MONTENEGRO.
AND ITS REJECTED KINC. THE REPUTATION OE NICHOLAS. UNION WITH GREATER SERBIA. Recent cable massage? have referred to trouble which has arisen in Montenegro as the result of the union, or attempted union, of that little kingdom with Serbia. The entry into "Urealer Serbia" appears to be distasteful to many Monte-1 negrins, who are reputedly among the most independent-spirited people of Europe; but the reports, as usual in such eases, blow hot and cold, and it is impossible to gauge the. truth from them. Montenegro supplies another mystery, for the King, Nicholas, now in exile, is under a heavy shadow of suspicion for having surrendered to the Austrians in 1915. .Nicholas, who was deposed by the peopla last, year, was in- ■ terviewed it T> " , '' 1; ■wantl" «itv«nii«n&lv
denied having been false to tie Allies' cause, and>announced his' intention of fighting to recover his iosi throne. The whole subject is thus interestingly referred to by the Christian Science Monitor (Boston);.— The world, lias had far too much to think about, during the past few months, to give a great deal of attention to Montenegro, the little Balkan kingdom, which, in less strenuous times, was wont so often, and that with the utmost picturcsqueness, to monopolise the centre of the stage in European affairs. The world has known, of course, that great changes were in progress there as elsewhere, biit Montenegro has had to do what it Had to do very much without its accustomed audience. It seems, how- ! ever, to have done it pretty woll. The report emanating from Belgrade, about two months ago, to the effect that the Grand National Assembly of Montenegro had proclaimed the union of that country with Serbia and, consequently, with the new kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovens, would appear to have represented the facts of the case, in spite of repeated deniafs by the representatives of the former King Nicholas. There appears, moreover, according to. a statement recently issued by M r . Y. Spassoyevitch, a member of the Montenegrin National Assembly, to be no truth whatever in the sedulously circulated report that the union was forced upon Montenegro by the Serbian Army. Mr, Spassoyevitch, indeed, throws a welcome light on the whole situation, atJd from his statement it would appear tha one of the first acts of the Montenegrins, last November, when, for the first time for almost three years, they regained liberty of action, was to depose King Nicholas, and proclaim the union with Serbia. The Great .National Assembly, he declares, met on Mth November, and on 18th November unanimously proclaimed the fall of the King and his dynasty and the union of Montenegro with Serbia, under the Karageorgevitch dynasty. There was not, he insists, a voice raised for the former King, although there was in the Skupshtina a considerable number of his former partisans.
The Skupshtina thus voted for complete freedom, nor was it swayed, Mr. Spassoyevitch declaies, by any pressure, either from the Serbs or from the Serbian Army, or from any outside influence vhatever. Indeed, the Serbian Army, it appears, excepting a company of Jugoslavs at Podgoritza, one at Cettinje, and one at Bar, was not in Montenegro at the time.
The whole story, of course, has yet to be told, or rather pieced together, but every fresh item of information goes to confirm the suspicion that the sudden collapse of Montenegro in 1915, before the second great onrush of Austria, was not altogether a "feat of Austrian" arms. The famous Mt. Lovchen, dominating the Austrian harbour of Cattaro, was generally acclaimed impregnable, and although this word lost \U meaning very largely during the war, still the fall of this; tremendous natural fortress, after little or no resistance, came as a tremendous surprise to the Allies. Little was said about it at the time, and King Nifholss was everywhere received with respect and cordiality when he "went into exile " Yet many people had an uneasy recollection of the famous "arrangement" with F.ssad Pasha about Scutari, two or three years before, and consequently were rather inclined to suspend judgment. Mr. Spassoyevitch does not hesitate to describe the collapse of 1913 as something very like a betrayal, and he quite evidently regards it as the procures cause of King Nicholas' deposition. The Montenegrin dynasty, he declares, has always kept its personal interest in sight, and has always sacrificed the most vital interests of the State to its own personal advantage. The best proof of this assertion is, he insists, Montenegro's shameful capitulation in 1915, which was effected "without the complicity or even the slightest knowledge of (he Montenegrins " However this may be, Montenegro is surely well rid of its somewhat makebelieve King and court, and all the undignified indulgence which went with it.
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Taranaki Daily News, 8 October 1919, Page 11
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792MONTENEGRO. Taranaki Daily News, 8 October 1919, Page 11
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