THE DOOM OF SERVIA.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVI, Issue 17, 20 January 1905, Page 4

THE DOOM OF SERVIA.

Once more the cloud of revolution is 'gathering darkly in the Balkans, and the perennial Eastern Question seems likely to develop another dangerous phase in the near future. There are rumours of a Servian conspiracy to overthrow the Regicides who are practically rulers of the country, and to dethrone the puppet King. It is only a little over 18 months since the murder of King Alexander and his unhappy Queen raised Peter Karageorgeviteh to 'the Servian Throne; and his reign has been as gloomy and unprosperous as its ill-omened inauguration foreboded. Peter may not have been personally accessory to the murder of his predecessor, but he was certainly concerned in a conspiracy which in Servia could have only one end. As the grandson of Kara George, the liberator of Servia, he maintains the hereditary feud of his house against the race of the Obrenovich; and the murder of Alexander in 1903 is in one sense the expiation of the blood that the sons of Milosch spilt in their deadly feuds with the house of Kara George. But even as an episode in a dynastic vendetta the death of Alexander was marked by peculiar atrocity; and the barbarous murder of Queen Draga, a beautiful and able, though perhaps unscruplous woman, horrified, and disgusted the civilised world. When Peter was called from exile to fill the throne of Alexander, Great Britain refused to recognise the new Government. The British, French, American and Turkish Ministers left Belgrade, and King Edward while formally acknowledging Peter's accession, referred in scathing terms to the crimes by which the honour of his country had been tarnished. Russia and Austria alone, for political reasons, have maintained their diplomatic connection with Servia; and the intrigues of Russia more especially have done much to render Peter's throne unstable and to encourage the hopes of his implacable enemies. Little as we may sympathise with the methods by which Peter attained the throne, it is impgssible to avoid pitying the helplessness of this weakling, struggling with circumstances so far beyond the limits of his powers. The indignation and horror with*which Europe greeted the murder of Alexander showed plainly that Peter would do well to sever himself at once from the Regicide party. Indeed, even the Tsar, in acknowledging Peter's accession, expressed the hope that the murderers would be duly punished. To do Peter justice, he seems to have desired to dissociate himself as speedily as possible from those responsible for this crime; but he has never been strong enough to do so. The Regicides having control of the army have been able to retain tbeir hold upon the supreme power, and the king is only a puppet in their hands. "It is true," says an English critic, "that the country was flagrantly misgoverned by King Alexander and his foolish consort, but it is not less scandalously misgoverned to-day. The last 15 months have only served to organise and strengthen tht hoid of these infamous personages upon every branch of the public administration." Nor have the Regicides and their nominees even the excuse that they are capable of administering the affairs of their unfortunate country; for "it is notorious that lawlessness and corruption were never more common in Servia than they are to-day." Several conspiracies "against the Regicides have already been discovered, and Peter's position' grows constantly more insecure. He has been unable to attract to himself the sympathy of his subjects, with whom the Obrenovich house was very popular. He lives in constant dread of assassination, and his mind has been so wrought upon by the memory of the crime by which he won the throne that he has ordered the destruction of the royal palace at Belgrade, in which Alexander and Draga were murdered. The Servians (like all Slavs) are very superstitious, and they did not fail to comment gloomily upon the evil omens that marked the coronation—the gilded iron crown which : the king found too heavy for his head, and the royal standard which was allowed accidentally to trail in the mud. Certainly we could hardly expect happy auguries at a ceremonial "to which the road had been paved by a frightful crime, add >f which the solemnisation has been watched over by a band of cut-throats." But, in addition to the discontent of the Servians, we must conjecture that Russian intrigue is a source of perpetual unrest among Peter's subjects. Though the Tsar had strongly reprobated Petei's conduct in maintaining his alliance with the Regicides, diplomatic considerations have prevailed upon Russia to seize the opportunity afforded by the coronation to assure Servia of his good will, and to remind her twit "Russia is always ready to uphold the cause of Slavism." When the truth is known we need not be surprised to learn that Russia has at least as much to do with the coming Servian revolution as the enemies of the house of Kara George.