of the earthquake in 1908; and, not the least, the mighty deeds performed in reducing German barbarism to powerlessness. We rejoice at the strength and beauty of your men-of-war, and fully realise that they are necessary for the protection of the British Isles, and for the safety of the world. Her natural frontiers and a secure position in the Adriatic are to Italy what the British Fleet is to Britain. To obtain our own security we have struggled for many centuries against the common enemy. We sincerely hope that the battles we have lately waged together will be the last, and that, with the same ideals and the same faith, we shall cross the seas and the oceans for the glory of man- kind and the prosperity of our people. Ladies and Gentlemen, in the name of those heroes who have laid down their lives for their Fatherland; in the name of those who for over four years have fought against barbarism, I ask you to-night most fervently to strengthen more and more the bonds which for many centuries have united the British and the Italian peoples; let us then for ever wave friendly together our glorious flags, which are the symbols of tine liberty and justice.