The Sun.
London, England, 1853-02-03 00:00:00

THE WAR IN MONTENEGRO.

(From the Times.)
Whatever may be the exact and immediate cause
of the renewal of hostilities between the Turks and

the people of Montenegro, it is certain that the war
has commenced with all the accustomed ferocity of
these contests, and on a scale of very unusual mag-
nitude. When Sir Gardner Wilkinson visited this
curious. and unexplored region of Europe, in 1844,
he exerted himself to induce the Vizier of the Her-

zegowine and the Vladika. of Montenegro to carry
on the.r feuds with some some regard to the laws
of civilised warfare, and to desist by mutual con-
sent from the abominable practice of decorating the
spikes on the gateways of Mostar and Tzetinie with
the heads of their respective prisoners. But the
failure of this humane negotiation demonstrated the
irreconcileable hostility of the two races, and every
page of Sir Gardner Wilkinson's valuable work on
Dalmatia and Montenegro (which is the only book
of authority we possess on the subject) shows with
what intensity the ancient hatred of the mar-
tial tribes upon the Dalmatian coast still burns
against their Turkish neighbours and oppres-
sors. For upwards of ten years Osman Pasha,
the present Pasha of Scutari, who is himself a
Mohammedan Bosniak of Slavonian origin, has
carried on a petty warfare with the Montenegrin
chiefs, alternately attacking them and expell-
ing them from the islands in the lake to which
they resorted to fish, or cajolling their dependents
by presents and promises of protection. To re-
venge these acts of ill-will the Montenegrin• Prince
Daniel made a foray in November last on the small
Turkish fort of Zsabliak, and took it, as it was only
defended by 27 soldiers. It is, indeed, di▪ fficult to
suppose that this incident could have sufficedantdo
induce the Porte to equip a considerable army
a squadron of vessels of war, or that Osman Pasha
peed one
b.
has credit at Constantinople
placed at the head of so impo
tortancatusaenhunsex
if
to
It would seem, however, that the present Turkish
Government is resolved to take every opportunity
of proving its utter indifference to the public opin-
ion and the policy of European States, and that it
has seized with avidity the first opportunity that
has occurred to carry fire and sword into the val-
leys of an independent Christian tribe. The Vladika
of Montenegro told Sir Gardner Wilkinson, on the
occasion to which we have referred, that he might
be certain the true sentiments of the Turks of the
present day are thesame as they were in the time
of Osman or of Bajazet, but that they contrive to
deceive the diplomatists. of Europe by professions of
civilisation, just. enough to induce us to overlook
their monstrous inhumanities. The consequence, of
course, is that hostilities are carried on withthe same
ferocity on both sides, and we learn that the Mon-
tenegrins, having been successful in a nocturnal
surprise of a Turkish camp, brought back with
them 317 Turks' heads as the first trophies of the
campaign. This wanton carnage is actually going
on without any adequate provocation, or, indeed,
ally definite object. The first attack made on
Montenegro by the Vizier of Antivari, along the
tongue of land which lies between the lake of
Scutari and the sea coast, has failed. The advance
of a second column under Osman Pasha by the
valley of the Moratska has not been more success-
ful. In the north, the village and district of Gra-
hovo have been sacked and destroyed, but the
Woivode is believed to have escaped to the Austrian
territory. On both sides great exertions have been
made to excite the population of the adjacent pro-