THE WAR IN THE BALKANS

New Zealand Tablet, 31 October 1912, Page 45

THE WAR IN THE BALKANS

On the Bth .of the current month the little State of Montenegro— Mountain—declared war against Turkey, and a few days later, Bulgaria, Servia, and Greece followed suit. The following particulars regarding the countries engaged in a conflict, which may possibly imperil the peace of Europe, will be of interest to our readers: Montenegro. Montenegro is a kingdom lying between Northern Albania on the south and Herzegovina on the north, under the rule of Nicholas I. (who in December, 1900, assumed the title of Royal Highness, and in August, 1910, that of King). Tor 400 years the principality maintained its independence against Turkey, and in ’7B this independence was recognised by the Treaty of Berlin. The waters of Montenegro were by the Treaty closed to the ships of war of all nations,- Austria administering the maritime police on the Montenegrin coast; but as the result of subsequent negotiations between the Powers the limitations' placed upon Montenegro have been modified, so as to open - the port of Antivari to ships of war. The erection of forts there or along the River Boy ana remains prohibited. Russian financial help is given in regard to military and educational matters. The Montenegrins belong to the Servian branch of the Slav race. The army is on a militia basis. Every Montenegrin subject is liable to military service from January 1 of the year in which he completes the 18th to December 3i oi that in which he completes the 62nd year of his age, for a total period of 45 years. The total war strength is estimated at from 30,000 to 50,000 men. The area of Montenegro is 3630 square miles, about one-twelfth of that of the North Island of New Zealand population, 225,000. Capital, Cettinje (population 4500). Other towns , are Podgoritza, population 10,000; Dulcigno, population 5000; and Antivari, population 2514, The majority of the people are Orthodox Slavs, with about 13,000 Mussulmans, and 14,000 Catholics. Bulgaria. United Bulgaria has a population of about 3,750,000, of mixed nationalities, including about half a million Turks. Over three millions belong 'to the Orthodox Greek Church, and 640,000 are Mahommedans, whilst the Catholics number about 30,000. The capital, Sofia, has a population of 68,000, and Philippopolis 43,000. Servia. Servia is separated from Hungary by the Danube and Save. By the constitution of 1889 a ‘ Skupstchina,' a parliament elected by ballot, represented the people; this' constitution was re-established by the present king. By the Berlin Treaty, 1878, it received a large accession of territory, and now has an area estimated at 18,757 square miles, with a population in 1901 of 2,500,000. The surface of the country is mountainous, containing the remains of formerly extensive forests and uncultivated heaths. Agriculture is carried on in a somewhat primitive fashion. The principal crops are maize for home consumption, and wheat for export; flax, hemp, and tobacco are also grown, and silk-culture is carried on to a limited extent. Belgrade, the capital, has a population of 72,000. Greece. Greece has an area of about 25,000 square miles, which is less than half that of the South Island of New Zealand, whilst the population falls short of two and a half millions. The country is composed of a continental portion, almost separated into two parts by the Gulfs of Patras and Lepanto on the west, and the Gulf of iEgina on the east, the Archipelago of the Aegean Sea and the lonian Islands, and is divided into 26 provinces, called Nomarchies. The surface is nearly all mountainous; the coasts are elevated, irregular, and deeply indented. The peace footing of the army is about 27,000 men, which in time of war can be raised to 120,000. The capital, Athens, has a population of 235,461. *

Albania. Probably the least-known region in the Balkan Peninsula is that of Albania. Compared with the other countries in that part of Europe, it has been but little explored by travellers. For several centuries Albania has formed part of the Turkish Empire. Situated on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea, Albania is bounded on the south by Greece, the frontier line being formed by the River Arta. The eastern boundary is somewhat vague, although three chains of mountains act as a frontier, and separate the region from Macedonia. On the north-west lies Montenegro, and on the north-east Servia. The area of Albania, with Macedonia and some other Turkish possessions, is estimated at between 62,000 and 63,000 square miles. The popu- . lation of the combined districts is upwards of 6,000,000, that of Albania alone being put at about 1,600,000. Like other Turkish possessions, Albania is divided into vilayets or provinces, for purposes of administration, and these vilayets are again subdivided into smaller areas. Over the vilayet is a Vali, or Governor-General, appointed by the Sultan, and under him are various administrators. Turkey. The Ottoman Empire comprises • an area of about 66,500 square miles in South-eastern Europe, about 680.000 square miles in Asia, and about 399,000 square miles in Africa, containing altogether about 25,000,000 inhabitants Turkey in Europe,, formerly very extensive, is now reduced to 66,500 square miles, with a population (1901) of about 6,000,000, including about 700,000 Turks, 1.500.000 Albanians, and 1,300,000 Greeks, Bulgarians, and Wallachians. About 2,500,000 are Mohammedans. The principal towns are Constantinople, the capital (population 1,100,000), Salonika (120,000), and Adriauople (80,000). A great part of the surface is covered with mountains of moderate elevation. The principal rivers are the Vardar, the Struma, and the Maritza. The soil, is for the most part fertile, but owing to various - causes little progress has been made in agriculture. The cultivated products are maize, rice, barley, millet, sesame, and other oil seeds and tobacco; the natural products are the pine, beech, Valonia oak, oak, lime, and ash, with the palm, maple, sycamore, walnut, chestnut, carob, box, myrtle, laurel, etc., south of the Balkans; large forests of pine and fir in the northwest ; the olive, orange, citron, vine, peach, plum, and fruit trees in Albania. It is just a little over four years since the announcement was received at Salonika and the other Macedonian towns that the Sultan Abdul Hamid, yielding to the demands of the Army and the Young Turk Committee, had decreed the revival of the Turkish Constitution of 1876. The scenes which followed (wrote the Balkan correspondent of the London Times recently) will never .be forgotten by those who witnessed them. It seemed indeed like a dream, but dreams sometimes come true; the millennium had arrived in the twinkling of an eye, and the Moslem lion lay down with the Christian lamb. Macedonia. To-day Macedonia presents a very different spectacle. Not only the Bulgarians and Greeks, the Christian element par excellence, but the Albanians, whether Christian or Moslem, are bitterly hostile to those who organised the great revolution of 1908, while the Army, which shared the glory of their achievement, has turned against them. What are the causes of its fall ? Broadly speaking, it may be said that Turkey is not yet ripe for the application of Constitutional principles, and that in her present condition any attempt to conduct a Government based on representative institutions must be attended with many difficulties. These difficulties are enormously increased owing to the diversity of races and creeds within the Empire and to the inferior culture of the race which has hitherto held the dominant position. The realisation of the programme announced with so much fervor on July 24, 1908, and welcomed with enthusiasm by the outer world, would bring about a complete reversal of positions, and in Europe at least place the Turk at the mercy of his more numerous and

more progressive Christian fellow-countrymen. Of this the Turk himself is perfectly aware, and when, on that memorable occasion, a committee and a corps of officers composed exclusively of Moslems proclaimed the doctrine of equality it is only reasonable to conclude that they did so with certain mental reserves. The Powers and j Macedonia. . : .y In point of fact, the Turk was resolved to be master in his own house, and the proclamation of f _ ; the Constitution was in large measure a device for. the purpose of enabling him to strengthen his position. The Constitution, of Midhat Pasha had been proclaimed in 1876 with the sole object of baffling European intervention, and it was revived with a similar intention. This, indeed, has been openly stated by the leaders of the revolution. In 1904 the Powers had sent their officers into Macedonia and had doubled their number in the following year; in 1906 they imposed a financial control, and in 1908 Great Britain and Russia projected a series of reforms which practically foreshadowed the introduction of autonomous institutions. Jt was clear that at this rate of progression the supreme authority would soon pass from the hands of - the dominant race; a counter-stroke became necessary, and a few weeks after the meeting of King Edward and the Tsar at Reval the Constitution was once more proclaimed. The main object of the movement was almost immediately achieved, and the Powers withdrew their officers. The abandonment of the control in Macedonia was a serious political error, due in part to unreflecting enthusiasm, but still more to the eagerness of' the various Cabinets to make favor with the coming power at Constantinople. The Young Turk coterie began to trample not only on the newly-accorded privileges of the Constitution, but on, the ancient rights of the subject populations. The suppression of the Constitutional clubs and. of the right of public meeting followed discontent was driven below the surface political agitation became confined to secret conclaves; bands reappeared in the mountains, and eventually the famous ‘ Internal Organisation ’ of the Bulgarians.was revived. The systematic assassination or judicial prosecution of the former voievodes, or chiefs of bands, who in virtue of the amnesty had returned to their villages, led to the flight of many threatened persons to the mountains, and the bands rapidly increased. By the end of the first year of ... Young Turk rule the state of Macedonia showed but slender improvement compared with its former condition under the Hamidian administration. The effort to obliterate the national sentiments of the non-Turkish peoples, to extinguish local privileges, and to impose, by force if necessary, an artificial and non-racial patriotism—is, in the main, responsible for the troubles and incessant struggles of the last four years, which have culminated in the downfall of the Young Turk regime. Nothing, indeed, could be more sad than the history of Macedonia under the unsympathetic rule of the committee —the dawn of liberty, the extinction of political freedom, the disarmament in 1910, with all its attendant horrors, so carefully concealed from the outer world that for many months nothing was known of them in Europe; the illegal application of the merciless law of brigandage, under which the families, relatives, and neighbors of the insurgents were vicariously punished and in some cases transported to Asia Minor; and lastly, the elections of last winter, at which the peasants were driven like sheep to the polls, and compelled by every method of chicanery, intimidation, and violence to vote for their oppressors. The effort to apply a similar policy in Albania resulted in complete failure, and four successive revolts bore witness to the determination of the tribesmen not to submit to ■ the rule prepared for them by their masters.