The Daily News FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9. THE DISINTEGRATION OF TURKAY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 245, 9 October 1908, Page 2

The Daily News FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9. THE DISINTEGRATION OF TURKAY.

The hopelessness of uniting a nation t Jloliiumuedans awl Christians Ikwpi; yearly mure convincing as Hie histor of the Balkan Peninsula i; flic The vassal Sink's of Tu: key, crushed into submission again an; again by the armies of the despotic Sui lan, never surrendered their spirit o independence, ami during the past ecu Uirv, with the aid principally of llussiii Kouniauia, .Montenegro, and Servia oil tained complete independence. At th same time, anil by Ihe Berlin Congres of 1878, Bulgaria was made a seil governing State, under the suzerain!., of the Porte, the southern portioi known better as Eastern Roumelia, bit since united to Bulgaria, reniainia Turkish territory. At the same Con uress Bosnia and Herzegovina wer placed under the administration of Au, - tria, and, though not actually ceded t Austria, the territory has for all prat tical purposes been lost to the Sulfa. Under circumstances more favorable t herself, however, it goes without savin that Turkey would never have, by iii action and non-reprisal, surrendered t the high-handed action of the Kinpcro of Austria or llie contemporaneous d' duration of independence by Bulgaria Whatever be the reason—whether uti preparedness, the inllueuce of the Vonn ; Turkish Party of reform, or the inllii ence. of Britain and the Powers to piv serve peace—the unusual spectacle ha been all'urded during the past week o the Porto tamely acquiescing in th secession of one-half his European terr torv. At the moment, therefore, iher appears to be no immediate danger o war through Turkish resistance of th loss of her sovereign rights to the tcrv lories annexed by Austria. Whatev ;i action might be taken regarding Bui garia will, to judge from the prese'i position, depend very largely on h attitude adopted by Bulgaria in Iter roi of independent nationality. Turkish ac quiescence in current events, howevei does not necessarily indicate the clea: ing of the ominous war-clouds. Th little kingdom of Servia, peopled by , Slavonic race, proud and martial b; temperament, have entered the ami to prevent the annexation of its adjoin itlg territories, Bosnia and Herzegovina by Austria. The Servians are a vinl race, numbering within their own king doin about two and a-half millions. 1m besides these the and Herze "ovinians, muiic 1,500.0011. to say nothinj of 2.50.000 .Montenegrins and 2,400,00' over the boundary in Austrin-llungar\ are pure Servians by race. The situa lion is now more complicated than evei and it is not beyond the realms of pos sibilit.v that Austria may have oppos?i to her, ill the fight for Bosnia, th united armies of the erstwhile mulua enemies, Servia and Turkey. iMore uu likely combinations than that have h fore now been witnessed in the trouble iiaikans, and it is certainly no more in: probable than Ihe present rapprocln incut, at the commencement of a movi ment perilous to both count ries, o (!recce and Turkey. The underhand an, secret c onspiring between certain of th nations of Kurope in precipitating an: acquiescing in Austria's steal is a liaii blow to Britain's diplomatic prestige and peaceful endeavor to preserve th. stains quo in the Balkans. It all'onis the most poignant example of the cunning of Uurupean diplomacy and of the alter absurdity of lintaiu relaxing for one moment her watchfulness and preparedness for emergency. While Austria's little plot was being hatched, lvkli the connivance of some of the Powers, [he liritish Foreign .Minister was inao.ently wasting time in an attempt to perfect some pcheine between t!ie I'owcr.s for the settlement of the Balkan litlieulties. The whole position is one ibout which it. would he absurd tc lazard an opinion as to the probalre jutcome, but it is certain that in their iw'n interests, anil to prevent their posible embroilment, Kngland and the 'owei's will use every endeavor to prcent hostilities.. Everything at the nonient depends on the action of I'ie lervians on the one hand, and the emper of the people of Turkey with egard to Bulgaria, and now also Crete, n their national aspirations of itideendcncc.