THE BALKAN WAR

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 272, 9 April 1913, Page 8

THE BALKAN WAR

THE HORRORS OF SCUTARI. The Cornere della Serra recently published some letters from its correspondout who « going through the siege at Scutan Writing on January 12 he says:—-The sad scenes in front of the bakeries are renewed every day, and assume even larger dimensions, especially m the evenings. The poor crowd* assemble, which, having begged in the daytime, try to purchase some bread beiore the closing of the shops. The struggle for bread becomes often very acute. A few days ago a woman swooned in the crowd. Last night one of the bakers conceived the unfortunate idea of announcing that the stock of bread was nearly at an end. The crush became so great that a young girl had her backbone broken by somebody's elbow, and had to be carried out, ... A friend of mine gives every day a piece of bread and invariably repeats, 'The children and myself are dying from hunger.' Yesterday my friend jestingly remarked, 'lt is now a month since you have been repeating this every day.' The poor man smiled bitterly, 'lt is true,': he said, 'but our lives are really hanging by a thread. You see, we only eat a piece of bread, dipped in a spoonful of oil and salt once a day, or once every other day. To me and my wife it is all the same how we finish, but it is the little ones who are causing us so much pain.'" Four days later tlie same correspondent reported tliat sugar had gone, coffee was at an end. butter, bacon, oil, dripping all were gone; there were no vegetables, with tlie exception of cabbage and some mysterious grass, grandiloquently called salad, and seven bakeries had shut down, for lack of flour. A Moslem had died from hunger, and a whole company of soldiers had deserted and escaped to the enemy. The military authorities had some stores of flour which, however, they were reluctant to give out freely.

WHAT THE ALLIES DEMAND. The Note in which the Powers set forth the terms on which they were prepared to mediate to bring about lvnc was presented a few days ago. ' Tinterms stated were as follows: (ii) The Turkish frontier to extend from Enos, at the moirj of I'ie M.nritzo. to Midia, on the Black Sea coasi. (b) Xo war indenirit • to lie paid, (e) Future of the Ac uv- - und A"> im:;i lo be left in the i.r ij,. ,r.-, 'di Tira Turks to a ban .ion Creie. iii the previous "ii. ■ >■' pr-e- oml I forward by the Aiiic .'in, 1 rejecte-! Turkey early in March, it was that the new Turkish frontier should extend from Rhodosto (oil the Sea of Marmora) to Midia (on the Black Sea). The adoption ;f this line would have confined Turkey iu Europe to Constantinople, and a gmall strip of territory with a frontage of about 70 miles to the Sea of Marmora and of about 60 miles to the Black Son. The. frontier proposed by the Powers leaves Turkey possession of the peninsula of Gallipoli and the Dardanelles (which she would have lost had she acceded to the previous demands of t.l:e Allies), and also about 50 miles of the coast of the Aegean vSea. Roughly speaking, the territory that would be left to Turkey if the Powers' advice were accepted is about double the area that the Allies in their former terms proposed to allow the Porte to retain. The Allies previously demanded the cession of the Aegian Islands that have already been occupied by the Greeks, as well as the payment of an ''adequate" indemnity. From recent cablegrams it appears that the Allies, whilst claiming more territory than the Powers propose to give them, are now willing to modify their terms to the extent of relinquishing the demand for the possession of Oallipolii and the Dardanelles. The waters of the Gulf of Saros wash the western shore of the peninsula of Gallipoli, which, if the latest proposal is given effect to. would remain just within the Turkish boundary. No part of the northern short of the Aegean Sea would, however, be left to Turkey if the amended demand is conceded.

The Turks, having signified their willingness to accept the Powers' terms, it now remains for the Allies to agree also to another conference.