THE BERLIN TREATY

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 249, 17 October 1908, Page 11

THE BERLIN TREATY

The famous Berlin Treaty, wliioli lina been so suddenly anil flagrantly violated by the action of lkiifraria and Austria, was regarded as the crowning triumph of Lord Bea.consfield's r-areor (s;iv.-i :i writer in the. "New Zealand" firsiphie and Weekly Mail"). Tn understand the present, position in I lie I'.alkans, it is necessary to briefly recupiltllate the events that led to the repudiation of the hvntv of San Stefano. ami the signing by the Powers of that, of Berlin. The' ■•unspeakable Turk." as Carlylc phrased him. was firmly established in his kingdom by eenluries nf prescriptive right. He was corrupt, lie was weak, he was e<|iiallv injurious to the nations under hi~ rule, and to the nation of Europe. But to have attempted to wrr.it the power from his hands would have involved a frantic I European strugirl" which might hnve I only had the result nf cnll.miing Ihe I Oar in his stead. ■! :w 10 it.-: rain fiii' J Turk without the honors nf mi Annai geddon was the re ; il ■ Eastern (Jiie.-ttinn." J Thus matter- -fond in IS7">. \v"ir>ii n I crisis was precipitated by Mi" revolt n{ j Herzegovina. Bosnia. Servia and Alrnl"' I negro tjiiit-kly joined t li«- in -nrred ion. and thousand- nf volunteers poured in from Russia to a«<i.<t the insurgent provinces, fl now became evMent (hat V.u~- '■ sia was the movir.g -pirit in the whn]p affair, and it seemed prac-tieully certain that war on ;i 'argr scale ,v:is inevitable. The French an , ! f!*rmnn consuls at Siiloniea were murWed. the Sultan. AllI d,d Aziz, was deposed, and Mie halfj imbecile Murad V. was proclaimed in his I stead. But the events were completely eclipsed by the news of the fearful atrocities committed by the Turkish soldiers in Bulgaria. Defenceless women and children were outraged and massacred. 12.000 people were put to death at Piiilippnpolis. and at Ttalnk over inon I inhabitants, who liarl taken refuse in ii ■ church were burnt to death. Never ! had indijrnation been roused before t" i such a fever heat against the Turk a- .' it was when the news of these outrag' - reached Knglnnd. From one end of the country to the other there arose n uniI versa! cry thai, (lie Ottoman Ooverninen! ' must be' blotted our. j Russia immediately declared war against Turkey. I he Danube wits eroded Bulgaria was placed under l'li.ssUni rule ihp. Srhipka Pa-s was seized, anl Ilm I sian 1 roops occujiied Itoumeliw. Tlv I check came at Plevna, where the hero: Osman Pasha held the Russian troop* at bay for five inonlhs. Hill him.'.': , ! and disease at !ast eompflled him ' ••■ make a desperate atte"ipt to cut hi way out, and, overwhelmed by nirnli the and fjiirrison v.-irn-Xothinp now could stop the vietoriouRussians, they poured in from all side; swept down upon Adrianople. and compelled the vanquished Turk? to sue fur peace. On tlv 3rd of March. IS7S. the treaty of San Stefano was Mprned. and by this a Bulgarian State was conslitiited within the limits of the. old kingdom, that existed before the Turki-di conquest of l.t!):i. and stretched from the Danube to the Aegean. Russia W ;inow on the hiirb road to Constantinople already the Czar saw himself enthmnii' on the Bosphorus. and Knfrland's Empire in the Ma ft trembled in the balance. Ii was at this point Lord Tseaconsfielrl intervened without a moment's hesitation: he notified the Czar 'bat the treaty must he ratified by the Powers. When no attention was paid to this demand, i the English fleet was ordered to proceed . up the Dardanelles, the reserves were called out. £0.000.000 was voted for war expenses, and the Czar was told plainly and forcibly that there was no country in the world so well prepared for war aEnpland. Russia was checkmated in the hour of her triumph, and so rapidly had TVird Beaconsficld acted thai \ exactly four months after. San Stefano. the treaty of Berlin was signed by nil the Powers, and England had secured "peace with honour."' By this treat.r. half of Bulgaria was made independent. half was governed by a ITospodar. nominated by the Sultan, and the Powers: Bosnia and Herzegovina were placed under Austrian protection; Pervia and Montenegro became independent: Batoiim, Kars and Ardahan were ceded to Russia; the Sultan was pledged to earn out reforms, and England got the Islan.l of Cyprus. It did not solve the Balkan i difficulty, but it checked the advance o l ' j Russia, and did much to prepare the wnj j for the future complete independence of the various States. The recent revolution in Turkey has materially altered the complexion of affairs. Bulgaria has seized the opportunity to declare complete independence, and Crete has declared itself for Greece. Austria has formally annexed 80.-nia and Herzegovina, and the Turk is beinu gradually forced back into Asia and the Russian held in check beyond the Danube. Tlfe Kuropean Powers are protesting, but they seem inclined to do nothing in the nature of energetic action, and Turkey seems equally inactive. The smiation. however, is extremely critical, and only the most cautious and wise diplomacy can avoid a general outbreaks