PEACE OR WAR?

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1626, 18 December 1912, Page 7

PEACE OR WAR?

BALKAN DELEGATES AT ST. JAMES'S OFFICIALLY WELCOMED. AUSTRIA AND SERVIA. Dy Telegraph,-Press Association-Copyright, London, December 10. The Secretary for Poreign. Affairs, Sir Edward Grey, welcomed the delegates to the Peace Conference at St. James's Talace, where the sittings of the conference have commenced. Sir Edward Grey said the delegates would iiud in England a favourable atmosphere of calm impartiality. If they were successful in their difficult task they would gain the respect of the whole of Europe. M. Daneff, Delegate for Bulgaria, thanked Sir Edward Grey for his remarks. The conference then adjourned to Tuesday. It has been decided that a chairman shall be selected from each country to act alternately. GREECE AND THE ARMISTICE. THE "QUESTION OP QUESTIONS." ' (Rec. December 17, 9.55 p.m.) London, December 17. In connection with the Ambassadorial Conference, which opens to-day, Renter states that the delegates have discussed the Turkish attitude towards Greece, and has reason to believe that the difficulty created by Greece not signing the armistice has been overcome.

The "London Daily Telegraph" is pessimistic. The feeling of the envoys is that the question of questions is the Turco-Bulgarian frontier, whereon the Turks and Bulgarians are hopelessly at loggerheads. The only hope is that the Powers may he able to suggest some method of spanning the difficulty.

AUSTRO-SERVIAN NEGOTIATIONS. AUTONOMY FOR ALBANIA. Belgrade, December 16. It is understood that in the event of Austro-Servian negotiations, .Soma will consent to Albanian autonomy, provided she receives an Adriatic port, which she engages not to transform into a military port. Servia is. willing to give Austria preferences in the matter of loans for public works. The . Servian , spoils of war total £4,000,000. COSTLY PREPARATIONS. London, December 16. The "Keichpost" states that the Austrian preparations for war cost £21,000,000. THE "PROCHASICA" INCIDENT. MATTER WILL NOT BE REOPENED. London, December 16. The "Daily Telegraph's" Vienna correspondent states that though satisfied that ithe Servians were guilty of'a breach, of International rights, the Foreign Office will aVoid complications by not reopening the Prochaska incident, especially as Seryia. has promised, satisfaction.

A NAVAL BATTLE,

TURCO-GREEIC SQUADRONS MEET. CONFLICTING ACCOUNTS. ' (Roc. December 17, 11.30 p.m.) Constantinople, December 17.' The Tnrco-Greek sQuadrons have fought a two-hours' engagement at the entrance to the Dardanelles. According to the official accounts, both sides claim a victory. The Turks state that shots were' exchanged from 3500 to SOCO yards, and that three or four projectiles struck the armoured cruiser Giorgios Averoff, and silenced her heavy guns. The latter continued the battle after her consorts had retired, and then followed them. The Greeks say that the Turks sheltered under the forts, but after an how returned in disorder within . tho Dardanelles. Five men were slightly wounded in the' engagement, three of them being on the Averoff. REPORTS BY EYE-WITNESSES. Athens, December 17. Passengers on a Russian fa.'aincr, who witnessed the engagement, state that two of the Turkish ships were seriously damaged. The Giorgios Averoff is the only modern ship in the Greek navy. Under the will of a deceased Greek millionaire, M. Giorgios Averoff, about £300,000 was defeated to increasing the navy, and this vessel was purchased. Her heavy armament includes four 9.2 and eight 7.5-inch guns.

CARVING UP TURKEY. WHAT THE BALKAN ALLIES PROPOSE. INTERESTING FORECAST, The English newspapers to hand. by this week's-mail contain many forecasts of the way in which the Balkan Allies will propose to carve up Turkey among themselves. Tho "Daily Telegraph's" staff of correspondents have been most .active in their endeavours to • penetrate . tho secrecy surrounding the intentions of the Allies, and one of them; Mr. R. J. MacHugh, sends tho following dispatch from Uskub,. under date of November 8:— ' Tho confederation is firmly resolved to hold what it has won and to banish the Turks finally from Europe. Reports originating in Vienna as to the probable establishment of Principalities in Albania and Macedonia must be regarded as feelers in order to sound Slavonic opinion.

The Balkan States, I have reason to believe on good authority, will propose the division of Turkey among themselves, without tho creation of new States. This division will follow ethnological, not geographioal. lines. Where the majority of tho people speak Servian and belong to that race the territory will go to Scrvia. and in the same way with Greece and Bulgaria. Tho result is that Greece will get a largo strip of coast up to and beyond Salonika, with part of Southern Macedonia and Albania as far north as Valona. Montenegro will get nearly the.whole of Novibawr and the const south to the lliver Mat. The remainder of the Adriatic coast, with Durazzo, will go to Servia. The boundary between Bulgaria and Servia will probably run south from tho present frontier, via Egri Pnlanka and Istip, to tho A T ardnr, and theiico down that stream to tho Greek. frontier, Id;ip will probably go to Bulgaria, and Egri Palnnka tq Servia. with all that part of Macedonia and Albania not given to Greece and Montenegro. Macedonia east of Yardnr and the whole Adrianople vilayet will go to Bulgaria. Expulsion of the Turks. At first the possibility was contemplated of allowing the Turks to retain Constantinople, but now the Balkan fooling is in favour of the entire expulsion of the Turk from Europe. T have good reason for Mnling that (ho other Balkan Slates would regard Bulgarian possession of Constant inopla with friendly eyes. Whatever the Powers suggest or think, the victorious Balkan Confederation will insist on their, right to do as they wish with Turkey, und is ready to fight tor«. tain what it has vroa. '

llns division of Turkey, if it comes about, will but he the preliminary to a much wider Slavonic expansion in'SotilhL:ist huronc Tho Balkan Slavs speak of untieing a great Slavonic State, or confederation of State-, eimipowd of peoples speaking the Slavonic languages, and belonging lo that race, which will ono day extend from Istria, in Austria-Hungary, to the Aegean Sea, and from tho Adriatic to tin. Black Sea. It is pointed out that all this vast tract of Europe- is inhabited by Slavonic people, speaking the samelanguage, and having the same ideals and traditions. Their dream is to see a Slavonic Empire of forty or fifty -million inhabitants, free from the tutelage of Russia, Austria, ov any other Power. Slav Ambitions. Every Slav one speaks with, avows this ambition, and regards the pre.-cnt successes as tho first step towards its realisation. They recognise that it cannot bo completed for a long period, but they arefirmly convinced that it will one day como about. They point to the population of 20,000,000 people of the same race north of the Danube, and say that all these must one day b» joined in a free Slavonic Confederation. I believe future events will prove that Europo is now witnessing the birth of a new Empire, which will rise eventually to a mighty place among the Powers of the world. Tho friendly attitude of the British press towards the Balkan Confederation is regarded here with the greatest satisfaction. People say that England has always been the friend of freedom and liberty. My experience here is that every Balkan Slav regards an Englishman as'a personal friend,- and one has constant proof that this feeling is sincere. Servians particularly express the opinion that one of tho best results for them of the present war will be tho possession of a yeaport which will enable them to open direct ocean trade routes,with the British Empire. They say their future prosperity rests on this, and is bound, up with British interests. At all events, their reliance on British friendship is remarkable, and if the situation develops as is foreseen it may yet bo productive of very important results.