The Star. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 14, 1922. THE NEAR EAST.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 14 October 1922, Page 6

The Star.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 14, 1922. THE NEAR EAST.

Delivered every evening by 6 o'clock in Hawsra. iSanaia, Norn-aiibv. Okaiawa. Eltham, Macgatcki, Kaporga. Awatuna. Opunake, /^akeho, Manutahi. Alton, Hurley ville, Patt-a, Waverlpy, Mokoia,' Ohanzai," Meremere, , Frasrer Bead, and Ararata. (

■ —: -4 — : ■ . ' There seems to be sufficient' evidence ' available that the Mudania Conference has, after considerable uncertainty and delay, been brought to a successful conclusion, though it would be unwise to think that the whole of the Near East trouble has been settled. The peace conference has yet to meet, and find terms for a satisfactory settlement, and there is still room for mischief to creep in and destroy the work which | the Mudania Conference has done. Eecent accounts of events in the. Near i East lay much of the blame for the unrest to the door of the Russian Bolsheviks, and published circulars inciting the Mohammedans of Central Asia and Asia Minor to revolution are full of evil references to Great Britain and the Western Powers. Some of the circulars urged the people to support the National movement under Kemal, and spoke frequently of hated England and her capitalists and of the exploiting aims of the Entente. From perusal of the. text of the numerous circulars which for the past two years have been pouring* into Turkey, Mesopotamia, Persia and Central Asia from Moscow, one is struck by the vicious tone of the Bolshevik propaganda against Britain, and we believe that the recent crisis has in no small degree been due to the machinations of the Soviet, who may be in close alliance with the Prussian officers who have been in Turkey for a number of years past. The unrest in the Mohammedan world at the present time is not to be regarded lightly, and it is very difficult to foresee what it may lead to. The Bolsheviks want to wreck Western society, and they are ready to make-use of Asian discontent to foster their plans. They have agents in every country, and they will not cease to encourage the Mohammedans now that the Mudania Conference has reached an agreement. It is„ not a question of Turkish hatred of the Greeks, but of Mohammedan fanaticism towards the Western Powers. The ' Moslem world is of huge dimensions, and it f has spread rapidly in the past. Moreover, it has retained its hold upon the people who have come under its influence, and we know of no country which has forsaken the Mohammedan religion, though there have been cases where the Mohammedans have been extirpated, but extirpation is not apostacy. The Moors were driven out of Spain, but they retained their loyalty to the Mohammedan religion. /Those who read the history of the Moslem world carefully cannot feel sanguine as to the future. The Moslems are uneasy and discontented, and, though a peace conference between the Allies and Turkey may teach a settlement

that may last for a few years, we fear that the clash between the Western Powers and the Western Asiatic nations is bound to come. It is by no means a pleasant thought, especially with the difficulties which the Bolsheviks and the Prussian officers are adding to the position.