The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-03-21

The telegraph announces that England will
demand Thessaly, Epirus and Macedonia for
Greece, If Russia persists in the extension OF
Bulgaria to the Egean sea. This demand
would seem to show that England has finally
concluded to change her Eastern policy, and
has adopted limo of action suggested years
ago, which, had it been carried out then, would
have prevented the aggrandizementoft the Gar
and the threatening position that Russia now
occupies. The scheme Of Russia, as laid down
in the will Of Peter the Great, has been to de-
stroy the Turkish Empire seize upon the
Sclavonic provinces of Turkey, and by uniting
them to Russia form gigantic and powerful
Sclavonic Empire As the representative of the
Sclavic race Russia claims all the Sclaves as
Its subjects. In order to extend this claim the
Russians have not hesitated to claim as broth
ers q number Of the races inhabiting Turkey,
who are In reality no relations Of theirs
at all. The Bulgarians, for instance, al
though they are Of the same race as the
Turks, and enemies Of the Russians from
the dawn Of history, have been actually per-
suaded to believe themselves Of the same race
and family-long lost brothers; Russia has
even sought to claim the Greeks as Sclaves,
holding that there was little Of the ancient
Hellenic blood in the Greeks of to-day, that
they were in reality very mixed race, in
which the Sclavic biz cd predominated;
claim that the Greeks have denied and re-
sisted as earnestly as Oliver Twist denied
Nancy Sykes pretended sistership. The
Greek national spirit seems even stronger
and more earnest than the Pansclavic spirit.
The Greeks have long been allies Of Russia,
I it Is true, from motives Of policy, but they
seem just at present to have lost their
friendly feelings towards their too pow
erful friend and ally. Upon these feel
ings and sentiments England appears to
count in the present emergency. Turkey is
practically dead. The only way in which
England can prevent the dominions of the
Sultan from falling into the hands OF her
great enemy is by building up on the ruins of
the Turkish Empire another and more stable
power The only power that presents it.
self Is Greece. ALI the races of Turkey
except the Greeks are kindred to the Rus
sians There are 100000 Greeks under
Turkish rule in Europe; half as many more
in Asia. The Greek population in the coun-
tries contiguous to Greece number over
kinded and non-Sclavic race. There are 100000
Greeks in Constantinople and In all the
cities on the Egean sea they preponderate in
numbers, influence and wealth. The Rus
sian plan seems to be to drown these Greek
settlements In the new principally OF Bull
garia; England's scheme to create strong
Hellenic kingdom as barrier to the Russian
march onward to Constantinople. 1t Is
doubtful whether this plan has not been
conceived too late. Had England adopted 1t
fifty years ago it might have succeeded, and
Constantinople might easily have been recon-
verted into Greek city, and a Greek empire
built up in Europe; but in trying to patch up
and revivify Turkey, England let the oppor
tunity slip by, and to-day she is seeking to
accomplish what was then possible but what
to-day can scarcely be done.