THE TURKISH CRISIS.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIII, Issue 166, 12 July 1912, Page 4

THE TURKISH CRISIS.

The resignation of Shevket Pasha may possibly prove to mark a. turning point in the fortunes of the Turkish Government. For Shevket was not only one of the leading spirits in the original revolution, in which he exercised great influence over the -troops, but he was also one of the few members of the Government who appeared capable of taking a statesmanlike view of Turkey's political prospects. But it is evident that the Government, under the malign domination of the Committee of Union and Progress, is tottering to its fall. Shevket's resignation is directly due to the impossibility of putting down the Albanian rising, and the Albanians would never have revolted if it had not been for the unwise attempts made by the Committee of Union and Progress to dragoon these liberty-loving mountaineers into a. semblance of Turkish civilisation. It is now feared that the Albanian revolt may develop into a general insurrection against the Committee; and if this once spreads, the existing regime may be speedily overthrown. For the present Government is simply a tool in the hands of the Committee, which, in jts efforts -to establish a military depo-tism, has sacrificed the confidence of the Turks, as well as the goodwill of the foreign Powers. And it happens that at this 'jjunctture Turjkey's relations with the Powers are more acutely critical than ever. The blocking of the Dardanelles by Italy was a carefully premeditated act, and its chief object was to drag other Powers into the quarrel with Turkey. »By the firmness of England and France this danger has been temporarily averted- Rut there is no doubt that Russia is anxious to conciliate Italy with the object of detaching her from the Triple Alliance; and with this end in view she appears inclined to go further than England or Prance desire in the way of propitiating i the Italians at Turkey's expense. The ■ international situation is changing so I rapidly just now that it is unwise to predict what a day may bring forth. But so long as this disastrous war drags on the risk of involving other Powers in the conflict will continue to menace the world's peace; and the prospects of a- satisfactory settlement have certainly not been improved by the intrigues of the Committee of Union and Progress and by the disunion and lack of definite purpose recently exhibited by the Turkish Government.