The Daily News. TUESDAY, MARCH 16, 1915. SERBIA'S FIGHT FOR NATIONHOOD.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 237, 16 March 1915, Page 4

The Daily News. TUESDAY, MARCH 16, 1915. SERBIA'S FIGHT FOR NATIONHOOD.

It is not surprising to find that London files recently to hand devote considerable | attention to the disecussion 0 f Serbian aims and hope-, and the greatness of tin- task *!ie lias undertaken. When Mr Churchill, in the early stages of the war, declared that the first of tiic principles which the Allies must keep before them in the struggle to its sequel was nationality, he undoubtedly voiced the general opinion of all British people. Tile setting free of the conquered and subjugated nations ivn< indeed, the main

justification of the war, for the vexed question of nationality was the main factor in poisoning the common life of Europe. Would that if were possible to settle such questions as these without recourse to war, using the gradual process of e\ olution and absorption to do its work. Now that the matter is .submitted to force of arms it would be of the lil'st importance that the ultimate issue be all that could be desired, if a durable peace is to be attained. There are those who consider that the Balkans can never be freed from inter-,State troubles, but there is really no ground for such an opinion. Up to the present

no adequate attempt has been made to reconcile tlie various race prejudices, or to create a satisfactory national system. .The task is difficult, but certainly not impossible of attainment. Tlie Balkan is still what it lias been since 1854, tlie chief focus of unrest and uncertainty. Roumania lias the ball at her fcet ( but whether she will play the • game and work out her own destiny now that the chance is Within reach remains I to be seen. One can but hope, in the I best interests of the future of the East, • not only that the Roumanians will succeed in liberating their kinsmen undef 1 Hungarian rule, but also that Russia may of her own goodwill complete their national unity by restoring Besarablia I to them. The Serbs have probably in front of them the hardest task which they have yet had ta face, since the new [ army which is preparing to invade them • is Herman as well as Austrian. (But a 1 victory for the Allies, whatever may | happen locally, will assuredly bring to Serbia a greater extension of territory. The least which anyone suggests she can obtain is Bosnia and Herzegovina, with •ill outlet to the Adriatic. The question of how much or how little Is here however, of the gravest consequence. To give half the Serbs to Serbia, while leaving the other half to Austria, or giving some of them to Italy, would merely be <o prepare the war of the day after tomorrow. Those young races do not think of war, as even the most bellicose of West Europeans think it, as an evil which may be necessary. They contemplate it without misgiving, and would prepare for it without remorse. An enlarged Serbia, strengthened by the doubling of her present territory ; would attract the other Serb lands, Croatia, Slavonia, and Dalmatia, as certainly as the Kingdom of Savav attracted Sicily and Naples, l-veryone admits that Serbia must this time win access to the sea. Let her win it through the Serb lands. It is a mislake to regard the Dalmatian coast as primarily Kalian. It is hardly less Serb an than Belgrade; it is far more Serbian than 1;skill), ft would be infinitely 1 better to make Albania an Italian pro", tectoratc than a Serbian province. I)uriiz/.0, moreover, is an execrable port, and could be linked up with,tlie rest of Serbia only at vast expense. The pro!:i.'.iiiuie mint be "i..he Serb jai:.>i ami the Serb ports far tile Serbians " for the failure to realise, it will inevitably make future trouble and perhaps future wars between Italy, Austria, and Serbia. Bv satisfying Serbian ambitions in the natural, direction it would be. possible to meet the Bulgarian claim to Macedonia. The population of this great region, which fell to Serbia as the prla, of the .second Balkan war, is overwhelmingly Bulgarian, and the minorities in it are not Serbian, but Albanian and V lacli. It is, suffering, as the leport of tlie Carnegie Commission jiioves, under a harsh system of repression and forcible assimilation. We should feel little confidence in the durability of any peace which failed to give Central Macedonia, including Monastir, to the Bnlgars. The arguments for any other allocation will disappear when Serbia obtains access to the Adriatic. That these populations should be sacrificed because Serbia needed a free road to the sea at Saloniea was never justifiable; but it was intelligible. This arlniigement will lose all meaning when the Serbs recover Cattaro and llagusa. The Greeks have argued that for military reason's they must at some point maintain touch with the Serbs. That argument has force only" So long as ( 'fecks and Serbs are together repressing tlie legitimate aspirations of Bulgarian nationality. A settlement which finally enacted a national partition would render such military considerations unimportant. But it is possible to meet this Greek wish without sacrificing to it the wishes of the whole of Central Macedonia. If Serbia were allowed to keep Dibra and Okhrida (which arc mixed Bulgarian and Albanian districts), and with them the narrow strip of land between Lakes Okhrida and Presba, a line of communication would be maintained. It would give a bad and artificial fron-t-"'1", '"it it would not involve the sacrifice of a whole population to military exigencies. Bulgaria ought not to press her demand for the port of Kavafa, and Greece, we hope, will he backed in hoick mis to all the Aegean islands. It is pmbably inevitable now that she will keep Southern Lpirus, and that Cyprus will be ceded to her. I„ every ambition "Inch has the sanction of nationality behind it, she ought to find in Britain her supporter and her friend. The com- >"<>» interests of the Allies seem to us to demand a far more definite and serious effort than their diplomacy has .vet made to arrange the Bulgarian difliThe Serbian Government urges tli«it it dare not yield Macedonia for fear Of Serbian public opinion. Recent disputes have made Russia unwilling to use Her influence to aggrandize Bulgaria. Bulgaria, on her side will „ot join the Allied camp without an explicit understanding that Central Macedonia, including Monastir, shall fall to her share in the event of victory. To satisfy Bill.yuria is to set in motion forces' which would end the war promptly; to fail to satisfy her. may be to risk a serious rebuff to the Allied cause throughout the Balkans,

YOU SHOULD BEAR IN MIND. That by u ,sing the commercial ancalyptns oil, which is now bought at 6d per lb., weight and bottled, ard on account of the large profit pushed, you arc exposing yourself to all the dangers to "Inch the use of turpentine will expose >oll—irritation of the kidneys, intestinal tracts and mucous membrane. By insisting on the (iKNTTTNE SANDER'S EUCALYPTI EXTRACT, y oi ; not onlv avoid these pitfalls, but von have a stimulating, safe and effective medicament, the result of special and careful manufacti—. A trial will at once convince. Quality In a small dose dist.ngmshes it from the bulk and dangerous products, Remember: SANDER'S EXTRACT embodies the result of .>() years experience and of special study and it docs as promised; it heals anil cures Without injuring the constitution, as the oils on the market frequently do I t.ercfore, protect yourself by rejecting other brands. SANDER'S EXTRACT possesses curative properties peculiarly its own, and can be used with perfec* safety. 1