BALKANS.

Taranaki Daily News, 18 October 1918, Page 5

BALKANS.

PLUNDERING AT NISH.

NATIONAL MONUMENTS DESTROYED. Received Oct. 17, 7.30 p.m. London, Oct. IC. The Franco-Servians fomd the houses and shops in Nish plundered, a valuable library burned, national monuments destroyed and churches ransacked and damaged. The Bulgarians killed or interned all the clergy. The Allies continue' to advance towards Liie Danube.— Times Service. SERBIAN SUCCESSES. ENEMY RETIRING ON D?EX. Received Oct. 17, 11.50 p.m. London, Oct. 10. A French eastern communique states: The Allies are continuing to advance towards Northern Servia. The Servians captured the Veliken-Vesterbac massif and reached 20 kilometres northward of Nish, prisonering a large number. Albanian official: The enemy is retiring upon Ipex.—Aus. and N.Z. Cable AsI sociation and Reuter.

ITALIANS OCCUPPY TIRANA. Received Oct. 17, 7.30 p.m. London, Oct. Id. Wireless Italian official:—ln Albania, we occupy Tirana.—Au?.-N.Z. Cable Association and Reuter.

DESTROYING SERB LANGUAGE. SYSTEMATIC TYRANNY. Austria has ordered the confiscation of all specifically Serbian books, including t!ie magnificent collections of traditional ballads, the greatest pride of Serbian culture. The Cyrillic alphabet in 'use in Serbia (has been forbidden, and the Latin substituted. All Serbian teachers in the schools have beer replaced by either Austrians or Magyars, who are educating the children a.? subjects of tho Austrian Emperor, destroying their consciousness of Serb nationality and tampering with their religion. Bulgaria has, as usual, gone even further in this respect thau her ally (says E. M. Chadwiek, in Collier's Weekly) She has inaugurated a systematic destruction of Serbian literature. Not only every printed book, but ancient manuscripts in the monaste'ics, the only records preserved since Serbia's mediaeval days of greatness, have been confiscated and turned over to Bulgarian paper factories to be used for pulp One and a-half cents a pound for the ancient and splefldid literature of Serbia! The Serbian Bible has met with the same fate. The Bulgarians are even forcing the Serbs to change their surnames —that is to alter the characteristic Serbian termination "ic" into the Bulgar "off." Names of business firms of shop sighs, and of streets in the Serbian cities are all being treated in this way, in addition to the names of private individuals.

In the Serbian territory under Bulgar control the Bulgarian language is compulsory in tho schools. All Serbian teachers have beeii killed or deported; tho children are being educated entirely as Bulgars, and the war explained to; Oiein from the standpoint of the nation, that has murdered their fathers and outraged their mothers. Jt is- easy to see that a few more years of this may well result in a young generation*growing up •which, will indeed believe itself to be Bulgar and not" Serb, the more readily in that for so many of these there is no influence left- to preserve in-' their hearts their Serbian heritage. Their parents are-gone—to* death or cap-, tivity; audreven the«j>riests ha-ve all.betsrrf taken: away or murdered, and Bulgar stead.