THE PARTITION OF MACEDONIA

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9143, 20 July 1908, Page 4

THE PARTITION OF MACEDONIA

Recent cablegrams have indicated that Bulgaria intends to employ force, if necessary, to prevent the partition of Macedonia. The partition of Macedonia has not been directly suggested. The main points of Sir Edward Grey's proposals to the Powers to stop outrage in Macedonia were {he appointments of an independent Goveri.'or-General and an increase in the gendarmerie Russia replied with counter proposals. An independent GovernorGeneral would never be accepted by the Porte, she said, because it would seem like an alienation r,f Turkish territory, but if increased powers were given to the present InspectorGeneral of Macedonia with the rai.k of Vizier, and if he were maintained in office for a term agreed upon by the Powers, a strong administration would be secured. In his answer (o the counter proposals of Rus»ia, Sir Edward Grey said that, while Gruat Britain still contended that her proposals formed'the best method of maintaining peace ,in the Balkan Peninsula, and of obtaining financial equilibrium of the Macedonian budget, still she recognised that reform proposals were not inseparably bound up with the acceptance of these conditions, if other means could be found of providing the necessary funds. The British Government had come to the conclusion that the In-spector-General and the Financial Commission should be invested with power to retain such proportion of the receipts of provinces as were necessary for civil needs, and that they should hand over the balance to the Sultan. If the amount were insufficient to meet the military expenditure the amount should be made up by the Porte; and as the Porte must be held to have acted in good faith when it undertook to make up the deficits in the Macedonian budget, it might be presumed that the money would be forthcoming, and that it would bo the more readily found for the maintenance of troops than for the civil needs of a population whose unfortunate condition had so long been a danger to European peace. If this proposal were adopted th& question of the number of Turkish troops maintained in Macedonia would become immaterial to the Powars, provided that the troops were paid and not allowed to live on the country.