YOKE THROWN OFF

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 321, 7 October 1908, Page 7

YOKE THROWN OFF

BULGARIA FREE. AUSTRIA'S ANNEXATION OF BOSNIA. NO CASUS BELLI. BRITAIN WILL ACCEPT NO BREACH OF TREATY. TURKEY DEFERS TO THE POWERS. (us TELEOi'.ArH—MESS ASSOCIATION—COPYRIGHT.) London, October 6. Prince Ferdinand has proclaimed Bulgaria's independence. Unnecessary, 130,000 trbops are to take the field against Turkey. Kiamil Pasha, the new Turkish Crand Vizier, does not oonsider Bulgaria's proclamation of independence a casus belli, unless Bulgaria adopts a hostile attitude in Macedonia.! An Austrian Royal rescript proclaims the extension of the Emperor Francis Joseph's sovereign rights to Bosnia arid Herzegovina. INDEPENDENCE PROCLAIMED. IMPRESSIVE SCENE. HOW SOFIA RECEIVED THE NEWS. (Rec. October 7, 1.12 a.m.) Sofia, October 6. M. Malinoff, the Bulgarian Premier, state's that Bulgaria's independence was pfoclaiined owing to Turkey's ultiriiatum demanding the evacuation of tbo Oriental Railway within three days. Prihce Ferdinand read tho manifesto of independence from tbo chancel of tho Ancient Chui'ch of the Forty Martyrs at Tirnovo, in Southern Bulgaria; Ho appeared to bo deeply impressed. Tbo Prince claimed that he arid his predecessor, Princo Alexander, had made Bulgaria a nation fit to take an equal place with others in tho family of civilised peoples. Though Bulgaria was already practically an independent nation, she was impeded by certain illusions and formal limitations, which resulted iii a coldness of relations between Turkey and Bulgaria. PriricO Ferdinand said that ho and Bulgaria desired to rejoice in Turkey's political development. He hoped that when each country was freo and entirely independent their friendly relations would bo strengthened; Ho added:

Inspired by tho sacred purpose of satisfying national requirements and fulfilling tlie national desiro, I proclaim Bulgaria's independence. Together with the nation, I firmly . bsliove this act wlli meet the approbation of Powers. When the news was first received at Sofia, tho capital, there were few signs of popular feeling. Later on, crowds surrounded tho palace and cheered Princo Boris (the heir to the throno) arid his brother. PRINCE'S TELEGRAM TO SULTAN. ATTITUDE OF RUSSIA. BULGARLA SUMMONS HER RESERVES. (Rec. October 6, 9.55 p.m.) London, Octobor 6. "Le Temps" (Paris) states that tho Tsar has come to no decision regarding Austria, but desires to act with Franco arid Britain. Prince Ferdinand of Bulgaria has telegraphed to the Sultan expressing regret that lie is compelled by the popular will to declare tho iiideperiderico of Bulgaria, and expressing a hope that friendly relations will bo maintained. It is understood at Constantinople that Russia has promised Turkey her moral support. • It is reported at Adrianople (ono of tho leading cities of European Turkey, closo to the Bulgarian frontier); that Bulgaria is summoning her reserves. ' WILL THERE BE WAR? KIAMIL'S CONDITIONAL NEGATIVE. POWERS' POSITION. AUSTRIAN AND GERMAN ADVICE. (Rec. October 7, 1.30 a.m.) Constantinople, October 6; Kiainil Pasha, Grand Vizier, states that ho does riot consider Bulgaria's proclamation of independence a casus belli unless Bulgaria adopts a hostile attitude in Macedonia. If Europo is disposed to modify the Treaty of Berlin, Turkey must accept it as uri fait accompli. London; October 6. Router states that tbe general impression in diploiriatic circles is that Turkey's riiodoration and wisdom will avert a crisis. Although the news of the proclamation of Bulgaria's independence created consternation in official circles in Constantinople*, tho public is not excited. It is generally expected that Turkey will only strongly pro- | test against the violation of the Treaty. | The Austrian press strongly sympathises with Bulgaria, and deprecates tho idea of war, sinco by Bulgaria's action Turkey loses nothing that she has not already lost. ■ Router's Berlin correspondent says that it has been officially annouiicod that should tho Porte ask Powers for advice respecting tho use of ariiied force, Germany will bo unable to recommend war; because tli6 Turkish briny is unprepared, while Bulgaria's is ready. AUSTRIA'S COUi>. IMPERIAL RESCRIPT ISSUED. TROOPS FOR BOSNIA. (Rec. October 7, 1.30 a.rii.) London, October 6. The "Daily Mail's" correspondent at Bhdapest reports that three Hungarian army corps liavo been mobilised to proceed to Bosnia on Thursday. The Constantinople correspondent of "Tlio Times" reports that Turkish Ministers, replying to Prince Ferdinand, state that they aro iinable to recognise his declaration of independerico, as it is a breach oF tho Berlin Troaty, aiid affects the signatory Powers. "Tho Times's" Vienna correspondent states tliafc a Royal rescript, addressed to Dr. Wekerle, appears on AVcdnosday proclaiming the extension of tlio Emperor Francis Joseph's sovereign rights to Bosiiia and Herzegovina. Tho rescript adds that, in accordance with Turkey's wishes, tho Austrian troops will bo immediately recalled from NoVibuzar. In order to avoid a technical difficulty, Bosriiii and Herzegovina will be henceforth tormod the "administration territory."-

Dr. Wekerle privately states that all tiio Powers, including England, havo assented to tho rescript. Tlio "Daily Telegraph" states that tho Hungarian delegations on Thursday will declare Bosnia and Herzegovina an Austrian imperial and royal dominion. THE EMPEROR'S LETTER. ITALY'S REWARD. London, October 5. The Paris correspondent of "Tbe Times" states that tho Emperor of Austria, in a letter to M. p'alliercs, President of France, j explains that ho favours tho demand of Bosnia arid Herzegovina for a Constitution, but that Austria-Hungary's relations towards the occupied provinces are tod anomalous to permit of a Constitution being granted without Austria-Hungary's previously aimexiiig tho provinces. "Tho Times's" correspondent states that either the Emperor in his letter, or Count Khevenhullor-Metch, Austrian Minister a>. Paris, verbally informed M. Fallieres that Russia, Gerinany, and Italy had already given assurances Of their approval of annexation. Apparently • the negotiations were conducted by Baron Aerenthal (Austrian Foreign Minister), Princo von Bulow (German Chancellor), M. Isvolsky (Russian Minister for Fdreign Affairs), and Signer Tittoni (Italian Minister for Foreign Affairs). Perfect secrecy was observed, and the matter was afrariged without the knowledge or co-operation of France and England. The journal "Le Temps" states that Austria is willing to propitiate tho Turks by the restitution of the sanjak of Novibazar. , Tho Paris correspondent of "The Times" suggests that Italy was perhaps placated by the proinise of a port in Albania and a free hand in Tunis. Referring to Bulgaria's provocative attitude, the correspondent reriiarks that the' peace of Europe may bang in the balance to-morroW; RECEIPT OF NEWS IN BRITAIN. press Censure. London, October 5. "The Times" mentions a report to the effect that Franco and England fall formally protest against Austria's-.and Bulgaria's lawless action, and hints that a conference of the Powers is probable. The "Daily Mail" states that Prince Ferdinand will- assume tlio title of "Tsar of tho Bulgarians." Though stocks in London dropped sharply at tho outset; it is generally believed that peace will be maintained. Tbe entire English press coridomns Bulgaria, and severely _ blames the Austrian procedure. Tho "Evening Standard" says that theif action ono of tho finest national movements in the world (the reforrii of Turkey). * Coristantinoplo blames Germany/ It is suspected . that slio seeks to humiliate the Yining Turks. News of tho action of Bulgaria and Austria was received to-day in official diplomatic quarters in Londori with rnarked disfavour, BRITAIN WILL STAND BY THE TREATY; STOCKS RECOVER. CONSPIRACY AGAINST TURKISH LIBERALISM. (Rec. October 7, 0.55 a.m.) London, October G. Router learns that the British Government cannot admit the right of any Power to alter the Treaty of Berlin without tho coiu sent of tho other paftios to the Treaty, and therefore refuses to sanction aiiy infraction. Britain declines to recognise what has been doiio until the viewi of other Powers aro known, especially Turkey. " The Times" declares that Bulgaria's audacious violation of tho Treaty of Berlin; arid Austria's still moro serious violation of the Treaty, are parts of a common conspiracy against the new Liberal system in Turkey. Opinion in tho city shows little alarm at Bulgaria's and Austria's action. Though the prices of foreign stocks declined, they rallied later. THE OCCUPIED PROVINCES, A YOUNG TURK VIEW OF AUSTRIAN CLAIMS. Tho attitude of.the Young Turks (the regenerating party., in Turkey) towards ''tlie occupied provinces" (Bosnia a** Herzegovina; now annexed by Austria), a) .ricideritally. their attitude to Egypt, T'ui. ;c., Was the subject of a dispatch by the ...'is correspiiodent of "The Times" oil August. 25, The claim is herein advanced by Yoiing Turk leaders that Bosnia and Herzegovina, ought eventually to revert to Turkey. The Paris correspondent of "Tho Times" is evidently tho. source of much of the news now being cabled, and his references to Hie ohtlook as it presented itself on August. 25 aro worth reproducing, although the annexation which ho then regarded as a mere possibility would now appear to be a fact. He writes:—. . l , .. "In welMhforihed quarters iii Paris no in-/ forinatibn has been received calculated to con : firm the persistent newsjiaper rumoiirs of a disposition in Austria-Hungary to convert tlio occupation of Bdsnia arid Herzegovina into aii annexation which Would, it is argued, protect the Dual Monarchy against possible perils frorii the new reginio in Turkey. It is pointed out that it would be no easy task, one of the first es-seutials being an understanding between Austria and .Hungary, who are jealous of. each other's, influence ir that country. Tho conversion of tho tii'6 provinces iiilo a. soft of linporial territory is conceivable, Bilt. it is antici= pated that its realisation would meet with serious obstacles, apart from any possible international objections. "Ahriied Riza Bey and Prince Meheriiet All; two prominent inombcrs of the Ottoman C'oniriiiltee of Union arid Progress, with ijhdm I dfsoussed this question were riot disposed to attach much importance to the rumourj notwithstanding the wide circulation which it has received in tho press. The coriiinittce had not taken that eventuality into consideration. On receiving letters from prominent Mnsselman9 in that territory discussing thb objects of aii agitation there, tho committee had contented itself with advising moderation and deprecating any attempt to disturb the status quo. As a matter of fact, ono of the main principles of the comiriitteo is, and has beSn, to respect the status and the. privileges secured by Europe in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as in .Egypt, Crete, Tunis, arid elsewhere. It wished to raiso iio difficulties of any kind with tho Eiiro : peari States, and for that reason had decided to respect the status quo everywhere, at least for tho present. It intentionally confined its action within the bounds of the Empire as riow existing. Of courso, they could only speak for themselves; and could not foresee what would bo the policy of tlio future Ottoman Parliament, which they hoped to see assotribled by the. middle ..of November; nor could they speak for the Turkish Government. "Ahmed Riza Bi-y further pointed out, with tho approval of Prince Meliomet Aii; that the position of the English in Egypt was different from that of Austria-Hungary in the occupied provinces. Tlio latter bad undertaken a specific task in Bosnia and Herzegovina on the completion of wliich the two provinces ought legally to return to Turkey. Egypt, on the other hand, had long enjoyed autonomy liiidoi' an Ottoman Firman. Tho Liberal element in Turkey looked forward to a t.ifnc when Bug; land would perhaps enter into a treaty wil.ll the Ottoman Empire, and evifn voluntarily withdraw from Egypt. So far as the commit: tee was concerned, they did hot. propose to question the coiiccssibns liiade to European States—that for the projected Novibazar line, ..iust as little as that for the Baghdad railway,".,

BULGARIA'S RULER. ONCE AN AUSTRIAN LIEUTENANT. The monarch who lias thrown olf (lie Turkish yoke, and who thus aims to slop from (lie tillo of Prince (o something morb exalted— oven unto the Tsardoiii of tho Balkans—is Maximilian Karl Leopold Maria Ferdinand, fifth and youngest son of Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg aiul Gotha, and was born on February 2G, 1801. Great caro was taken in his education, and every encouragement was given (o tho taste for natural history, which he exhibited at an early age. In 1879 ho travelled with his brother Augustus to Brazil, and tho results of their botanical observations wero published at Vienna, 1883-88, under tho tillo of Itinera Principum 8. Coburgi. Having been appointed to a lieutenancy in tho 2nd regiment of Austrian Hussars, he was holding this rank, when, by unanimous vofo of tho National Assembly, ho was elected Prince 1 , of Bulgaria on .Ttiiy 7, 18S7, in succession to Prince Alexander, who had abdicated on September' 7 preceding. He assumed Hie government on August. It, 1887, but Russia for a long time refused to acknowledge the election, and he was accordingly exposed (o frequent military conspiracies, alleged to bt) duo to the influence or altitude of that Power. Tho firmness and vigour with which he met all attempts at revolution were at length rewarded,' and his election was confirmed in March 1896 by tho Porto and the Great Powers. On April 20, 1893, he married Marie Louise de Bourbon, eldest daughter of Duke Robert of Parma, and in Alay following tho Grand Sobranje confirmed the title of Eoyal Highness to the Prince and his heir. , Tho Prince adheres to tho Roman Catholic faith, but his son and heir, the young Prince Boris, was received into the Orthodox Greek Church on Jebruary 14, 1896. .Tho latter, who is the godson of Tsar Nicholas 111, accompanied his fathtr to llussia ill 1898, when Prince Ferdinand visited St; Petersburg and Moscow; it being hoped that tho visit would bring Russia uiid Bulgaria closer. Bulgaria— Its Geography and Peoples. United Bulgaria is bounded on the north by Rumania, from which it is separated by the Danube; on tho west by. Servia and Macedonia; on the cast by tho Black Sea; and on the south by the' Turkish province of Adrianople. The exports consist principally of cereals (especially wheat), livo stock, essence of roses, woollens, skins, checso, eggs, timber, cocoons, and tobacco; the .principal imports being textiles, metal goods and machinery, colonial wares, leather, building materials, petroloiini and other .oils, paper, salt fish, rice, and coal. The principal towns, with their populations in 1005, are Sofia (82,000), Philippopulis (45,572). Varna (37,155), Rustchuk (33,552), Sliven (25,049), anil Shumla (22,290). The great ports aro Vania (1,013. vessels of 753,163 tons ill 1905), and Bourgas (i,4G7. vessels of 610,000 tons). There are (1902) 1020 miles of railway open; 3270 niiles of telegraph, and i 228 lhiles of tele ; phono wires. North Bulgaria has an area of 24,237 squaro miles, and South Bulgaria an area of 12,706 square miles. . Population according to language or .nationality and religion (ccnsus of January 1, i 000):— '

NATIONALITIES. Bulgarians ; ... ... 2,883,219 Turks 531,2-10 Rumanians 71,083 Greeks 06,035 Gipsies 89,549 Jews ... - 33,001 , Tartars 18,88-t ; Armenians 14,581 Gentians and Austiiins ... 3,407 Albanians ' 1,707 Russians . 1,085 Czechs 1,301 Servians 1 1,516 Italians . 1,143 Various ... 19,032 ' 3,744,283 ! RELIGIONS. Oi'thodbx Greeks ... ... 3,019,290 Mohammedans 043,300 Israelites 33,G03 Catholics 28,509 Armenian Gregoriaiis ... 13,809 Protestants 4,524 Unknown, 1,1i!2 3,744,283 RUSSIA'S ATTITUDE. One of to-day's cablegrams indicates that Ens. sia was privy to Austria's movoj. and acted apart from Britain and France. Later cablegrams put a different complexion on Russia's attifute. To aid arid abet the annexation by Austria o£ tho "occupied provinces" ivould bo contrary to Russia's traditional'policy. This fact cropped up incidentally in an articlo in the "VossiSche Zeitung," wliich a short time ago declared that tho Novibazar railway incident proved to Austria-Hungary the value of her, alliance with Germany. The paper enforces the lesson. by, reminis: cences which are adduced on tho authority of Prince Bismarck with .regard to. the origin of tho Aiistro-Germaii alliance. . Bismarck told tho Reichstag in ISBB that, shortly after the Congress and Treaty of Berlin, Russia had exerted herself to tho utmost to prevent the Austrian ociiupatibh of Bosnia aiid Herzegovina in accordance with the terms of the Berlin Treaty. Tho Russian Gqt-erhnient, according Id Bisniarek; ove-i attempted to coiiipbl Germany to intervene actively against AustriaHungary, and the Russian pressure reached tho point of "actual menaces of war from the. most competent quarter." "That," continued Prince Bisiilarcli, ''was tho origin of. oiir. treaty with Austria." It was oil September 8,. 1879, thai the Aiistrians marched ihtb Novibazar; oii September 11 Prince Gortcliakoff exhorted the French to be prepared; oil September 21 Prince Bismarck arrived in Vienna; and the AuSti'oGerman alliance was signed oil October 7 of tho same year. the Army of Turkey. Germany's advice to Turkey that her armj is unprepared for war may, if it is accepicd as ingenuous, carry somo added weight, from tho . fact that tho. Turkish army was, in the 'eighties, reorganised by German officers. Tho military correspondent of "The Times'! some little time afeo had an article oh the Turkish army; aiid here is. his summing up:— "Taking a general view of this military situation of Turkoy, wo must coiicludo that 1 tho organisation is serious. If tho Turks were possessed, by German eiiergy aud thoroughness, the excellent .paper organisation of the army would cause Turkey to bo ah exceedingly formidable Power, but ive have to make large deductions on every head oh account of indolence, inertia, and corruption,- against -which even the German sbnietiihes fights iii vain. "But we most not exaggerate the traditional delinquencies of Turkish administrators, since the new system was piit to tho ttjst in 1897 and came out of it with some credit. In that year Turkey rapidly concentrated two armies against Greece of a total strength of 185,000 men, and crushed her opponent after a short campaign. She owed this success not only to her organisation and to tho valoiir of her troops, but., also, and perhaps mainly, to her railways. It has been largely owing to defective communications that Turkey has never yet been able lo display iii modern war her considerable latent strength." Italy's Projects. "A port in Albania arid a freo hand in Tunis." This is, according to the cablegram, to be Italy's reward for endorsing her Aiistrain ally's annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. '. Italy has her own railway scheme in the Balkans, and it is to build n lice from the Montenegrin seaport of Aiitivari to Virpazar in Montenegro. Montenegro is a poor country, as .the Italians have found to their cost, aiid tho enterprise can hardlv be made remunerative unless tho lino is prolonged into tho interior. On tho other hand, land-locked Scrvia, who is quito as ambitious as Bulgaria, would like to force. her way to the sea via Montenegro, which State is now an obstacle in tho way. This is oiily one of tho many conflicts of interest in tho Balkans.