The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1886-09-04 00:00:00

RETURN OF PRINCE ALEXANDER.

Prince Alexander is once more in Bulgaria, and hal
resumed, from the hands of Ti!. Stambouloff, the
government of the country. Aftes a triumphant
journey through Roumania, he on Sunday recrossed
the Danube, and entered Rustchuk amid the enthusi-
astic cheers of the garrison and population. A
triumphal arch had been raised, under which he
passed; and then his officera, wild with excitement,
caught him up, crowned him with flowers, and
"chaired" him on his way to the palace, as school-
boys chair a companion who has played a fine innings
at cricket. The old Danubian fortress has never wit-
nessed a more remarkable sight, not even in February,
1878, when the Russian army entered it, and by their
entry proclaimed that Turkish rule in Bulgaria
was at an end for ever. That scene was the natural
end of a deadly struggle. The scene of Sunday was
the spontaneous outburst of a people's gladness that a
vile con9piracy had been foiled, and the victim, the
Prince whose courage and generalship had carried the
infant State safely through its first hard trial, had
triumphed over his treacherous enemies. We can well
understand the enthusiasm with which the words of
Stambouloff were received, when he briefly related
to the Prince the steps that had been taken to undo
the dark night's work of the traitor Zankoff. The
Vienna correspondent of the Times, is able to show the
important part played in this counter-revolution by the
Bulgarian Minister at Bucharest, M. Nacevis, to whose
promptitude and energy in instantly sending trusty
messengers into Bulgaria, with cipher telegrams
which they contrived to forward, had much to do
with organising the successful resistance to the
Russian party. This statesman had the satisfaction
of meeting the Prince at the station at Bucharest on
Sunday morning, where he was received with the
same popular welcome that had greeted him at Lem-
berg and throughout hs journey. The Roumanian
Premier M. Bratiano: was there to meet him, as also
was the English representative, Sir William White, to
whose vigorous and judicious support throughout the
trying Conference at Constantinople a year ago the
Prince and his people owe no light debt. In the
fifteen minutes of close conversation which he and the
Prince held together at the station, it may be sup-
posed that the former took the opportunity of con-
veying to his Highness encouraging advice from her
Majesty's Government.

Prince Alexander arrived at Sistova on Monday
morning in his yacht, and was carried on the shoulders
of the people to the church, where a " Te Deum " was
sung. He was expected at Tirnova in the evening.
At Philippopolis a " Te Deum " was sung and salutes
were fired in honour of the Prince's return. A. Con-
stantinople correspondent says it is reported that M.
Nelidoff, in conversation with Said Pasha, referred to
the possibility of a Russian occupation of Bulgaria.

(Times Correspondent's Telegram.)
SOFIA, Aug. 31.
The situation in Sofia is still unquiet. News of
Prince Alexander's return to Bulgaria only arrived
yesterday (Monday) as a certainty. We have had no
regular Government for a week, and the prisons are
crowded with a mixed body of prisoners who cleclare
themselves for the Prince or for Russia, according as
they think to please the officials that address them.
M. Karaveloff's attitude has been very suspicious. He
has allowed some of the Prince's partisans whom
Zankoff arrested to remain in prison, and has not dis-
armed all the soldiers who joined in the plot. Some
of these were yesterday doing sentry duty. M.
Karaveloff's resignation has given great satisfaction,
and the news of the Prince's return has been
welcomed by the greater part of the population,
as putting an end to the existing anarchy.
A " Te Denm " for the Prince was chanted early
this morning in the churches. M. Karav eloff left
the town last night—some say for his villa in the
neighbourhood. The Metropolitan Clement has
mysteriously disappeared. M. Bogdanoff, Chargé
d'Affaires of the Russian Consulate at Sofia, received
notification of his recall this morning. He is to be
replaced by M. Neklioudoff, Second Secretary at the
Constantinople Embassy. This nomination is favour-
ably noted in official circles, for M. Neklioudoff is a
real diplomatist and a gentleman, whereas M. Bog-
danoff was only an underbred and unintelligent clerk,
who ought never to have had charge of the Consulate.
His house has been guarded since Monday to protect
him against the mob. He is the man who organised
a demonstration of peasants, about 20 in all, who
went down on their knees before the Consulate and
prayed for the Czar's protection. Four of these
peasants were his servants. M. Bogdanoff is terribly
compromised, for it is proved that he said to Zankoff
two days before the revolution, "Your professions of
fealty towards Russia are all very well, but they are
mere words. Now we want acts."
BUCHAREST, Aug. 31.
Prince Alexander has been enthusiastically re-
ceived at Sistova, Tirnova, and all other places on his
route. M. Stambouloff has also come in for a large
share in these ovations. It is expected that M.
Karaveloff will now disappear from the scene, and
that M. Stambouloff will be the Prince's chief adviser.
He is a self-educated man, who was formerly a com-
positor in a newspaper printing-office at Bucharest.
He is only 35 years old, and is a man of great energy,
' who has an intense admiration for the Prince, and
has served him faithfully, without ever mixing him-
self up in party questions. M. Karaveloff hates him,
and tried all he could to prevent his election as Pre-
sident of the Sobranje, but had to give way when he
saw that no other man commanded the same influence.
I may add that M. Stambouloff has a passion for
English literature, and calls himself an Englishman
to the core. In the last session of the Sobranje he
alluded, on the 24th of May, to the fact of that
date being Qaeen Victoria's birthday, and said
that it must be the wish of every sensible Bulgarian
to see his country live in friendship with England.
Prince Alexander is now followed by a powerful
escort wherever he goes, for numbers of Bulgarian
and Roumolian gentlemen have volunteered to act as
his body-guard at their own expense. He made the
mistake in Sofia of trusting too much to his popu-
larity and to the honesty of M. Karaveloff. not under-
standing that the latter was a Radical politician,
caring not a pin who ruled at Sofia so long as he , re-
mained Premier, Bishop Gregory of Tirnova will
probably be api ointed Metropolitan of Sofia in place
of the traitor Clement, who has fled. Prince Louis
of Battenberg, who is residing at the British Legation
with Sir William White, has gone to-day to Sinaia to
see King Charles.
SE3ILIN, Aug. 31.
King Milan to-day received a telegram in which
Prince Alexander warmly acknowledged his Ma-
jesty's friendly and kind congratulations and assur-
ances of sympathy. King Milan answered by
another telegram, in which he again wished the
Prince a prosperous life, and signed himself " Yo-
friend and brother."
_ _ VIENNA, Aug. 31.
_

The newspapers publish the report of an interview
between the correspondent of a Prussian journal and
M. de Giers at Franzensbad. M. de Giers was ap-
parently a little off his diplomatic balance when he
spoke to this gentleman, for he said that England had
used Prince Alexander as her instrument, implyinc,
thereby that England had triumphed in the recent in-
cidents which have led to Prince Alexander's restora-
tion. M. de Giers also said that all rumours as to a
possible reconciliation between the Czar and Prince
Alexander were unfounded, and he concluded with
some extraordinary observations about the traitors
who kidnapped Prince Alexander. He said, in effect,
that Russia did not contemplate an occupation of
Bulgaria, but that in case any attempt were made to
execute M. Zankoff and his friends Russia could not

remain indifferent.
This is a curious piece of nonsense, for the Bul-
garian Government has every right to execute traitors,
whether they have been paid with Russian money or
not. If news had come to-day that Major Panoff had
banged every one of the hireling scoundrels who de-
throned Prince Alexander, including the Metropolitan
Clement, the Vienna Cabinet would not have spoken a
word in objection. Unfortunately, it seems that
Major Panoff and M. Karaveloff were in conflict. The
latter, with his hands considerably tarred, hesitated to
punish men who might have proved him to be acces-
sory to their plots. The result has been that the
traitors have now been left to be dealt with by Prince
Alexander, and, this being so, it is natural that we
should hear to-night that the Prince signed a plenary
amnesty at Sistova. This amnesty can do no good
whatever, and the promulgating of it will only be a
piece of weakness and an evasion of responsibility. If
Prince Alexander wants to hold his throne in Bulgaria
he must show himself inexorably firm in pun6bing
the wen who have endeavoured to dethrone him. He
must, in fact, treat these men just as they would have
been treated in Russia, Austria, or Turkey if they had
been guilty of high treason.
The only reason that might justify Prince
Alexander in pardoning M. Zankoff and his gang
would be the assurance from Russia that conspirators
of this kind will not for the future have Rusbia's
support. It is no longer doubtful that M. Bogdanoff,
the Charge d'Affaires of the Russian Consulate at
Sofia, suffered his house to be used as a place of
meeting for the conspirators, and opanly subsidised
them with Russian roubles. His removal, which is
announced to-day, shows how deeply implicated he
was; but it is absolutely necessary for the future that
Russia should send to Sofia diplomatic agents who
will be diplomatists and nothing else. By appointing
men like M. Bogdanoff M. de Giers to-day finds him-
self in the painful position of having to save the necks
of men who richly deserve hanging, but who, never-
theless, must be saved from the gallows lest in their
dying confessions they should make unpleasant dis-
closures as to Russian intrigues in Bulgaria.