TRUTH ABOUT GREECE.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 5, Issue 207, 8 September 1916, Page 3 (Supplement)

TRUTH ABOUT GREECE.

THE SITUATION IX ATHENS INTERESTING INTERVIEW WITH DR. BURROWS. (In view of recent news concern lug riots in Athens, inst : gated by the Greek police for the purpose of damaging the Allies, the following statement made by Dr. Ronald Montagu Burrows, Principal of King's College to the "Daily Graphic"' representative, will be read with interest. Dr. Burrows is, of course, one of the Irghcst authorities in Greece.)

i am not surprised to read to-day's news. In fact, I knew it. No doubt ti section of the Greek Press mid public opinion : s corrupted by German money. And the riots are got up by 'agents provocateurs,' the regular Austrian device of trying to egg on the lower dregs of the people in order to give an impression to the worid that public opinion s against Venizelos. It is not. The tortunes of Greece and the name of Greece are lower than they have ever been for twenty years, since the lamentable Turk sh War of 1897. Hut tho Greek people have been, and are, proEntente. If the people's will had not been thwarted. Greece would to-day bo fighting as our ally. Our Constitutional course at present is not to attack the King, but to attack his adv'sers. We want to carry the true majority of Greece: to be their champions. A great deal of skill may be necessary to do that effectively. To press lor separation for an insult, and to get an assurance that somebody will be dismissed) were easy: but it would lie to lose the really important thing in mere indignaton at a particular ncident. The really important thing "? to secure the restoration of populai rights. I am convinced that Venizel.is will return to power at th/' next electon. Here is the evidence. At th< election a year ago Venizelos got ifi, even after th," Government had represented him in nn unpopular light on account of his willingness to cede Kavalla to Bulgaria in return for the great compensations in Asia .Minor. In the December election he and his follow- 1 -

refused to take part in the contest w : th the result that the total poll was only 230,000, as agains 720,000 in June. .Vow, Yenizelos claimed that this low poll was due to the abstention of his followers. The Government denied that, and said it was due to the absence of voters on military service. Three by-elections have taken place, however, within the last six weeks - that ; s, since Yenozolos has withdrawn his advice of absention. Those by-clce-

tions prove three tilings: That Venizelos has kept his hold on his own strongholds; that he has gained ground in Macedonia: and thathe was entirely ,iust : fied in his clajm that the low December poll was mainly due to abstemious. STARTLING FIGURES. Tho figures ar.e instructive, even startling. The three by-elections were : Mitylene, Chios (ooth of which wer-i always his strongholds), and Drama m Macedonia, containing that very town of Kavalla which he had been willing to give up to Bulgaria at a price in Mitylene Venizelos got 14.76S votes to 485'; at Chios, 6,153 to 197; and at Drama, which had never been held bv bun even iu .lane, bis candidate, in a three-cornered fight, got in .with 10.817. while) the Government candidate w •-. at the bottom of the poll with 8.356 hi tho Drama district there ar.e heaps of Turkish voters. In Kavalla towt: itself, where the electors are Greek, the Venizelist candidate polled 3,070 to d\v Government's 470.

Another point about the abstentions. Taking those tl.ree divisions in June 71,000 votes were polled; in December the poll fell to 24,000. But now it has risen to 49,000, a rise of 1(H) per cent , In spite of the fact that the Army is still mobilised. Every factor is the same, except Yenizelos' adv.ee to abstain. Those three elections, then, which belong to the Inst six weeks, arc far better evidence of the popular will than the got-up rowdyisms in the streets of Athens.

My conclusion Is, that that being so the one thing we have got to do in exercising pressure is to .insist upon a General Election. First, real demobilisat:on -Venizelos' strength is in young men—and then a General Election There we are on sound ground: we, the protecting Powers and *.!iC democratic Powers, can with a good conscience, press for it. By adopt ng ecerei" tactics, on the other band, chore would bo a greet danger of losing our friends instead of strengthening them.

; THE KING BADLY ADVISED. i If a n,"w election returns Yenizelos to ! power, Yeir'zolos must remain in power. When the protecting Powers gave Greece her Ire," Constitution and i modelled it on the limited Monarchy oi J Great Britain, they assumed that that j original pattern would be followed not j only in the letter, but in the spirit. Our loyalty as Englishmen to 'our own i Royal House is so unquosConed that ■ wo liavo a right to ask the Greeks to accept our interpretation of the Const tution we gave them without laving ourselves open to the charge that we are counselling disloyalty to their own King. King Constantine has been badly advised.