PARTITION OF MACEDONIA.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 167, 14 July 1908, Page 5

PARTITION OF MACEDONIA.

BULGARIA'S OPPOSITION. (Received 8.37 a-m.) SOFIA, July 13. The Premier of Bulgaria, Dr. Gudeff, Bpeaking at Sobranje, declared that Bulgaria would employ, force, if necessary, to prevent the partition of Macedonia. The partition of Macedonia has not been directly suggested. The main points of Sir Edward Grey's proposals to the Powers tp stop outrage in Macedoniawere the appointments or an independent Go-vernor-General and an increase in the gendarmerie. Russia replied with counter proposals. ' An independent GovernorGeneral would never be accepted by the Porte, she said, because it would seem like an alienation of Turkish territory, but if increased powers were given to the present Inspector-General of Macedonia with the rank of Vizier, and if he wore maintained in office for a term agreed upon by the Powers, a strong administration would be secured. In his answer to the counter proposals of Russia Sir Edward Grey said that, while Great Britain still contended that her proposals formed the best method of maintaining peace in the Balkan Peninsula, and of obtaining financial equilibrium of the Macedonian budget, Btill she recognised that reform proposals were not inseparably bound up with the acceptance of these conditions, if other means could be found of providing the necessary funds. The British Government had come to the conclusion that the Inspector-General and the Financial Commission should be invested with power to retain such proportion of the receipts of provinces as were necessary for civil needs, and that they should hand over the balance to the Sultan. If the amount were insufficient to meet the military expenditure the amount should be made up by the Porte; and as the Porte must be held to have acted in good faith when it undertook to make up tb« deficits in the Macedonian budget, it might be presumed that the money would bo forthcoming, and that it would be the more readily found for the maintenance of troops than for the civil needs of a population whose unfortunate condition had so long been a danger to European peace. If this proposal were adopted the question of the number cf Turkish troops maintained in Macedonia would become immaterial to the Powers, provided that the troops were paid and not allowed to live on the country.