New-York tribune., 1876-01-31
UFpZrGOTJk1 AND SERTId.

HIR/LGO|INI IND cEh' Ia
Trustworthy information about the progress
of the insurrccton in Herzegovina is a. rare
commodity. The news that makes lis way
through the friendly Siavonic populations OF
Servia or of the Austrian provinces upon the
Adriatic exaggerates the exploits OF the lns'lr-
gents and magniics their forays ana sklr-
mshes into pitched battles, in which they
ai,yavs iphict dreadful loss upon the enemy
while such reports as come by way OF Con
stantnOpc are as highly colored as Turkish
fcz. and show a depl0rable disregard for one
of the cardinal prcccpta of the Koran. Sew
eral of the London and Vienna newspapers
dispatched special correspondents to the scene
of hoslilites last Summer, but these
envoys appear to have no confidence that
their rights IA ncutrals will be re-
spcctcd by the combatants. and dscrcetly re-
main OH Servian territory or take shelter under
the Austrian flag i'll Dalmatia and i'll these
safe asylums they make up their letters from
the tales of refugees or the accounts OF re-
turned military advcnturers. When all the
news is sitcd and compared there is, however,
a small rcSduum of fact that can be depended
ON. The rebellion is still alive and more Wig
orous than ever, and the insurgcnt chleitans
manage to keep n considerable armed force
together, and now and then win IN advantage
in encounters with such small dctachmcnts OF
troops as the Ottoman Government had III the
country when the outbreak began. But the
hard struggle is yet to come. lhe turkish
forces are advancing from two directions
from the Province of Bosnia on the east, and
from the sca-cOaSt on the west.
II was the latter force which encountered
a body of insurgents between Ragusl and
Trebigne last week and dispersed them after
five hours Of hard lighing, IL related in the
dispatches OF Friday and Saturday. The army
in Bosnia appears TO bc making 81 progress,
aud is accused of committing frlghtlul depre-
datIons and outragcs uDOn the Christian pOpu-
laion of the region along IT. I'm" 81 nlrch.
When these two armies fOr.h Il junction IN
IIc,zcgovina, rs they shortly must. the nsur-
rcct.0n will be- reduced to Il dcsultory noun
tain warfare but such is the rugged ana I'M
prnctrable nature of the country that the III
srrgcnts can, like the patriots IN Cuba, con
tinue tho struggle rs long - their "oIliag"
holds out. The most interesting feature oi
the war just now Is the attitude oi SfrNla'
Kindred in race and religion the p,"pie oil
that piincipality symplthze ar'cnily with the
Urrlcgoyinians, and are 50 eager 10 take part
i'm the contest that their sovereign, Prince
Milan i, in danger of losing his throne because
he insists on remaining neutral. Scryia which the
map-mal,cr4 persist in representing aS II Turk
i,h province. has enjoyed perfect autonomy
since 1884. and has no obligations 10 thc Porte
beyond the payment of n tritling annual tlb-
ME Ii has an area about equal 20 that of the
-t.t. ,f N1r,laud = nonnlotinn nf H.'~ 90"
-nrlrly M slaves 10y origin. and Grech Chris
tiJns in religion. The stJndiny army is l., 600
strong, and the enrolled national guard Of the
first and second lryicS number, 10000
Should tlc Scryian Government decide to aid
the inSui gents their affairs would wear n very
different look. and the war wOuld become so
serious IN affair that the selfish and tdrdy di
plomacy of the Great Powers would be spurrcd
into some decision regarding It. The most
probable and perhaps the most desirable Issue
oi the contest in case of interference by Aus
tiia and Russia. would he the erection of Her
zcgoyina into an independent princlrality under
"A Joint protccoratc, or il, annexation 10 Mon
tcnrcro or To Scrvia Any settlement which
loosens the grasp of the Turk upon the Chris
;ian populations in the northern portion Of his
mi~govcrncd empire and crowds him down to-
wards the Bosphorus will bc welcomed by the
pubic sentiment of the whole civilized world.