, 1880-06-09
ALBANIAN REVOLT.
aa1 e IFbom the Spectator

the strongest way the central difficulty OF
the Eastern Questionable absence OF any
trustworthy or powerful authority at Con-
Is stantinople. Under the Treaty of Berlin,
the Sultan agreed to cede certain districts
to Montenegro, districts indispensable to
the Mountainers, if they were to live
henceforward by agriculture, and to aban-
don their position as clan defylng enemies
on everyside. The Porte, after its usual
fashion, demurred to the surrender of the
lands, alleging publicly that, as they were
occupied by Mussulmans, the Sultan could
not bring himself to the sacrifice /; and
privately, that the Palace could not risk
any shock to the fidelity of the Albanian
Guard, which protects the Yildiz Kiosk.
Other lands were, therefore sought, occupl-
ed by the Christian Albanians, or Miridi-
ter, and these the Sultan finally agreed to
surrender and Montenegro to accept. The
Mahommedan Albanians, however, were
still Discontinued; considering that the Mon
tenegrins had won a victory !; they won
over the Miridites and the Sultan's soldiers,
they occupied the coded districts in force,
and when the decree actually arrived, the
combined clans, in o scene OF eXtraordI-
narily dramatic interest, at once detled
the Montenegrins and threw off the authori-
tv of the Sultan. 1t is now alleged that
the revolt is exaggerated, that the Mirid-
tes have shrunk back-which may be true,
the influence both OF the Montenegrin
Prince and of Bishop Strossmayer being
great in the clan-and that the Turks are
not united but the main points of the
scene of 10Th April, which is desc fIbed by
an eyewitness, cannot have been invent
ed -
"The large court (in the Eski Sarai
Scutari), surrounded by arcades IN Italian
palace style, is some thousand square
metres in size. Seats had been proVl ded
under the great balcony for some twenty spe-
chilly invited guests, sheltered against the
sun by q baldacchino, above which waved
the flag bearing the Crescent. There sat
the eighty-years old Catholic Archbishop
Mgr. Pooten, and his two auxiliarles, Don
Capuccio and Don Sciantoja, and the
Grand Multi of Skodra, uafiz Eflendi. A
handsome young mar in gold Fmbroider-
ed costume, resplendent with jewels, sat
between the two ecclesiastlcal dlgnltar1es'
This was the Prince of the M!rldltes, Bib D.,
Prenk Doda, who had arrived the evening
before from his residence, Orosi. The ap-
pearance of the assembly was most pictu-
RESCUE. Besides European costumes one
saw the long garments and coIored turbafs
of the Hojas, Turkish officers in their pic
turesque uniforms. Catholic priests in
long cloak and broad brimmed hat, men
from Prizrend in scarlet and gold broider-
ed ierkins, and the Mlridite clans in black,
which they wear to this day in memory o.
their national hero, Castriota. Altogether,
about 1900 persons were in the court,
AT Ii o'clock all were assembled, and
the doors guarded by tall Albanians,
with well-primed muskets, Amid dead
silence, Hodo Bey rose to speak. This
old soldier of IA years, with Dronzed and
SCARED features, spoke as follows :
! Brothers Of the Baschikini Skipetaris !
The Ministers assembled in Berlin, IN real
or pretended Ignorance of our country,
have given US, the noblest, purest race OF
the world, away to a coarse mountain
people that stands, on the lowest grade OF
civilization, and lives on the aims
of Europe. We the direct descendants
of, the King of the Arnauts, ISLANDER
ALEXANDER the Great), abandoned by
The whole world, surrounded by a pack OF
greedy wolves, will know how to protect
:, ,reoIvoo ond tho graves of our fOrefathers.