It is the purpose of this pamphlet to elaborate and explain the considerations which underlie the policy outlined above.
I
No Province shall be transferred from one Government to another without the consent of plébiscite of the population of such Province.
There must be general recognition of principle of plébiscite.
This condition has been placed first because if adhered to practically and in spirit, and if recognized by the European Powers as a principle that must guide all frontier rearrangements, it would help to put an end to European war.
If no province were retained under a Government’s power against the will of its inhabitants, the policy of conquest and the imposition of political power would lose its raison d’être.
The subject as a whole is wrapped up, of course, with the principle of democratic government and is not merely a problem of international but of internal politics, and could not be treated briefly in a mere outline like the present. But any one who reflects carefully on the subject will see that the peace in Europe ultimately depends upon the acceptance of this idea.
It is obvious that there are many difficulties of detail in its application; that a plébiscite may be a mere form and not reflect the real wishes of the population concerned, and under military control it can be used as an instrument for obtaining an apparent sanction for oppression, and that in populations of mixed race it is very difficult of application. But it should not be impossible to guard against the defeat of the principle through defects in the working machinery. Plébiscites, where used at the end of the war, might be carried out under international supervision. The essential is that the principle involved should be clearly enunciated.
Fortunately the Government has already given the country a valuable lead in this matter. For Mr. Churchill, speaking on September 11, said: