CRETE.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 583, 11 August 1909, Page 7

CRETE.

GREECE'S ASSURANCES TO TURKEY. POWERS'ADVICE. ; MODERATION ON BOTH SIDES.' (Dj> Tclesrapli,—Press Aisaociatlon.'—Oopyrleht.) Constantinople, August 9. . The Cretan'question is becoming acute. Tho Porte is demanding specific assurances from Greece -that no attempt will be made to infringe Turkey's sovereign rights.

- THE GREEK REPLY. (Reo. August 10, 10.10. p.m.) London,. August 10. The Powers urged the Cretans not to hoist their-'flag at Canea Fort. Tho flag was then lowered. The Powers have counselled the Porte to show moderation; Greece's reply to Turkey is couched in reassuring and friendly terms. THE GRECO-CRETAN INFATUATION. TURKISH INFLUENCE DEAD. Last year the Cretan Chamber, voted immediate union with Greece, and trouble seemed to be certain. It was , averted, however, by the fact that Greece, acting under the advice of .the Powers,'neither accepted, nor rejected the Cretans'.offer, t .She held her hand, \and with equal magnanimity aiid discretion did nothing to add to -the difficulties of the Young Turks. : But the question can hardly-bo shelved for ever. Tho four protecting Powers—Great Britain, RussiFrance, and Italy—have with-, drawn their forces, from Crete, ai)il ; any troublo in the -island, might lead to serious consequences., , Turkish Firmness.

• According to "Britannious" in a London paper, Turkey will not surrender Crete. The lurks "have lost Bosnia, and Herzegovina'; they ,haye lost their last .titular hold over Bulgaria;, they . cannot, afford to lose Crete also., If a. union with Greece were declared' at' Cahdia and accepted, iri Athens they' would resist the'-bio,w. to their prestige, if ■ necessary, with' force of.arms. On-that point all that is vocal-in Turkey ,is also " unanimous. She (Turkey) will not treat with Greece;' she apparently rejects', altogether the idea-of financial compensation. a solution' which •proved adequate in. the far more delicato cases of : Bosnia and Herzegovina ought not to be ruled.out of court in the. case of Crete.",, How utterly Greek the Cretans.are may be judged'from the following; '/Crete has been under Turkish-rule, for two hundred and .forty years. Its'inhabitants, are all Greeks—probably Ithe..purest' Greek stock to be found in •the Levant;' Even the'native converts to the Moslem"faith,-roughly speaking one-tenth of the population, • some3o,ooo of 300,000, though ; they side with, Turkey and . regard themselves as being oiie. of the many spots 'on this inexplicable earth' of burs' whei*e nationality is' determined by religion—are really - Greeks, .and- indistinguishable in race- and language from their, fellow islanders. ' "Tho Christian majority ''have never ac- ; quiesced in tho Ottoman dominion. They, have risen .-in ..desperate rebellion; against it time and again. Their one political desire is union> .'.with'. Greece. They' are' a; simple, tenacious, inflammable folk,, with a sense of racial nationality. that 'hiis become-at' once an .instinct, an ■ideal, , and a disease.. Hellenism ,means more to them than anything else uiider'the sun. It is one. of those deep-seated, primitive, unreasoning passion ..'that' in ' the lone run' break' !through ' all- the barriers' and : artifices ; of. diplomacy;' They know that Greece is 'a'chaos of, faction, and- corruption; that her .finances. ,aro. wholly disorganised, her: army '-.worthless,; ,and; her; future precarious;. I.They • know that union with hcr : entails conscription .and, heavy: taxation.. .'Nevertheless, . to. be...part- of : -, tho Greek kingdom and .under; tho Greek.flag is tho :sum" of all their hopes. ', , "And GreeCe ' reciprocates' their longing. To. obtain Cretc'the Greeks have defied Europe, and' . fought Turkey, : ;and would . probably do so again.' ' hav«" won all . biit tlie final victory. Crete to-day is. free in nearly everything but the name. After the; Greco-Turkish War ,of twelve''years' ago. '.the Powers expfclled .the Turkish troops' from, the island and took' over' its[ adihintSWati'oh' 1 themselves,! garrisoning its ports and'controlling its'external affairs. : - Only a Crescent Left. . "Nothing to-day remains of Turkish 'authority except: a single'orescent ensign floating, side by side- with .the' flags , of Great Britain, I.Russia, France, and Italy on an uninhabitedrock in Suda Bay; There are no: Turkish' officials in the -island. • The, Cretans pay no. tribute .to. their, pseudo-suzerain.: Tor... tho past 'eleven years they have been governed, 'with the Sanction and;under.the supervision of the four iPowers,' first' by a prince l of the. Royril> : House of Greece, and, secondly,' by, an ex-Prime Minister 0f,.-the. kingdom. .Greek' is the. ,officiallanguage; the. legal cbde lias been - remodelled iin conlormity with that of. the Hellenio kingdom ;•■ the Cretan;.- flag •is composed' -of. the white and: blue of Greece; th'e Cretan militia and gendarmerie- are, under Greek officers;, the :very postage stamps used by. the islanders are! those of Greece. ' ' . "Except -that Crete; like Cyprus, still suffers .financially, from having been. onco "a part of the' Ottoman ; system, and cannot, for instance, alter its-import 'duc-s without the assent of European 1 bondholders, and except that one-tenth of its-population, is still Mussulman; there is little or nothing to show that it had ever come under' Turkish .'rule.",