The Dominion. THURSDAY, JANUARY 9, 1913. THE POSITION OF GREECE.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1643, 9 January 1913, Page 6

The Dominion. THURSDAY, JANUARY 9, 1913. THE POSITION OF GREECE.

Greece has assumed, outwardly, an unexpected attitude, towards her allies : ,onc,V the inner meaning of which will some day be learned with interest. What waa the reason for . the Grepks declining' to. join in the armistice 1 There can be no doubt that the scheme" of operations against Turkey was long pondered, carefully prepared, and mutually agreed, to by Bulgaria,. .Servia, Montenegro, and Greece; On the' same' day—October 2—the troops were ordered to mobilise 'in Servia, Bulgaria, : and Greece, and, seventeen days ltttcr, wa.r wasj officially by the three: Governments. TJie geographical position of Greece, that is, her proximity to, and command of, the Darda-nellcs, may assist in reaching a possible explanation. Simultaneously with the mobilisation of the troops the Greek fleet began to move, thereafter, Greecc declaring a blockade of-.'the- coast. The navy of neither Turkey nor of Greeco is of milch account; but that of Greece should be, able to make an effective blockade of Turkey's ports. If the part that Grecce is now playing was pre-arranged, tho prospects of harmony among the (Balkan allies remain promising; but if, on tho con : trary, Greecc has been actuated by feelings of, suspicion and mistrust, principally of Biilgaria's designs, which appears nrobable, the outlook contains possibilities of further comFrom the coinmcncemept of hostilities arid the likelihood of. some kind of. confederation,. or at understanding, being arrived' at by the Balkan"States, it was seen thnt T tho difficulties 6f "the'situation" had bcon by no means overcome. The differences which divide Greeks, Sei 1 :, vians, and Bulgarians—not to mention tho Albanians, tho Pomaks, and. other minor . elements—are very great, and, to all appearance, will long continue.in spite of the promised settlement of the disagreements between the Patriarchate and Exarchate Churches. A powerful Balkan federation; a "seventh Great Power" ,doc 3 not appear to Bo imminent, and that, simply because of the, diffe.rences of race, 'religion, languago, arid culture which divide the Balkan peoples.; Hatred and dread of the Turk'have induced them to act so far' in unison., If the Turk be rendered powerless a fierce contest may easily result among the four States for supremacy. Tho Greeks, it has, been well said, aro chief among the small Powers which entertain the flattering, but dangerous, conviction that a brilliant future awaits them. They have a great and, heroic past, and it isi just possible that sometimes in moments of national exaltation thoy jnay confound their past with their present. Greece regained its independence, as readers know, by, the famous; struggle which ended in 1829. For centuries she had been under the heel of. tho Turks. In 1830 Greecc was. declared a kingdom under tho protection of Great Britain, France, and Bussia.These, threo Powers, it may be added, each contributes an annual grant of £4000 to the income of Kino George. The area of Greece is under, 25,000 square miles, or not'much more than half of the aj-oa of the North Island of New Zealand. Its population at the 'present time is slightly in excess of 3,000,000. Revenue-and expenditure are in ■ the neighbourhood of £6,000,000 annually :.hor imports aro now £8,000,000, and her exports £6,000,000; 'approximately, per an•nuiji.; : What, precisely, is, the strength of hor army it is difficult to say., The regulations provide' f<)r an army of from 120,000 to 130,000 men on'a war footing; but about a year ago, it was reported that there were officers for only 75,000 men. • Kino George's kingdom is but a fragment of ancient Greece. Tho outcomc of invasion, conquest, and annexation is found, not only in the small dimensions of the • country, but also in • the wide spreading- of Greeks over Dominions ruled by the Turk. In Asia Minor thero 'aro probably between 2,000,000 and 3,000,000 Greeks; in European Turkey nearly-5,000,000, while large numbers dwell in Cyprus, also in Crete, and other islands which form part of the Ottoman Empire. The Greeks, of course, desiro to see their borders greatly extended. Thoy appear to bo not at all sure that, not merely-Macedonia, but also tho entire Empire of Alexander and Philip, should not be Greek, But Bulgaria and Servia have also histories and ambitions, and, in the latter, lie the dangers. Tho Berlin Treaty, while its stipulations were positive with regard to Montenegro, and, in certain rcspccts, concerning other Balkan States, was not entirely definite as to Greecc. Gladstone took decisive action to compel tho Porte to carry out the stipulations, and after tedious negotiations he had tho satisfaction of seeing the Greek frontier rectified. Lord Morixy, on this action by the English Government, remarks, in his Life oj Gladstone. I "The Eastern question looked ns if it might fall into one of its fitful slumbers once more, but wo shall soon see that this was illusory," That Greeco would not be Dacified while Turkey xeinaiii.

cd paramount in Macedonia ■ waa made abundantly clear at the Berliil Congress by M. Delyannis, the Greek plenipotentiary. The natives of tins Greek provinces of the Ottoman Empire, he fiitid, were counted by tlxiuEanda. The echo which ,the news of au Hellcnic insurrection in Turkoy produced was too powerful not to. move them._ "Some it drives to cross the frontiers, to join the combatants, others, to empty their purses for tho common cause." The Berlin Treaty, though it had been carried out tc the minutest detail, every stipulation fulfilled to the letter, would not have brought peace to the Balkansi That fact is now self-evident. There was the deep-seated hatred of the: Titrk because of past oppressions, also, his presence and the continuance of his oppressions. The Greeks single-handed aro no match for the Turks.- Had the Turkish army-been, better clothed and properly fed, and possessed of unimpeachable field equipment, from infantry rifle to artillery ammunition, the combined allies would have had a still harder fight for victory—hard and terrible as the fighting has been. The true explanation of Greece remaining aloof iron; her allies in the aripistice would conduce to. clearer views "of tho future of Maoedonia. Race remains a powerful factor, for peace or for war, in the Near East, and it must not be forgotten that the three Northern States aro Slavonic, while Greece is not. The end of the Balkan trouble is not yot in sight.