years ago he took down a pure Roumanian
text at that place, where the Roumanian language is the most antique in
the Banat. On the other hand, the village must have contained many
Serbs, for when the late notary, a powerful Magyar with Roumanian
sympathies, prevented the school being conducted, as it always had
been, in the Serbian language, and installed a teacher--he stayed for
eight years--who could only speak Magyar and Roumanian, the villagers at
their own expense procured a Serbian school-mistress. She was expelled
by the notary.... This illustrates the difficulties which the Peace
Conference, in its desire to trace an ethnical frontier, was confronted
with. And there was no map which did not make it obvious that Serbian
villages would have to remain to the east and Roumanian villages to the
west of any possible line. They did right, I think, to revise their
decision as to the towns of Ver[vs]ac and Bela Crkva, for there the
Yugoslavs and their German friends have a large and unquestioned
preponderance. Bazias, with about three miles of the railway, was given
to Roumania so that she should have, for the exportation of her wood and
iron-ore, the only harbour in that region of the Danube which is capable
of development. However, with no railway over Roumanian soil from Bazias
to the mines, this port is perfectly useless, and it is to be hoped that
Roumania will give it up, for compensation elsewhere, to the Yugoslavs.
The latter would otherwise be compelled to build three or four miles of
railway, from Bela Crkva to Palanka, which, unless a great deal of money
be spent on it, will always be one of the worst ports on the river. With
a little more difficulty than to Bazias the Roumanians could construct a
railway to Moldava, which also is a very good port; and in return for
this accommodation, whereby the wines of Bela Crkva could be shipped
from Bazias, their natural port, the Yugoslavs would be ready to make
over to Roumania one or two villages whose population far exceeds that
of little Bazias. We may also hope that facilities will be given by the
two Governments for the emigration of those who wish to cross the new
frontier line. Formerly the people of the Banat had no strenuous
objections to being moved, lock, stock and barrel, from one district to
another and without the inducement of coming under the rule of their own
race. Thus the village of Zsam, to the north of Ver[vs]ac, was, like
many others, very sparsely