The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-11-16

have taken part in the Fourth Crusade; mari
ners from the Narenta river and sea coast, so
famous both before and afterward, for its
pirates, lnny have helped to subdue the City
of the Sultan, and to keep it in subiection
for those fifty years which saw Venice sui
| pTeme in the Bosphorus and mistress of
great portion of the Turkish empire. includ-
ing Constantinople, which city she held with
a strong hand till the year l259 Nay, there
are proofs that the Nenetians were by no
means sgueanish in their dealings with con
Quered provinces: nor were they likely to
respect the liberties of people whose free
dom they had destroyed Peasants were
rolled as soldiers; fishermen and seafariug
men were pressed for service in the galleys;
and boys and girls. taken prisoners in the
| Dalmatian wars were sold into slavery. All
these things are matters of history, and we
have only to turn To the reign of Doge
| Michieli-he who was called Duke of Croatia
and Terror of the Greeks s'-to see what
deeds were done in the neighborhood of Cat
taro in the beginning of the twelfth century.
! and what immunties and privileges were
| granted to the inhabitants of cara, Ragusa,
| and other towns. whose children were sold
| into bondage.
SO much for the plea Of the ferocious pea
| santry of Southern Dalmatia now in arms
| against their Government instigated therein.
as many people believe, or affect to believe,
| by another, or perhaps | should say, two
other powers. The first accounts of this sin
| gular insurrection seemed to show that the
mild and peaceful peasantry' of Cattaro and
| that neighborhood objected to n soldiers life:
| later accounts showed. and show STILL that
they are willing to die soldiers DEATH
And for what? For exemption from the
CONSUMPTION? In that case they are
| fighting to show that they will not
| fight, which seems strange. The fact
| is, they are singularly fond
of war, and singularly well qualified to excel
| IN 1t; they are descended from soldiers, per-
haps from brigands. Many of the highland
| chiefs boast that their forefathers have fought
a thousand battles; their ''fatherland, for
which they are now raising party cries of Sc
| dition, has been in a chronic state of war
| with short, very short intervals of peace)
ever since the breaking up of the Roman EN-
pire. Hungary, and Turkey, and Venice
have all three fought battles on Dalmatian
| soll-battles renewed every year, or every
| eight or ten or twenty years, for centuries
| 1t is sheer folly to talk of these mountaineers
of Cattaro as mild and docile countrymen."
They are not SO considered by their neigh
| bors; their national poet, Kacich, does not so
| speak of them; and il will be seen from the
following words quoted, and literally trans
lated, from their last proclamation which is
being distributed by some mysterious means
| throughout the length and breadth of the land
| that they do not look upon themselves in
| the light of doves or lambs. How bold and
jaunty are these words:--
'YoUNG HAWKS OF THE MOUNTAINS THE hour has
struck; the patriots of Dalmata rising at the call
| OF Fatherand. Our enemies have torn the docu-
mcnts OF our berlies they have threatened to shed
our 6rethers blood If we do not consgn sons
| o their cause. From the heights of Our
mountains our muskets will bring death TO our enc
mics; our sweethearts our daughters, and our wives
| will hurl stones upon their heads. Monte
negro hast thou heard our Cry OF liberty? Erzego-
yina hast thou heard our cry OF war? know, then,
that we are numerous, and that we are resolute.
You are aware, brothers! that we are lighting for
m nc nan are o1 @ Sr & our Liberty that
Turks-they were our enemies; we will conquer our
| present foes.'
This allusion to the disputes with Turkey
! in the Middle Ages looks suspicious. Was
| this proclamation printed in st. Petersburg,
| or are suspicious of this sort untimely, if not
| altogether uncalled for? At any rate, whether
honestly or the reverse here is people
reused to open rebellion. 1t is the old story
| told again-the story of trampled rights and
smothered nationalities What will be the
upshot of it all? Are the Dalmatians-or is
any portion of Dalmatiaso mad as to think
that their aspirations can be realized, or that
petty provincial nationality can be permitted
to grow mp out of the body polite of Europe
in these days of progress and joint-stock ma
tionalities? That the insurgents, or a certain
section of the insurgents, are in earnest, no
one can doubt; but who knows how far their
instigators Gf any instigators they have) are
honest in the matter? 1t is difficult to conceive
that any power-Russian, Prussian, or Mon
tenegrin-can have any benevolent motive
for desiring the independence of Cattaro
but it is easy enough to see that such an in
dependence, if speedily followed up by a
friendly annexation to Montenegro, would be
exceedingly grateful to the rules of that little
principally, as well as to Russia, of whose
partiality for the Adriatic as a convenient
place for harboring ships of war we have
heard some talk of late. Whether or not
this question will become Complicated
I remains to be seen. In the meantime, it is
getting serious and slightly entangled for
whereas on one side we hear of completely
between the frontier peasants of Montenegro
and those of Dalmatia, we hear on the Other
side of threatened inroads into Albania on
the part of the AIontenegrins. All thii
time the Austrian Government sadly at
loss what to think, is making efforts tc
subdue the insurection, but without much
, effect The peasants, nine thousand strong
well armed and we'll provisioned, full of en-
ergy and enthusiasm, are holding at bay an
, army of nearly twice that number. An en-
: gagement took place at Dragaly on the 22d
| in which the Austrian troops suffered Sc
verely Colonel Iovanovich was sent at the
head of a detachment of his regiment tC
bear conciliatory message to the insurgents
but was answered by the whiZ of bullets. His
soldiers had to defend themselves against
these terrible fellows, sometimes called Ze
mani, sometimes Raja, or perhaps they are
mixture of both tribes. The Imperial troops
D-lA