The Press. TUESDAY, JANUARY 14, 1913. THE BALKAN CRISIS.

Press, Volume XLIX, Issue 14563, 14 January 1913, Page 6

The Press. TUESDAY, JANUARY 14, 1913. THE BALKAN CRISIS.

In spite of, or indeed in consequence of, their overwhelming successes, difficulties aro multiplying in the path of the Allies. After Mr Asquith's famous pronouncement at tho Guildhall that tho doctrino of the status quo was finally abandoned, it was at first assumed that tho only serious danger %head was the danger of internal quarrels when it came to a division of the spoils. That danger is still ahead, and it is a very serious one, especially ivhen tho complex intermixture of Greek, Bulgar and Serb, not to speak of Vlachs in Macedonia, is taken into consideration. But dangers moro immediate aro already confronting the Allies. Greece, Bulgaria, Servia, and Montenegro wero alone in demanding tho breaking up of Albania, that turbulent and meditoval province, and parcelling it out in the interests of futuro peace among tho neighbouring States. But tho cry of- Albania for the Albanians has been raised," and both Austria arid Italy are prepared to intervene on behalf of Albanian autonomy.

They both object to Servia securing Prisrend on the north, and Greece securing Janina on tho south, though on the question of Montenegrin claims to Scutari they are divided. It is tho old story of IS7B over again, when Dulcigno was restored to Turkey, Spizza filched by Austria, and the Montenegrin acquisition of Antivari rendered almost useless by the restrictions imposed on that port in Austrian interests. A nnrted SXania the Allies regard as a future sourco of weakness, for Albania must lean upon Austria, and as lons as it doe 3 so, will keep Austria's iEgean aspirations alive. *

Nor is this all. Greece is threatened not merely with tho defeat of her territorial ambitions in Epiras. but with tho loss of tho JEgean Islands, which sho already counts on. as her own. Senria can hardly feel assured of her prospects of acquiring that "window" to the Adriatic so essential to her free economic development, and is abruptly faced with the renewal of Houmania's claims to rectification of her frontier. This is a long-standing. grievance. Itonmania has never forgotten how i7:u was repaid for her sacrifices in the RiHsy-Turkish war by the exchange of her valued slice of Bessarabia for the comparatively barren Dobrudja, and though she has made the best of that bad bargain by her energetic policy of public works, she has never ceased to covet a more defensible frontier to the South. Tho prospect of a Big Bulgaria in tho near future is not particularly congenial to her, and ethical considerations are not likely to prevent her from pressing home her claim at a moment when Bulgaria's resources are taxed to the utmost. Ever since Russia- robbed her of Bessara'ola, she has looked to Austria for support, and if her present move is not concerted with Austria, it is at bast a remarkablo coincidence that it comes at a moment when it plays into Austria's hands. One thing is certain. The day of the Turk in Europe is practically over. But tho Near Eastern question has not yet found its final solution.