The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1878-04-06 00:00:00

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

GENERAL IGNATIEFF-S MISSION TO VIENNA.
The following telegram from Vienna is published by the
Temps :—" The mission of General Ignatieff appears to have
failed. Austria demands in the first place that her prepon-
derance to the west of the Balkans shall be secured by com-
mercial and military conventions between herself and
Servia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Albania. In
the second place, Austria requires that the southern frontier
of Bulgaria, which, according to the Treaty of San Stefano,
advances as far as the 4Egean Sea, shall he drawn back, and
that a strip.of territory to the north of Salonica and Kavala
shall be restored to the Porte, so as to secure communica-
tion through Ottoman territory between Austria and the
E..stern part of Turkey in Europe. Thirdly, Austria wishes
to settle this question by direct negotiation with the Porte
without the interference of Russia."
The Daily Telegraph of Monday publishes the following
from their Correspondent at Vienna, under date Sunday
night :—" General Ignatieff left for St. Petersburg at half.
past ten this morning, his negotiations with the Austrian
Government having led to no result whatever. Here is an
le:count of what took place between the Russian envoy and
Count Andrassy: General Iguatieff pointed out to the Prime
Minister that his being entrusted by his Government with full
powers to treat with Austria would permit of a prompt
understanding being arrived at between the two cabinets. He
declared himself to be disposed to make reasonable conces-
sions, and suggested that Count Andrassy should state which;
points in the treaty of San Stefano affected Austrian inte-
rests, and in what sense the Austrian Government wished to
see them modified. Count Andrassy at once gave him tai
understand that the whole tendency of the treaty was in
opposttion to the interest's of Eutope ; that the solution
of the Eastern Question did not exclusively concern
Austria; and that no lasting peace could be con-
cluded without the sanction of all the interested
Powers. General Ignatieff expressed a totally different-
opinion, and said that the only means of consulting Europe
would have been at a Congress ; but, owing to difficulties
raised by England, Russia had altogether abandoned the
idea. He then once more urged Count Andrassy to state
what claims Austria wished to make. The Prime Minister
declined to comply with this request, and told General
Ignatieff that he still hoped a Congress might be
assembled, but that if it did not, he would have to
examine the conditions of peace entirely from an Austrian
point of view, and would in that case demand con-
cessions of far greater importance than if he had only to
consider the general interests of Europe. You will under-
stand that this is the substance of pourparlers that extended
over the three days that General Iguatielf was in Vienna.
Having.failed to convince Count Andrassy, the General tried
hard to win the Emperor and Archduke Albrecht over to his
cause, but all to no purpose. His failure was complete, and
his visit here has by no means improved the relations be-
tween Vienna and St. Petersburg.