THE BALKANS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 784, 6 April 1910, Page 7

THE BALKANS.

PAN-SERB CHARGES FAIL ON '■ APPEAL. ':"' V"" ByTeleEraptt-Frcss-Asspciatlpn-OopyrlKM. ■'.■'"'■'.• Vienna, April 4. The Croatian. Supreme 'Court , has aunulled the sentences passed at Agram qn thirty-ono persons, charged with a" Greater Servia :conspiracy, ' on- tho ground that the evidence was insufficient to justify'the charges.

BOGUS CHARGES ON FORGED DOCUMENTS.

AUSTRIAN TREATMENT OF SERBS.. -The' failure in the Higher Court of the prosecution of the persons' charged with the ''Greater Servia" conspiracy fas-, foreseen'.'-.. Subsequent •to their conviction in the Lower Court, a highly sensational libel case was" heard in Vienna, iii which the Austrian historian, Dr. Friedjung;- utterly failed to substantiate oharges : of treason made by him against a-number of members of the Parliamentary groups which' in the Croatian Diet, form the' Sebro-Qroatian Coalition. Certain documents' and similar, evidence or\ which' Dr. Friedjung -Pfsed his charges proved—though supplied from official • be fabrioatipns. He admitted the fact, and retracted his accusations, and- the libel action brought by the. slandered' persons was withdrawn. That was in December, and early in January all except two of the prisoners- previously condemned in the Agram high treason {rial were -set, at liberty -pending the dePision, of- the Higher .Court; the two still, detained-m custody'being the bro, Jbers Bribicheviteh, who were sentenced FP- /P. years' penal. servitude. This J/ardy act ,of. reparation was regarded as a resjilt of the Friedjung trial. Now; apparently, all the:,prisoners go free.

Bosnia and "'Pan-Serblsm.'' -The Vienna correspondent of ''The limes telegraphed on December ■22 :— lie hbel 'suits of the Serbo-Croatian £*>alition';against the Austrian historian, Br. Fnedjung, and the "DltramonW*?'.: Keichspost"—the most important political, casp tried in.Austria' for-many years—ended'tc-day• with' a declaration ' r m i-?f; ?n«JJung thai enabled the Plaintiffs.to withdraw the prosecutiph. Both the declaration and the cc-rcum-stancosin which it was drafted are-sig-ninwint, but : rauch']ess"significance ; than the proceedings is the'trial itself, which J-111 mark an epoch in the relations between - Vienna;and the.Southeni.'Slavs and also, it must be' hbpedj a turning P 0 !? 1 * in Austro-Hunganan'homo and foreign policy. ■'.-•. -.' ,';'•' "■: .'■ ■" ,;For more;than v three/'.years the injiabrtants of the Southern Slav provinces of •■. the Monarchy,; Croatia, . Slavohia, JJaltnatia, and- Bosnia-Heriiegovina have peen regarded with distrust' and •'suspicion -m - authoritative. quarters. ■ Some f.wo . years ..ago, these suspicions took a positive form,, and belief in the existence, of-a vast Southern- Slav'conspiracy havmg for its object thedetachnient of the r Southern Slav provinces from the Monarchy, became ; deeply rooted m some exalted circles. Allufl,° 11S ..iP "Pan-Serb- propaganda" and pno : - 1 an-Serb conspiracy" grew frefluent in "well-informed journals," and helped to create tho atmosphere that surrounded the. annexation of rßosniaIlerjegovina m October, 1908. The nepessity of crushing tho "conspiracy" .and of killing tho "propaganda'' subsequently became- a favourite argument ol those who .sought to justify' Count AenrenthaPs. annexation policy ' :

Dr; Friedjung's Defeat. ■; .Some 12_months. ago there appeared in tho Ultramontane, . "Reichspost" categorical denunciations of parties and persons in the Southern, Slav world: and 0 n March 25, 1809, theso tjons were recapitulated i,i tho "Neuo strength of documents emanating from fel^'T 5 - V,h i s »it which tho parties and persons thus denounced |rough ,_ t w and t]w UR^ post,.; has shown tho "conspiracy" to n i Vt il d <"»"™.ts that ac?Er*l ;t > ho *e rthki » mi ;crime?f S '' Dr -

■ I made all;my assertions after thoJ%d W^6m V]e . ,v in- my ffif sul consideral tion of all the circumstances before me I am no- swashbuckler aiid am well aware of the,- lm jwrtaime' as evidence of the stay, - offlclaUy- confined as it \'*s e f°f Markpvitoh in Berlin. I therefore declare loyally that the two 1908 (Old Style, when, according to the Professor Markoyitch was at Belgrade must be eliminated, and that I should not like further to base any claim upon the rtmajning documents. Now tfiat I have made this declaration I can calmjy say that in mv jvholo, attitude in this'affair and\lso "J the present declaration I'have had ,ro ' ara!ofMr *-:

In those words, which had formed j.ist light and tins morning, Dr. Pried Jung to-day! sealed, the fato of the slandcrs upon his Mow-subjects, of which 10 has been tho most authoritative' public■ exponent. His friends would liavo preferred a more manly aiid open admission of li«i error, hut bo imagined that his claim to have acted throughout with conscientious good faith would bo more securely established by tho' avoidance of all, appearance of an apoWjo attitude towards .those whom ho had wrongod. " ' a "