AUSTRIA'S AIMS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1590, 6 November 1912, Page 7

AUSTRIA'S AIMS.

THE EVENTS OF 1909 RECALLED. A SHOCK FOR .-EUROPE. 11l view of the present uncertainty as to the esact line of. policy Austria is likfi- : :ly to lidopt when the Balkan Allies bring forward tlieir proposals for the partitioning' of Turkey, it is'interesting to recall what transpired 'in 1009, when AustriaHtiugavy, annexed the provinces of Bosnia aiid Herzegovina, and Bulgaria declared its independence of : Turkey.- Since the Berlin Treaty of 1878, -Europe had awaited With trembling, the dea.th of tiro "Sick ' Man," fearing that in. the scramble for his inheritance her own peace and welfare, might be jeopardised. She had sought to insure herself against this risk by creating an international board o.f surveillance, ■ named the "Concert of Europe," of. which the fundamental principle was abstention on the part of alt its members, from attempts to obtain separate advantages. Since 1902 the Concert had- been led by the "two most interested. Powers," Austria-Hungary, and Russia, upon whose doings other Powers, notably England and ■Italy, kept n jealous eye lest they should turn their leadership to private advantage. But, at the moment when the efforts of the Europea,n Concert to. stive off the evil day of the .liguidatioh of the Ottoman inheritance ■seeiued be on the eve of irreparable failure, the ■ "Sick Man" regenerated himself from i Within, renewed, or appeared to renew, his youth, and stood before Europe as ii eliiitnant for sympathy and support. Yet, .at that very moment, , when the anxiety of years seemed removed and the danger of the collapse or destruction of the Ottoman Empire to bo i obviated, Austria-Hungary- and- Bulgaria, after : having, taken connsel together, struck almost simultaneous blows at the prestige of Young Turkey, careless whether, lit pursuit of private formal lid vantages, i they might nnt ruin Turkey and imperil ; the peace of Europe. In striking, those blowcj tiiey. (particularly Austria-Hungary) infringed, moreover, the unwritten stipulation that international intercourse shall be carried on in good faith, upon which is : based all hopo of establishing tion'al confidence on firm foundations. Behind Russia's Back. In reviewing the course of evonts in the : Balkans in 1909, Dr. E. J. Dillon said, in .the "Contemporary Review" for November of that year -.--Baron- von Aerenthal had' been Ambassador in St. Petersburg, where he studied -Russian alfajrs under the most favourable circumstances imaginable, and with a thoroughness which has been rftrely equalled. He was privileged to retire. ;beliind the scenes. He was informed of the weak places of tho huge political Diganisro, he wn.s admitted to the chartroom of the ship of State, and took the mental measure of' the captain and the men. And when it had become clear to him that Russia, however strong at tho cote, was, and would lon# be, as helpless as a drunken mail, he took to weaving his plans without considering her. She might' do her very worst ( and it woiild-.net bo very terrible. Moreover, as she herself was slowly becoming conscious of her helplessness, the chances were that she would gnash her teeth in angry impotence and do nothing. _ . Ugly rumours began to circulate just then about Austrian designs in the Near East. In Russia, however, nobody heeded ihem, because .Austria had never eea-sed to ,be the bogy in the Tsardom But one day tho improbable fad: was bruited abroad that instead of energetic representations to the Ports* and insisting on reforms in Macedonia, Austria had come to terms with the Sultan about hn own little affairs, and had obtained a railway concession through the Safidjak of Novi l'azar. As at that time she had a mandate from Europe and a convention with Russia grounded on tho maintenance of the slatus quo in the Near East, this selfish and secret: transaction smackca <>f perfidy. A howl of execration was heard in Russia. The Balkan Slavs bestirred themselves, only to find that they could do nothing. Austrinu public opinion ap- • plauded tile venturesome Foreign , Minister. Tho press dealt: on tile cultural benefits of a railway; Russia was circumvented, but the Murzsteg Convention guaranteeing the status quo was not form* ally abrogated, .Tt was not until public opinion bad btguu to-forgot this breach of dinlnmatic...

i'aith that the need was felt of weakening Turkey. Whether Austria's foreign policy was shaped to any extent by a desire to discredit the Young Turkish Party,-give » fillip to the reactionary cause, and hinder tho rise of a powerful Stale in the Near East, is a question that lies beyorid the historian's purview. The fntst is, that ill no other way than this wits it feasible to deal a blow at the new Constitutional regime that liail turned from Germany to England, aml l'rfim underhand intrigues . to healthy publicity. It is further a fact that the blow has been dealt, although down to the present moment it is not easy to estimate its effects. Bosnia slid Herzegovina have been lost to the Ottoman State during tho first couple of months of the Constitutional regime. Bulgaria lias beun severed from Turkey during the same short interval. Crete has moved 1 mwoy towards Greece, and the Dardanelles must ultimately bo thrown open to tho llu-ssians as a consequence, German Checkmates Slav, The annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the' way having been elearcd and smoothed by Bulgaria, took place without a hitch. TJie Slav helping his o«imrin foe, whose aim is to be lord and master of the country, is an uueditying spectacle that will probably always reeur iii tho sphere of European politics. "Wero it not for my bough, out of which your handle is made," said tho tree to the axe, "ynu would never hew mo down." Bosnia and Herzegovina were lopped off from the decaying organism of tho Ottoman Empire in 1878, and temporarily given over to Austria-Hungary to bo occupied and governed by her until sttqh time as Turkey could resume sway, Everybody now appears to have laid Stress on tins temporary character- of the occupation. The Turks underlined it thirty years ago, and induced Austria, ill the person of Count Andrassy, to sign a statement that tho occupation was only provisional, and that tho sovereign rights o£ the Sultau would remain unimpaired. - Austria, it should' in fairness to her be said, executed tho mandato in a masterly manner. I write as an eye-witness. I travelled through the unoccupied provinces several years ago by train, 011 horseback, and on foot, and I was amazed at the number and extent of the material and cultural improvements I found there. Life and property.wer# safeguarded as iii Western Europe, the ways of eomtminieation, railroads, and carriage-roads, were excellent; even-handed justice was administered cheaply and rapidly; crime was diminishing; the prisons were places ,of betterment—reformatories rather than jails; agricultural methods were, improving; industry was being encouraged—in a word, a complete transformation had been effected in the economic and cultural conditions, while the standard of living had been raised. Benjamin Kallay showed ■himself to be a splendid administrator. No Rival State Wanted. Now the plain truth is that Bosnia and Hernegovintl were never much, coveted by Austria-Hungary, at least not for then.)' selves. S.htv wanted them for the > sole purpose of hindering the rise of u great Slav Power in Southern Europe. Austria cull brook itD powerful State in the Balkans, and least of all in. a political community of Slavs. .. A'ndrasSy himself gn.7o this as "the only motive for the occupation. . It w as, lift stated, vital to the interests of that a great Slav State should, not be permitted togrow up in that part of the Continent. "Such a nation, in': league with Russia, would beset, and threaten us." And he was right. It is one of the battles iii the Witt between Slavism and Germanism that is being fought out iii the Balkan -Peninsula.- And G«r.niauisnt .litis scored a signal, perhaps a decisive, victory. Few people really believed that Austria would violate the Berlin Treaty at- that time and without a pretext. But among the few were -those who had seen her Foreign Secretary at work when lie stole a niarclt oil Eussia and obtained concessions for his own Government in lieu .of reforms for tile people of Macedonia. . A' statesman who could treat his ally and copartner in that unceremonious fashion ivouUl not hesitate to take a loan for a : gift if he- could count ujton encourageiment. Baron von Aehrenthal considered .the two provinces as a. "Kathleen Jlavour"nost" loan. And what is a "Kathleen jV.tavourneeir" loan,, the judge inquired of tiifl "Irish witness who made Use of the esan .indefinite time, "it'miiy be'.fbivyears' and it.: may bo for ever/' my lord, .was the answer- : -