THE BULGARIAN CRISIS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIII, Issue 7796, 16 November 1886, Page 5

THE BULGARIAN CRISIS.

THE POLICY OF AUSTRIA.'

SPEECH BY COUNT KALNOKY,

Vienna, November 13. Count Kalnoky, the Premier, addressing a Bulgarian delegation, discussed at length the political situation of Eastern Europe. He declared that Austria had insisted on the execution of the treaty of Berlin in its integrity. General Kaulbars' mission to Bulgaria was simply a phase of the crisis, and its importance has bepn exaggerated. It would be necessary to prepare to overcome greater troubles than this. Count Kalnoky endorsed the policy of M. Tisza, and said the Austrians would avoid a threatening policy unless it was absolutely necessary. Count Kalnoky expressed an earnest desire for the maintenance of peace, but he was not in favour of peace at any price. He dwelt at length on the diplomatic relations between Austria and Russia, which he said were friendly. The latter had promised to uphold the existing treaties, and had disclaimed any intention of making encroachments on Bulgaria or the regency's powers. The Austrian Premier declared that he greatly valued the assurances made in Lord Salisbury's speech, as showing that the support of England would be available should it be required. In conclusion he expressed a hope that a peaceful solution of the Bulgarian difficulty would be brought about.

INTERVIEW WITH ZANKOFE. On October 9 the Sofia correspondent of the New iork Herald Bent his journal the following account of an interview which he had had with the leader of the Russian party in Bulgaria:—Zankoff, the chief of the Rusbian party, and his friends made recently an attempt to fuse with Stambouloff's supporters, and a proposition was submitted for a conference of four from the ranks of each party. This for a moment was favourably entertained, but when the Zankoff party claimed two places in the Cabinet the Stambouloff people deolined to pursue discussion. I had a conversation with old Zankoff last evening. He is a curious character, and presents an anomaly, being the only public man in Bulgaria who is past middle age, Ten or twelve persons were in his library, among them Melareff, who has just been released from prison. Their conversatien led me to infer that the Prince's supporters had inaugurated a reign of terror since the departure of Alexander; that many people had been arrested lor speaking ill of the Battenberger, and that numerous arrests had been made in the interior towns, some of the arrested persons not having a feather weight on their conscience. Of course, I took all this with grains of salt; but, turning to Zankoff himself, whose gray-haired bullet head was bent over the papers he was nervously fingering, I asked why Russia and her friends insisted so muoh on postponing the election. " Because," he replied, " we must prepare a new constitution. If we elect a new Prince under the old constitution, he would be bound by it; he would have an opinion as to its merits, and those who did not share that opinion would become his enemies." '' What would be the best way to set about modifying the constitution ?" The old man smiled. "The constitution," he said, "has its good points. If we try to improve it we may spoil it. The beat plan would be for Russia to send us a constitution ready made and have it read to the people in the churches ; they would bow their heads, and that would be the end of it." "An amnesty is necessary. The coup d'etat must be reoognised. It is not as if they had gone with arms to the Frinoe's house to take his money. They went to make him sign apolitical document, which is quite a different thing." " Our policy and conviction are that Bulgaria has no future if cut off from Russia. That idea inspired the coup d'etat of Ernieff and Beuclereff. Afterward the former lost his head; if he had held firm the counter revolution could never have been accomplished. The Prince could never have come baok. " During the eight years of the existence of our party," said the old man in conclusion, " we have never stirred up strife between one political party and another. It remained for the Prince to do that." A moderate Zankovite, with whom I next conversed, told me that a Russian Governor would be welcomed by many if they did not dread the ngatika, the Cossack whip, which does a good deal to maintain order in a Russian mob: