iralty was hostile to the Yugoslavs. And at Nocera Umbra he
remained until December 6, when he was liberated, owing to the
efforts of Trumbi['c] and other members of the Yugoslav Committee.

In the month of September a memorandum was drawn up by Trumbi['c], in
which he proposed to English and American political and military
circles the landing at [vS]ibenik of a force of 50,000 men. This would
have been assisted by the mutinous crews of the Austro-Hungarian
Fleet, whose preparations had been completed in July (at this port 90
per cent. of the sailors of the fleet were Yugoslavs, and among them
there was a strong national feeling; in fact, if their political
leaders had not held them back, they would have endeavoured in July to
blow up the naval fortifications and sail with the ships to Corfu).
The expeditionary army, once at [vS]ibenik, could have penetrated
inland and, acting in consort with the many Yugoslav deserters and the
insurgent population of Dalmatia and Bosnia, have accelerated the
Austrian _debacle_. In this memorandum Trumbi['c] asked that the
combined Anglo-American-French fleet should support the action, but
that the Italians, whom the Yugoslavs distrusted, should take no part.
He sneered at the cowardice of the Italians who, with a huge army, did
not dare to start an offensive on a grand scale.

[In well-informed circles in Italy this memorandum was already known,
but when it was read in the Italian Chamber in the spring of 1919 it
made a considerable sensation.]

On October 3, Messrs. Frederick [vS]tepanek, Rudolph Giunio, Valentine
Zi['c] (of [vS]ibenik) and other authorized Czecho-Slovak and Yugoslav
emissaries went in a sailing-boat from Vis to Italy, with a view to
getting into connection with Dr. Bene[vs] (afterwards the
Czecho-Slovak Foreign Minister) and Dr. Trumbi['c], to inform them as
to the situation in the Monarchy and to obtain instructions regarding
the moment of the revolution in which their soldiers and sailors were
to participate. On arrival in Rome on October 7, the delegates were
interrogated by Major Trojani of the Bureau of Information and on the
same day for three hours by the Inspector-General of Public Safety.
From then till October 20, they were interned in the Macoa barracks at
the Castro Pretoris, and although they made repeated attempts to see
a member of the Yugoslav Committee or Dr. Bene[vs], who was in Rome,
they were told that this "delicate" question could only be solv