Page:Treaty of Peace - Versailles (1919) Ottawa.djvu/53

RV 53 (SESSIONAL PAPER No. 41) of another region and are exercising their functions at the date of the coming into force of the present Treaty, or who have gone out of office since March 1, 1919, shall also be evacuated.

The said zone shall immediately be placed under the authority of an International Commission, composed of five members, of whom three will be designated by the Principal Allied and Associated Powers; the Norwegian and Swedish Governments will each be requested to designate a member; in the event of their failing to do so, these two members will be chosen by the Principal Allied and Associated Powers.

The Commission, assisted in case of need by the necessary force, shall have general powers of administration. In particular, it shall at once provide for filling the places, of the evacuated German authorities, and if necessary shall itself give orders for their evacuation, and proceed to fill the places of such local authorities as may be required. It shall take all steps which it thinks proper to ensure the freedom, fairness, and secrecy of the vote. It shall be assisted by German and Danish technical advisers chosen by it from among the local population. Its decisions will be taken by a majority.

One-half of the expenses of the Commission and of the expenditure occasioned by the plebiscite shall be paid by Germany.

(2) The right to vote shall be given to all persons, without distinction of sex, who:

(a) Have completed their twentieth year at the date of the coming into force of the present Treaty; and

(b) Were born in the zone in which the plebiscite is taken, or have been domiciled there since a date before January 1, 1900, or had been expelled by the German authorities without having retained their domicile there.

Every person will vote in the commune (Gemende) where he is domiciled or of which he is a native.

Military persons, officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the German army, who are natives of the zone of Schleswig in which the plebiscite is taken, shall be given the opportunity to return to their native place in order to take part in the voting there.

(3) In the section of the evacuated zone lying to the north of a line, from East to West (shown by a red line on map No. 4 which is annexed to the present Treaty):

passing south of the island of Alsen and following the median line off Flensburg Ejord,

leaving the fjord about 6 kilometres north of Flensburg and following the course of the stream flowing past Kupfermühle upstream to a point north of Niehuus,

passing north of Pattburg and Ellund and south of Fröslee to meet the eastern boundary of the Kreis of Tondern at its junction with the boundary between the old jurisdiction of Slogs and Kjær (Slogs Herred and Kjær Herred).

following the latter boundary to where it meets the Scheidebek,

following the course of the Scheidebek (Alte Au), Süder Au and Wied Au downstream successively to the point where the latter bends northwards about 1,500 metres west of Euttebiill,

thence, in a west-north-westerly direction to meet the North Sea north of Sieltoft,

thence, passing north of the island of Sylt, the vote above provided for shall be taken within a period not exceeding three weeks after the evacuation of the country by the German troops and authorities.

The result will be determined by the majority of votes cast in the whole of this section. This result will be immediately communicated by the Commission to the Principal Allied and Associated Powers, and proclaimed.

If the vote results in favour of the reincorporation of this territory in the Kingdom of Denmark, the Danish Government in agreement with the Commission will be entitled to effect its occupation with their military and administrative authorities immediately after the proclamation.