The Sun.
London, England, 1870-04-28 00:00:00

TIIECALAMITY IN GREECE

Admiral .tionart rasna, the znglish otncer now in com-
mand of the Turkish navy, sends a letter to
the Times furnishing particulars as to how Greek
brigands " are educated, and where moat of them
come from." He says :—" During the time I was com-
manding the Turkish fleet off Syra, taking care of the
far-famed Enossis and her companions, a Turkish line of
battle ship arrived having on board the celebrated Spartan
Chief Petropoulaki and his band, who, having given
themselves up in Crete, were sent away to be landed on
Greek territory. As these people had been allowed to
retain their arms, it became a serious question as to
where they should be landed. The old chieftain told me
that 600 of them were his own immediate followers, who
he said, had invaded Crete from purely patriotic motives;
that they had been disappointed in the aid they had ex-
pected from without, &c. He told me also that there
were with him about 700 more, who he would in no way
own or be responsible for, as they were mostly liberated
from the galleys and elsewhere in Greece, who, having
undertaken to risk their lives in the Cretan mountains,
were carefully seen out of the country,' and sent to be
educated as brigands (so called insurgents) in Crete.
Almost on his knees he begged me not to allow
these ruffians to land armed, and his entreaties
were supported by a deputation from the town
authorities, who, for the moment, dropping the insolent
tone they had always used towards me,most humbly asked
me not to pay off old scores by letting loose the gaol birds
armed among them. I believe it was proposed that they
should return to gaol, but the patriots did not seem to ap-
preciate the idea. The end of this was that a Greek man
of war took them away, and, I believe, distributed them
in different parts of the kingdom, thus forming the nucleus
of well-trained and well-armed brigands all over Greece ;
thus we account for about seven hundred Greek
brigands. •It may be asked what could be done with
these people 1 To that I would reply, why were they let
loose ? "
Mr. Hammond likewise supplies particulars touching
brigandage in Greece. He says that to the Greeks it
seems natural that a man should turn brigand. If any
one is, in his opinion wronged by the Government, or
does not get what he thinks he ought to have, he turns
brigand, and so revenges himself upon the Government.
With this universal and patriotic feeling (for your
Greek is most patriotic), it is not to be wondered at if they.
should be such an understanding between the police,
the villagers, and the brigands as to render their
depredations more certain and their escape more easy,
" Having been taught this I gathered that cotton could be
grown in Greece, but that the roads were so bad and the
danger from brigandage so great that it was easier and
cheap to get one pound of coals from Newcastle to
l'irtens as one pound of cotton from the interior to the
roast. That the search for brigands was a farce. The
brigands are brave and want to evade the soldiers ; the
soldiers are cowards and don't want to take the brigands -
the villagers are apathetic. If only the King had 3,006
soldiers on whom he could depend, 1,000 to hold Athens,
and 2,000 to scour'the country for brigands, brigandag"e in
a few months might be put down and the country rendered