Nelson Evening Mail. THURSDAY, JANUARY 6, 1916. THE MOVEMENT AGAINST VALONA.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLIX, Issue XLIX, 6 January 1916, Page 4

Nelson Evening Mail. THURSDAY, JANUARY 6, 1916. THE MOVEMENT AGAINST VALONA.

THE report that Bulgarian troops are; j rushing forward from Ochrida to Albania i with Valona (Avlona) as the objective, ( foreshadows, if true, events of very great i importance, especially so far as Italy is i concerned. An enemy with fortified harbours on the Adriatic is a spectre that 2ias long kept Italian statesmen awake ! at nights, because in the first place they; have good grounds for regarding the Eastj Coast of the Adriatic as' Italy's legiti-; mate sphere, of expansion, and because; iin the second iplace, a strong Power there, would be a perpetual menace to the long,; unprotected eastern coast line of Italy,; and might conceivably close the outlet! 1 of the Adriatic to her navy. It was inj order to counter that danger that Italy) occupied "Valona, in Southern Albania,| I which is one of the two good harbours. I on Uie Albanian coast. For years Italy has 1 feared Austria, who, holding Trieste,; jPola, Sehenico, Cattaro and the Dalmatian* j coast, possessed every harbour of import-; i ance 'on the eastern shores save one.j j This was not glaringly apparent so- long fas Turkey possessed Bosnia and Herzerj govina, hut when the two Albanian ports--Antivari and Dulcigno;, were given to: Montenegro after .the Treaty, of Berlin,i and Austria-Hungary was allowed, byf the occupation of Bosnia and Bexzo-1 govina, to. develop -the. ■Dalmatian ports] as the natural outlets of the new pro-; i vinces, the danger became more pressing; and imminent every year. On the west-) ern shores of the Adriatic Italy has onlyj inferior ports. Venice is said to be] ' rapidly silting up as a naval base. Fur-i •ther south Bari and Ancona are open' \ roadsteads of no value from the naval; \ point of view. Brindisi has-not sufficients j water to float a squadron of modern .bat-] I tleships, and thus Italy has not a single- 1 harbour <rf military importance down thej j whole extent of the western shores of thej Adriatic. Her naval harbour is at; Taranto, across the heel of the Peninsula; from Brindisi,' and therefore completely shut off from the vitally essential straits; of Ot-ranto. Hitherto, it .is stated, Italy has trusted to the fact f that Austria-' Hungary lias no port further south than Cattaro, and that Cattaro is commanded by the Montenegrin guns on Mount Lovcen. With the opposite coast of the Adriatic, from Trieste to Corfu in the hands of one strong Power, Italy'knows that she would be thrust down to the position of a dependency, and it Is to avert that catastrophe that Italy is devoting so much attention to Albania. When the Venetians had control of Valona in past centuries they built walls and forts to guard and secure their.; ' mastery of the harbour, and therefore of the Straits, which they too realized was essential for,their existence. Writing on the subject of Italy and Albania, Mr Wadham.. _ Peacock gives an interesting description ofj Valona. Near the wretched town of to-day, he says, are still to. be seen the ruined walls of the old castle, and as is the case all down the! coast, tho Lion of St. Mark yet struts in hatteredi majesty on the decayed front of some dead merchant's palace. So much did the Venetians value the position,;, that, when they were forced to leave, they blew up their fortifications. As the Turks were utterly careless abo.ut naval matters, the port undei-> .their rule was a hienace to no one, and when Aus-tria-Hungary and Italyi began to realize its worth they were only too glad t< recognize that in Turkish hands it was at 'least harmless. Mean while Italy, did he! best by peaceful penetration to make herself secure against the day when the Turk would have to quit the shores of the Adriatic. The island of Saseno, at the mouth of Valona harbour, is the ultimate and detached peak of the Acroceraunian Mountains, and is separated from Cape Dinguetta by a stretch of water about three miles in width. The Bay of Valona extends 10 miles from north to south, and five miles from east to west, the depth of water is not less than ton fathoms at the south.end- of the Bay, and averages a good deal more all over. The town of Valona is not on the shore-of ttre Bay, but three miles inland, hidden among the hills, which are thick-

ly covered with olive trees planted by the Venetians. The harbour is ah ideal spot for a naval base, and it is stated that fortification could easily render Valona and Saseno almost impregnable.