, 1880-07-24

spite OF Lord S~aliSbury'S fears, a general
agreement as to the ACCESSIBILITY of certain
definite and considerable measures may
not, with Lord Granville i'll earnest and M.
de Freycinet vehement, be at all beyond
attainment. None of the Powers nave any
sincere interest in the maintenance of Otto.
man rule. Both to Russia and Austria that
rule is in many ways a source of embar-
rassment, owing to the passionate l0athing
it excited among their Slav subjects. Eng
land andFrance have, as regards the Eu-
ropean territories of the Sultan, openly pro.
nounced against it. Italy, though with
certain reserves about Albania in her own
interest, is prepared to accompany Eng
land and France, and it is not clear that
Germany will do more than stand aloof.
Prince Bismarck is believed to wish that
the Hapsburgs should advance southWards,
and shift the centre of gravity of the Aus
trian Empire to Pesth, but the Sultan's
authority does not greatly help towards
the realisation of that project. Rather it i'm
pedes it, because Turkey will resist Austria
as much as any other Power, and Turkish
resistance TO any plan always involves the
fate of territories larger han those in dis
pute. There will, therefore, we imagine, be
no great reluctance to award Greece all the
territory she claims as there is none to
press the Porte to fulfil it's engagements
towards both Montenegro and Armenia.
The Greek question comes first and if q
demi- official statement may be trusted,
the second Conference at Berlin on the
new boundaries to be assigned to Greece
will end in an award giving her all, or
nearly all, she claims, including Jannina,
which is, by the nature of its population
and the circumstance of its civilization, her
northern capital. This is evidently the
conviction of diplOmatistS, of the King OF
the Hellenes-whO is travelling from court
to court advocating his own cause, and
who produces an unexpectedly favourable
impression-and of the Turkish Govern
ment. The Governments are in fact
agreed before the Conference meets, and
will not separate except in presence of
some new occurrence, upon which it is use
less 10 speculate or reckon.
The award once passed, however, has to
be executed. and it is at this point. and
not during the discussion, that the strain
will commence. The Turks, though affect
ing a tone of Cancellation, say openly that
they will not accept the decision of Europe
as a mandate. They will not be represent
ed in conference, they do not regard 1.-the
Powers" as invested with II judicial
authority, and they will receive the award
as only another effort at mediation be-
tween themselves and Greece. In other
words, they will continue to occupy the
disputed territory, and will recOmmence
the negotiations, which have been hither-
to so sterile and weary. and which in their
hands may be and would be protracted for
generations. 1t is impossible for the Pow
erS to permit themselves to be made ridi-
culous in this manner, for if they do, some
future decree, intended to prevent immi-
nent war, will equally be disregarded. They
must make their decision executive, and it
is at this point that they appear to fall
back or to postpone decision. Tbe English
and French Governments have not as vet
announced any clear resolve, while the
organs of the German and Austrian
Governments keep repeating, with a
certain anxiety, that no provision
for the execution of the award will be
discussed in Conference. That body will de-
eide what territories are to be- handed over,
but will make no provision whatever for such
handing. That would not matter if Greece
were ready to execute the award for herself.
to occupy Jannina, and, as mandatory of Eu-
rope acting under a Treaty, to bid the Porte
defiance but, then, is she readyf That she
is willing, We may agree, but it is useless to
blink the fact that she is as yet a weak State
with no finance and a very small army that
che might not be able to defeat even the Turks
10 the open field, and that she certainly could
not defeat both Turks and Albanians without a
dangerous and probably protraoted border
war. She must. if she is to act effectively
receive aid from come quarter, and the sug-
gestIon is that she will not receive it from