BALKANS.

Taranaki Daily News, 31 August 1915, Page 5

BALKANS.

A BRIGHT OUTLOOK. ... GJpiSUIS'd CWTINUIfID SYMPATHY, Times and Sydney Sun Services. London, August 29. The Times' correspondent at Athens has visited the different Balkans States since the crisis became acute, enjoying favorable opportunities of ascertaining the best opinion of the four capitals, besides interviewing MM, Pasitch and Venezelos. Until August 10 the Serbian attitude was strongly opposed to the Macedonian concessions, but then there was a marked change. The Government remained theoretically unwilling to concede Bulgaria's 1912 claims, and did not acquiesce in the junction of Bulgaria and Albania. It insisted on the necessity of an open way to Salonika, but nevertheless the tone of the Serbian Government was so conciliatory] and disposed to entertain the pronosals that it seemed evident that only straightforwardness on Bulgaria's wart was needed to achieve an understanding. Simultaneously Gcrmanophile circles at Sofic stated'that a stronir AustroGerman attack on the Serbian northwest frontier was fixed for September 10-13, and asserted that the Kaiser had declared his intention of finally wiping Serbia off ffthe map while en route to Constantinople. The Serbian Government was not impressed. The correspondent continued^ — f'Greece's continued sympathy with the Allies is unimpaired. M. Venezelos assured me to that effect to-day." INCLINATIONS OF THE POWERS. BULGARIA WANTS MACEDONIA. KING FERDINAND'S AMBITIONS. Received August 30, 5.5 p.m. London, August 29. Sir Edwin Pears, in an interview with the Daily Chronicle, said that if Bulgaria secures a promise from Servia and the Allies that Macedonia will be restored to her, he believed that, despite King Ferdinand, who na3 Austrian" loaning:), fhe will come in, and if the juina ll:e Allies Greece will follow her. Sir Edwin Pears continues:—King Ferdinand is a bom diplomat, who began life as an Austrian officer. He possesses vast estates in Hungary, and he is very vain and ambitious. I fear his unscrupulous foreign policy, owing to the fact that the Bulgarians' group system is almost entirely in his hands. Nevertheless, Bulgaria, which is democratic in name, may become, !n a crisis liko the present, democrat:') in reality. King Ferdinand regard; Bulgaria as the Prussia of the Balkans, and I fancy he even once made preparation for his own coronation as the Byzantine Emperor in Saint Sofia. It would be a mistake to overestimate the influence possessed by the Royal families, but it must not be underestimated at this moment in Roumania, Bulgaria, Greece, Sweden, and Russia.

ADVANTAGES TO GREECE. THE QUEEN'S INFLUENCE. Regarding Greece, the Queen, who has great influence with King Constantino, quite recently brought Greece within measurable distance of a revolution, and M. Vcnozeloa' concern to-day is rather how far lie can rely on the army, which is not inclined to take great risks. M. Venizelos is in favor of conciliating Bulgaria, and for adequate compensation would perhaps surrender Kavalla. Had Greece joined the Allies originally she would have had the province of Aiden, with Smyrna as its capital. Even now the. abominable Turkish outrages on Greeks at Aivali make it certain that the Allies' success, if Greece supports them, will imply a very large extension of territory in Asia Minor.

THE KEY OF THE SITUATION. "Tho key of the situation is the arrangement between Bulgaria and Serbia. If Serbia surrenders Macedonia, this will probably ensure the aid of Ronmania and Greece. The King of Roumania, as a Hohenzollern, naturally looks towards Germany, but this in itself is insufficient to keep Roumania neutral. She, like Bulgaria, is somewhat afraid that Russia's success will imply the occupation of Constantinople, and consequently the transformation of the Balkans into Russian provinces, but the danger from their standpoint is less great tlian formerly. THE FUTURE OF TURKEY. The German alliance with Turkey compels them to favor Russia, rather than the Teutons. Roumania is populous, wealthy, and powerful, and I am hopeful that her relations with Bulgaria and Russia will soon enable her to participate in the war. Regarding Turkey's future, if the Dardanelles are forced she must leave Europe. She has lost the Aegeans, and will lose part of Asia Minor, while Adrianople will revert to Bulgaria. My solution would be to create Constantinople, and the country surrounding Marmora, the Bosphorua, and the Dardanelles, into an international State, governed by an international commission similar to that of the Danubian States, which has been so successful. Constantinople and the Dardanelles would be unfortified, inasmuch as by the new guaranteed internationality defences will be unnecessary." ON THE FRONTIER. AUSTRIA MASSING TROOPS . London. August '2O. The Daily Telegraph's Bucharest correspondent learns that the Austrian* are massing troops on the Serbo-Rou-inaniau frontier. TURCO-BULOARIAN AGREEMENT. CONCESSION OF TERRITORY BY TURKEY. Paris, August 20. Le Matin's Sofiia correspondent states that a protocol has been signed whereby Turkey transfers to Bulgaria ten kiloouetres of territory eastward of Enos, and also cedes Karngach station. The frontier will then run to the eastward of the Maritza. The- difficulties in the direction of Midia are still unsettled.