In the summer of 1915 the Germans overran Courland. The Letts fled before the Germans, where this was possible, and were obliged to leave their property behind, because time did not permit of its removal. Relatively, not one of the nationalities of Russia has suffered more from the War, twothirds of the inhabitants of Courland being at present refugees; the same also applies to the inhabitants of the boundary districts in Livonia. Words fail to describe the hardships which the people have had to endure. The route of the refugees towards the interior was strewn with every kind of property, and with the dead bodies of domestic animals, men, women, and children. Terror and suffering dogged the steps of the refugees. The Germans, as might be expected, give a different story of the cause of this terrible flight. In their publications they state that the Russian army in its retreat forced the Letts to abandon their goods and chattels. This is, however, not the case. The Letts fled from the Germans because they had every reason to mistrust their civilisation.

From the first the Letts have desired to take an active part in the defence of their country. A group of Lettish leaders discussed the desirability of forming special Lettish volunteer battalions. The consent of the General Staff was obtained as soon as the preparatory work of organisation had been completed. Meanwhile Lettish and Russian newspapers published an appeal to the Lettish nation, signed by the two Lettish deputies in the Duma, M. Zalits and M. Goldmans. The appeal was received with enthusiasm, and young Letts flocked to the colours from every part of the world. One battalion after the other was formed. After a short training they were sent to the trenches, where they have proved very useful and brave soldiers. The General Staff has invariably expressed its appreciation of the services rendered by the Lettish volunteers and acknowledged them in dispatches; their success was, and is, largely due to their excellent knowledge of the country, of the German language, and to their ardent desire to rid Lettonia (a general name comprehending Courland, Livonia, and the adjoining districts inhabited by Letts) of the invader. The battalions are working in the old spirit which animated their ancestors.

The formation of Lettish battalions was followed by the organisation of relief for Lettish refugees. In Petrograd a

central committee was founded, and branches have sprung up all over the country. Their number now exceeds 200, the majority being in Livonia, where so many refugees have found asylum. These committees have done, and are doing, a great deal of work, but they will be called upon to do still more in the future. The Germans will, we hope, eventually be driven out of Courland, when the committees will have to bring back the Lettish refugees and assist them in the reconstruction of their homes. The Letts are industrious: they know how to work, and are persevering, patient, and dogged. The Lettish peasant has a favourite saying to the effect that 'Before I can be 'deterred from gaining my ends the devil himself will be 'changed into a pillar of stone.'

It must be left to the historians of the Russian Revolution to say how far the apparent willingness on the part of the house of Romanoff to surrender Courland to Germany was one of the causes of its downfall. The very suspicion of such an act of treason produced indescribable excitement among the Letts. It must also be left to history to elucidate the part played in the revolution by the Guards regiments in which the Lettish element has always been strongly represented.

The news of the success of the revolution in Petrograd was received by the Letts with mixed feelings-with the fear that the revolution would end in anarchy or in a violent counterrevolution, and with intense relief that the danger of a partition of Lettonia between Germany and Russia had been averted. Nowhere was the crisis faced with greater fearlessness and confidence. Faith in the final victory of common sense was not even shaken by the soldiers' and workmen's proclamation of no indemnities, no annexations.' Without an indemnity, the Lettish farmers in Courland would not have the faintest chance of recovery. Their lands would have to be sold and the numerous cosmopolitan concerns lying in wait in Petrograd would step in to snap up vacant land. Nothing but complete ruin would stare the Lettish peasant in the face.

The attitude of the Lettish army and of Lettish public opinion has not been sufficiently appreciated in England, while the extent of the influence of German agents in the Baltic Provinces has been misjudged. General Radko Dmitriev, the

commander in charge of the 'Lettish eagles,' issued an army order with the general approval of Lettish officers and soldiers, in which he said: Our country expects victory from us. Without discipline victory cannot be won and is never won; 'offences against discipline will be punished severely, but in ' accordance with the law, and courts-martial will continue to 'be held.' This order produced good results. In spite of the mistakes of the Provisional Government no serious disorganisation occurred in the Lettish regiments. Even the disappearance of discipline in Petrograd had not a disintegrating effect on the Lettish army, while the relations between the officers and soldiers continued good. Strong measures were, however, necessary in a few instances to counteract the restlessness of aggressive spirits and to damp their rising ardour for revolt. Frequent raids on German trenches were undertaken, which put a stop to attempts on the part of the Germans to fraternise with the Letts.

The first protests against the activities of Lenin and the pacifists came from Riga. The Press inveighed against this activity which troubled the mind and destroyed organisation.' The Army wrote entreating Petrograd not to tolerate demonstrations, which were destructive of the unity and power of Russia. As for liberty of speech, the message declared that the public expression of political opinions should be confined to political meetings, and should not be tolerated in the market-places and streets. Violent resentment of attacks against the prestige and greatness of Russia was a feature on the Lettish front.

This protest reveals two tendencies in the Lett-a fanatical devotion to Lettish nationality and a loyalty to the Russian State difficult to equal in any other part of Russia. The interests of Lettonia are in the opinion of the Lett more bound up with a free Russia than with a despotic Germany.

On the Riga front the struggle against German agitators was very active. Any soldier who ventured to express himself in a disrespectful manner about his superior officer was at once excluded from the Army and handed over to the courtsmartial; the pacifist organs were severely boycotted, while the high command, after overcoming certain difficulties created by the Central Government, felt itself strong enough to deal with deserters. No humanitarian idealism marked the pro

ceedings of these courts-martial, as was the case in Petrograd. Meanwhile, the conduct of the Lettish army met with the approval of the whole Lettish population, who are persuaded that until they are freed from the Germanophile and German agents they will not be able to develop unhindered. Some of their projects may be called irrational and unconsidered, but the cool, critical mind of the Lett will, in the end, correct what is exaggerated and mistaken.

The unanimous desire of the people is, naturally, to have a large share of autonomy. Divergence of opinion, however, does exist about the relations of Lettonia with the Central Power of the Empire, and also as regards the best form of internal government. But the wish for an understanding with the other nationalities of the Empire, and the anxiety not to create difficulties for the Provisional Government during the War, are dominant factors. The addresses presented to the Prime Minister express an absolute loyalty, a generous faith in the political honesty of new Russia, and willingness to forget the bitter experiences of the past.

C. HAGBERG Wright.

Α1

WHAT IS AUSTRIA ?

T the end of November the Emperor Charles will complete the first year of his reign. His accession brought into the Austrian problem-that crazy puzzle of countervailing instabilities-a factor of unknown quantity and quality but, at all events, different from the jaded cynicism of Francis Joseph. To ignore this new factor would be impolitic; to predict its influence would be foolish. It is a factor to be studied and analysed-always remembering that the injunction, 'Put not your trust in princes,' applies especially to the Hapsburgs. Nothing has yet shown the Emperor Charles to be an exception to the general rule laid down by the shrewd Austrian critic, Hermann Bahr, who wrote in his booklet 'Wien,' eleven years ago (pp. 18-19): 'Among Hapsburg 'Princes there have been simpletons and geniuses, men tur'bulent and tranquil, jolly fellows and curmudgeons, victors ' and vanquished, companionable souls and recluses, men of 'all sorts, but one trait is common to them all-they have 'lacked the sense of reality.' This does not mean that their personal action, however heedless of facts, may not, at a given moment, set the whole mechanism of the State working in a direction unforeseen. It means only that those who deal with them will be wise not to base plans or forecasts upon the Hapsburg 'personal equation.'

With every month of war it grows plainer that peace must bring a drastic change in the position of the Hapsburg dominions. This is recognised in Germany and Austria even more clearly than by some of the Allies. The Emperor Charles is certainly convinced of it. The controversy in Allied countries upon the 'dismemberment' of Austria is in itself a sign that the Austrian question is forcing itself upon public attention. The difficulty is to determine what changes would connote a German victory and what the Allies require as a guarantee that there shall in future be in Central Europe itself such a grouping of ethnic, economic, and political forces as to preclude German mastery over the Continnt.

This weighty matter cannot be judged offhand or settled