NEW MAPS FOR OLD.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1613, 3 December 1912, Page 5

NEW MAPS FOR OLD.

PARCELLING OUT TURKEY. SOMETHING FOB EVERYBODY. Even before tho war bet.ween Turkey and , the, Balkan. League was well under way, the after'problems .were being keenly disoussed in -London, and the "Specta-tor"-'indicates the lines on which the lands of Turkey should be parcelled out if Turkey is defeated. ■ V And these proposals do much to. matoa vivid what enormous changes on the map may result from the present war. 1 It is interesting to note the effect already of tho powerlessness of the Powers. They told the Balkans before the war began that no territorial gains would be tolerated. How are. they going to prevent States whioh win victories from keeping, their gains? The "Spectator," for instance, declares that it would be impossible for the Powers to demand for Turkey a return to her condition beforo the war. " '■ . The. new map makers have first to deal with what Austria wants. ■ What Austria Wants. ■ "Everything turns upon the demands of Austria-Hungary, or, to put the matter more specifically, upon whether the irreducible demands of Austria-Hungary are of a kind which can or cannot be tolerated by Russia," eays the "Spectator." "If they ore intolerable to Russia, then there will be no way of settling whose will is to prevail, that o£ Austria-Hungary or of Russia, but the old way—an appeal to the ultima ratio. If, however, AnstriaHungury oan be induced to keep her demands within limits which do not appear absolutely impossible to Russia, all may bo well. .. . ' , • ■

"What is itthat'Austrie-Hn'ngary wants? Unfortunately tEis is a question very hard to answer, for Austria-Hungary has no clear, or, at any rate, no positive, policy. Therefore, to satisfy her is exceedingly difficult. The nearest that one can get to a statement of Austria-Hungary's policy is that she is determined that her road to Salonika and the iEgean shall not be barred by tho growth of euch upstart Powers as Servia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, and Greece. Tho Sanjak of Novl Bazar. "Translated, into geographical terms, this means that the Sanjak of Novi Bazar must in any case fall kick into Austrian possession and occupation, and that a stretch of territory which shall include Salonika must either fall to Austria-Hun-gary at once, or, what in present circumstances Austria-Hungary would probably prefer, be left under some system of government which will not close the door to her. The territory in question, that is, must either be left as a State under nominal protection of Turkey—left as a,pear on the wall not yet ripe ior gathering, but reserved for a particular gatherer—or else go straight to Austria. "The most that they could do would be to insist that if Bulgaria gets a largo part of Thrace, Greece pieces of Epirus and Thessaly, and Montenegro a portion.of Albania, either a Macedonian principality should bo set up under Austrian protection which should include Salonika, or else, that Austria-Hungary should at once take possession of the province in question, as 6he did in the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina. If anyone looks at the map he will see that the difficulty of such an arrangement is to give Austria-Hungary her road to Salonika and the eea without putting an. absolute negative on all Servian expansion. The difficulty in regard to Bulgaria is by no means so great. Bulgaria might easily be given all the country north of a line drawn from the mouth of the River Maritza through Mandra to Midia on the Black Sea. On the west the new Bulgarian boundary might be the Struma. At the sfiine time, Servia might be given the south-eastern portion of tho province of Kossovo. ' What of Albania and Macedonia? "This would make 'the road to the sea , province given.to Austria-Hungary either in esso or in posse somewhat narrow, but if Italy could be got to agree to Albania being placed under Austrian protection, which means, in fact, under Austrian military domination, this difficulty might be avoided. Thus, while Servia, Montenegro, Greeco, and Bulgaria would each get their piece, Austria-Hungary would be bribed to consent by having Salonika and virtual supremacy over a nominally independent Albania. Aβ far as we are concerned, we see no objwition to such a proposal, though we con quito understand many people asking why the selfishness and shortsightedness of trio-Hungary should bo rewarded at the expense of tho unfortunate Macedonians, who are most anxious not to be- placed under her sway. Tho only answer wo can giveunfortunately it is a very potent answer — is that Austria-Hungary has the power to enforce her .demands, and that it is no Bood to tpll an armed man that ho is bolfish and shortsighted. JHie previous question, 'Will lie shoot?' iS far moro urevnt and important than the moral invalidity of his claims to consideration. What Does Russia Get? "K we we right in supposing that Me< tetwasvWa "rateujjujk .

will be such an arrangement as will ultimately give her Salonika and a part of the shores of tho /Egoan, we must next ask, 'Will it be possible for Russia to agree to such a solution r" Remember that from Russia's point of view it would mean that she must join in the coercion of the Slavonic States of Bulgaria, Servia, and Montenegro, and also of. Greece, of which State Bho has always been tho patron. To put it plainly, if the Powers who are only anxious not to have a row suggest thig way of placating Austria-Hungary, what is to be their answer if the Russians in effect Bay: 'Where do we come in?' cr inquire whether the Powers really imagine that Russia is to sit by while Austrian, selfishness is rewarded and Russian sacrifices left without the slightest acknowledgment? "We admit tho difficulty of answering this question in such a way as to render the reply acceptable not merely to tho Government of the Tsar, but to the Russian people. In the rough sketch, however, which we have made of a rearrange-' ment of the map of European Turkey, it will be noticed that we are assuming that Constantinople and the piece of territory bounded on the north by the line from Midia on the. Black Sea to the mouth .of the Maritza on the 2Egean, and on , the south by tho European side of the Dardanelles and of the Sea of Marmora, should remain in the hands of Turkey. Constantinople for Russia. "Might it not be possible to eay to Russia. 'This remaining piece of Turkey in Europe, including Constantinople, shall be earmarked as to fall to Russia, if and when circumstances make it impossible for the Turks to remain, any longer in Europe, and they are obliged to become a purely Asiatic Empire, or, again, if Austria goes to Salonika—which ever event shall first occur. . In that case the situation, would be something like this. Aus-tria-Hungary -would not at once go to Salonika, though she would bo placed in. a position to tako it whenever she was ready and circumstances permitted. ,At the same time, Russia would not go to Constantinople, but she would feel that it was reserved for her and that she could claim her inheritance, if ever the Austrians did descend to the ißgean. In this way the two great Powers most intimately concerned with the problem of the Near East would be satisfied, or.at any rate would be enough satisfied not to fly at each other's throats and force their Allies also go to war."