THE EASTERN CRISIS.

Hastings Standard, Issue 374, 16 July 1897, Page 3

THE EASTERN CRISIS.

-- ♦ THE SULTAN BACKING DOWN. PEACE OR WAR—THE PORTE TO DECIDE. (Per Press Associati'in.—' '"/i>/ri>//it.) London - , July 1 The Standard correspondent at Constantinople states th"; the Porte has agreed to nonce ti c Greek war indemnity by £'2,000,000. The Times correspondent states that Tewtik Pasha has requested explicit terms, otherwise Turkey will refuse to negotiate on the basis submitted by the Powers. The Times states that the foreign Ambassadors have asked Tewfik Pasha to definitely consent or refuse to negotiate for peace with Greece on the basis of the terms put forward by the Powers.

At a meeting held in Christchureh on Friday last bv sympathisers with the Greeks and Armenians, it was decided to forward to the churches and political associations of New Zealand the following protest against the cession of The.-saiy to the Turks : " We, the undersigned New Zealanders, desire to add our earnest protest to those made in England against the cession of an inch of Christian territory to the Sultan. We make this appeal because the question is not one concerning European politics alone, nor one of any creed or dogma, but one of deep interest to all who desire the advance of humanity, all who love liberty, and all who sympathise with the oppressed. The very name of England is less dear to us than the spirit of Christianity nnd of Freedom. Thessaly must be saved from the fate of Armenia. The transfer of it or of any portion of it from a condition of hope and promise to the savage anarchy and outrages of the Turkish Empire would reflect infamy on the name we bear. It would, further, be an unanswerable proof of the failure of arbitration on behalf of the subjects of the Porte."