RUMANIA READY FOR WAR.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1645, 11 January 1913, Page 5

RUMANIA READY FOR WAR.

A NEW COMPLICATION. SLICE OF BULGARIA WANTED, ... ' ADRIANOPLE STARVING. ALLEGED MASSACRE OF TURKS By Telegraph—Press Association—Gopyriffat v.'!- (Bee. January, 10, 10.35 p.m.) ; '".'■: Vienna, January 10.' It.':ls' belioved that; Russia' and Austria, by energetio remonstrances, havo induced Biimania'to postpone for a day or two her threatoned occupation of a portion of Bulgarian 'territory. .'/.■',■' '■;'-. /■ltMs' Boated that the Busslari fleet-is watching tho Bulgarian coast. , '.■•'■:;'■' . (Beo. January 10, 10.38 p.m.). . '■)■. Sofia, January 10. 'The publio are indignant at Eumania's insistent demands at the present stage, but it is.generally felt: that some cession of territory is preferable to a'freshwar. . ■PEACE. DELEGATES BANQUETED., /JNFOBMAL-EXCHANGE'OF VIEWS.. ■:/;(Eeo;.January 10; 10.35 .p.in.)' |! v '■■'';.;' / / .;; London, January 10. The Frcnoh Ambassador,'M. Paul Cambon,'yesterday banqueted the-peace delegates,' Sir Edward Grey, Secretary for ForejgnsAffdirsj and the leading Ambassadors also being'present. If is expected that the informal exchange of yiows [ thus effected will enable the Peace Conference to be recalled."'; Both'/ sides affirm their unwillingness to recall-tho'. conference' unless tho .question of'Adrianople. is settled.:;.' /' / A BRITISH PROPOSAL. ?' ; •: COMPEOMISE, OVER .ADEIANOPLE. \ •.'• i, / f(Eec./January .10, 10.85 p.m.) '■-. ;:, v 'Vv'. : -'./■:.; ' ; Rome, January 10. r. The :newspaper : : "Tribune" states that Sir Edward /Grey, British Foreign ..Sec-retary*-has .:proposcd that Turkey should 'cedo Adrianople to Bulgaria'oh., the condition that 6ho is granted privileges with regard; to the/mosques and Crown property.' '.';,■: "' ." '/:. ', ■/■^.';;,. .'■'- ; / ■.'/ '-.' '■': ."'.

Eeschid Pasha,, the'leading Turkish .delegate, ; it is reported,^gave Sir Edward Groy. an! assurance that Turkey was, no longer'.-uncompromising;regarding Adrin'nople,, though; she'. would insist on the. retention 'of ; the Aegean Islands, dominating as they do the. Dardanelles and 'the Asiatic' Coast,. '"■''".■.;'. -'■>',;.'/'

AWAITING INTERVENTION. KIAMIL PASHA ON ENGLISH AID. i Constantinople, January 9. Kiamil Paslia, Turkish Foreign Minister, in on, interview, said:— "I am now looking for the Powers' intervention. Fresh instructions havo been sent to London to tho delegates, and I hope tho conference will be reopened." England is doing all she con for us, but sho is not in a position as formerly to do much." 1 ADRIANdPLE DESERTERS. | ' -' Belgrade, January 0. ' Officers and soldiers are dosertins at Adrianoplo daily. It is feportcd that the bread allowance has been reduced to loss than four ounces daily. There is no other kind of food. A BIG ALBANIA. HUGE TERRITORY WANTED. Vienna, January' 9. It is' stated that Austria desires that Yanina, near til? Greek frontier, and Prlzren, near tho Montenegrin frontier, shall be included in Albania, and Italy suppotts'this. A SLIGHT ENGAGEMENT. TURKS REPEL BULGARIANS. (Reo. January 10, 10.35 p.m.) ' Constantinople, January 10.. A slight engagement has taken placo at Lake Dorkos, near tho Chatalja lines, the Turks repelling the Bulgarians who were cutting a telegraph lino. > t MASSACRE OF TURKS.' ~ ' GERMAN PASTOR'S ALLEGATIONS. Berlin, January 9. A German pastor named Brnnau, writing from Salonika, in a letter to tho "Vossi'ohe Zcltunjr," says that' thousands of Turkish inhabitants' havo been massacred, villages burned, and untold cruelties imposed. It is impossible for the expelled Turks to return, as fhey would perish from hunger and cold. Tho sum of £%000 is required for succouring tho people. WIPING OFF. OLD SCORES. , ATROCITIES DENIED. London, January 9. Tho "Daily Telegraph's" Belgrade correspondent says the Servian Government categorically denies that artocities iiavo been committed against Albanians. He adds: "Tho disarmament at Uskub of Albanians was n'necossity, owing to the murder of sevcial Christians in tho streets. Possibly somo of the Komitadjis wiped off somo of tho old scores against their oppressors."

SERVIA'S AMBITIONS,

. CLAIMS TO THE 'ADRIATIC COAST. : .In an interesting article on Scrvia's■ derogard;to the partitioning of Albania between Greece- and herself, M. Mrjatovich, a former Foreign Minister of bema, said recently in tho London telegraph'--The Servians believe that ?,. r 2. ,lw *y starting at Moscow, going to KicftV then through 'Rumania', to the Danube, crossing to Bervia, and bringing »u' . , nn 'l. Uskub >nto, connection'with the Adriatic, at Durazzo, would be of supremo economical, political, and strategical importance. I personally believe that the importance of that line is exaggeratcd. ; Still, it will bo, great enough to justify tho desire of the.Servians to have, the Adriatic terminus of that line in their own hands., ' ■ ...Before the conclusion of,tho Balkan Alliance Ihcre was a certain friction between the Servian and Montenegrin Governments, tho last, one' desiring that. the terminus of tho Trans-Dnnubion railway should bo at their Adriatic port of 'Antivan, whereas the Belgrade Government wished that terminus to be at Sari Giovanni di Medua. Now wo wish it to bo at Durazzo, that harbour possessing far better facilities for such a,terminus than any other spot on tho enstorn shore of tho Adriatic between Rngusa and Avlona. Fato of Albania, ! '-But it is not only an Adriatic port that wo wish.to get.' Tho'comniorcial reasons for thnt desire will l>e easily intelligible to every fair-ininded Englishman. But what he cannot understand so easily is why do wo combine that desire with the intention of taking the northern half of the Albanian nation under our direct control, leaving the southern half to the Greeks? This is, indeed, somewhat more difficult to explnin. As an independent Servian politician, who is in no wny authoritatively acquainted with tho true motives and objects of the present Servian Government, I will try to offer an explanation. In the first ulaco. ovary averaEe Sor-

vion believes that the Albanians are not capable of organising, and conducting a proper Btato in the modern sense of the words. In their political evolution their highest organisation is the clan, or, pefc ??' ft „, mor6 or los 3 temporary "League of the Clans." An eventual autonomous Albanian' State is doomed to anarchy. Albania is an active political volcano, and wants a strong hand to keep down its periodical political eruptions. In the interest of poace in tho Balkans, the Albanian fivo-ccntro ought to be extinguished. Without undue humility we may rightly claim that wo Servians/and our allies tho Greeks.' aro very much more cultured peoples .than the Albanians, and that we have not only a right, but almost a positive duty, to tako tho oiviliganon of tho Albanians into our hands, as tho British have taken the civilising . , ft'toheen, tlle Italians that of tho Arabs, tho French that of the Moors. ■

Fear of Austria. There is another reason' for our "Albanian policy. An organised 'Albanian autonomous State, especially when organised so by Austria, would be the cause of permanent danger to the peaceful'development of the Servian country. In the "Old Servia," which, wo have conquered, lived many Albanians, and the autonomous Albania • would naturally work to draw them away from the Servian'allegiance, We cannot, and will not, esposo ourselves to 'that danger, and thoreforo wo must prevent' the creation oi an autonomous Albania. -, . ' Thero is another' grave political reason, which is quite on the surface of things, but which the responsible Governments do not like to own. AVe all hope that Austria and' Servia. will find possible to establish relations of /permanent friendship. But we must also consider tho eventual miscarriage of all such efforts. We must consider-the possibility of a conflict between, the Servian -nation.'-'.and' the Austro-Hnngarian monarchy. ■■ We suspect that Austria wishes to organise and prepare her old protege,■ Albania, to aot eventually'as her ally against the Servians, between whom and the Albanians —I say it with very sincore regret—never much friendship did exist. .. We should bo fools if we would not try to prevent —if wo could—tho organisation: of a per-manently-hostile military camp against us. The only moans,to prevent it is to divido_ Albania beween .us and Greece. That is cruel; that is inconsistent with the sublime principle of nationalties and with the just principle, now applauded by tho whole of Europe,. "Balkan for "the Balkan nations." 'It, is. said that we, a hborty-loving nation, should prevent another liberty-loving nation to be freo-and independent. ; But it is an imperative political, necessity for us. And the evident anxiety of the Great Powers not to be involved in a general war gives us a good chance—probably the, only chanceto succeed. '•■'"■:-.

There 19* of course, .possible an alternative Servian policy : towards the Albanians. If we.Servians were to show a sincere .sympathy with, tho legitimate aspiration of the Albanians to be rulers of their own autonomous country,' if we were to prove that we. aTe the. friends, and not the enemies of the autonomous Albanian.nation, the Albanians might bo transformed into our friends, refuse: to be tools in tho Austrian hands'' against lis, and enter the. Balkan Confederation as a member,, with absolutely) the same rights land 'privileges as any other member of the •Confederation. ' 'I should personally feel much happier if the leading Servian 'statesmen' could find the means to obtain'aigood harbour on the Adriatic, and yet win the. confidence and .friendship of. .the Albanians;; Perhaps, on such ..a line a, compromise'.might.be reached • between 'Sorvia on the one'and Austria arid Italyon thdothor'hand, by'which compromise.' the Balkan /question woiild 'bo satisfactorily, settled,' and; the peace of Europe preserved, at any Tate, for a few years longer.'. '.■'■' :. : ■,'■■:.' ..;'•"■ '