The Grey River Argus. and Blackball News

Grey River Argus, 27 October 1915, Page 4

The Grey River Argus. and Blackball News

Delivered ayery morning In Greymouth Kumara, Hokitika, Dobaon, Walliend, Taylor /'lie, Brunnerton, Stillwater. Ngahere, Blaokball, f-.Ko.i Creek, Ahauri, Ikamatua, Waiuta, .^rtuu, Cronodun, Bo? auga, Dunollie, Cobden, Baxtet's, Kokiri, Faiara, Kaimata,. Anvtika, itotuku, Moana, Burn, Te Kinga, Botcmura' Foeraa, I bonnia, Jaokaoni and Otira <

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 27th. THE Balkans, even before the component parts had attained the dignity of autonomous States were regarded as the powder mag; azinc of Europe. All previous outbursts, however, pale into insignificance ■when conipare'd with that provoked by the assassination of an Austrian Archduke and his wife, and never again probably will the limelight be so focus- [ sed upon the Balkans as at the present time When Roumania and Greece form the main subject for diplomacy and the Quadruple Entente and the Germanic powers are both attempting to win these two States to their side. Accord ing to the latest news, which comes via Sophia, Koumania has at last decided to throw in her lot on the side of the Quadruple Entente, provided that the latter powers agree to land 400,000 men in the Balkans. This, it is said, the Allies have agreed to do, and ; Roumania ivill declare Avar on Bui ; garia. This may b& correct, but : Roumania has backed and Mid ] for so long that it would be well 1 for optimists to wait for some de.f- . mite step 011 the part of this elu- -, sive State before throwing their . hats in the air. In spite of the , handsome offers made to Greece, M. Zaimis and his Cabinet still remain obdurate and decline to : throw in their lot with the Entente. "When Turkey first declared war it was thought that ; Greece would immediately throw : down the gauntlet to her heredi- i tary foes and make common cause < with her ally Serbia and her traditional friend Britain. Those who thought this reckoned without King Constantine and his > Hunnish wife, who is literally his better half. The King would like . to throw in his lot with the Kaiser, but he knows that his people would not stand this, so that. he is" doing his utmost to do the next . best thing and preserve the neutrality of his country. He does not wish to irritate the Entente Powers for they have very powerful fleets, and if they becamie irritated would not think twice of . bring Athens in ruins about his ears. Therefore he is trying to : adopt the very old policy of run- j ning with the hare and hunting '• with the hounds. This course is : not meeting with as much sue- i cess as he would desire and Italy, < in particular, is beginning to 1 think that sterner measures must ' be adopted to teach his Hellenic ( Majesty that Greece must act up to her treaty obligations with Serbia. Poor King Ferdinand is j finding that his boasted picnic in j vasion of Serbia is going to prove a terrible fiasco. The latest news ' states that the Serbians have al- ] ready repelled the. Bulgarian in- ' vaders and have in turn carried ] the war into the enemy's territory. Moreover the Allies troops have iioav joined with the Serbians who are fighting like men pos sessed. The Quadruple Powers have recognised that now or nev- : er is the time^o grasp the Balkan nettle firmly. The Germans have : decided on a colossal attempt to back their way through Serbia and carry help to the overpressed Turks who find greater and ever increasing difficulty in keeping the Allies forces at Gallipoli from pushing on to the capital. The Italians are lending valuable aid to the Balkans campaign .by renewing the offensive against the Austrians on the Trentino — Tolmino front, The fighting that is now progressing in that theatre is of a most sanguinary character, and in order to keeji the Italians , at bay the Austr*ans will require , every available man. This will t mean that any offensive in the j Eastern 1 Theatre by the Russians . will have to be met by the Ger- j mans practically unaided. Gener 1 al Joffre may also consider this a , most appropirate time to change . his usual nibble into a good hearty bite. The signs and portent^ all point to the Kaiser having a few sleepless nights. The ©nly 1 pity is that one of the Allies' avi- , ators cannot locate his sleepingpalace and administer to him a good" sleeping draught in the shape of one of their latest bombs, ; dropped fairly and squarely on his august head. A -creature that could allow such a cold-blooded 3 deed as the shooting of Miss Cay- * ell should not be allowed to cum- 1 ber the earth any longer than can ] be helped.