The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1882-02-25
The Dalmatian Insurrection.

The outbreak against the Austrians on the
eastern shore of the Adriatic is not confined,
as generally supposed, to those provinces
that came under Austrian care by the terms
of the treaty of Berlin. The insurrection
did not begin in the Herzegovina, but in a
land that has been under Austrian sway
since the conference of Paris in 1914. Dali
malta. formerly divided between the Repub-
lies of Venice and Ragusa, was after the
fall of the Doges, given to Austria by Napo-
leon, and taken back and incorporated into
the French Empire in 1906. After the down.
fall of Napoleon it was restored to Austria,
on the condition that its ancient rights and
privileges should be respected. These rights
the Dalmatians had enjoyed without inter-
ruption since the incorporation of their prov
ince into the States of the Venetian Repub-
lie, an event which took place in the year
1920. Having been recognized by Austria
at the time of their transfer to her rule they
not unnaturally deemed them inalienable,
and, as matter of fact, we're left undis-
turbed 10 their exercise throughout period
of seventy years, more than once, however,
taking up arms of their own free will and
accord for the defense of the Empire. The
Austrian Government, however, while reor-
ganizing its army system in 1866, resolved to
bring Dalmatia into the fold of the imperial
conscription, relaxing the general regula-
tions in its favor only to the extent of per-
mitting the Dalmatian conscripts to join the
Landwehr, or militia, instead of the line.
To this end the Eighty-frst ''Upper Dalma-
tian Landwehr Sharpshooter Battalion to
be recruited from the Ragusa and Cattaro
districts, was called into existence, and it
was the effort made during the ensuing
year to coerce the Dalmatian mountaineers
into joining this corps that reused the Boo
chest to open revolt. Down to the present
day, it may be parenthetically remarked, the
Austrian military authorities in Dalmatia
have been unable to complete this battalion,
failing the contingent of recruits that should
be annually supplied to it from the Krivos-
clan territory, in which are comprised the
Bocco di Cattaro. Early in the Autumn of
1869, the Austrian authorities established in
those outlying regions addressed themselves
energetically to the task of enforcing the
mitigated conscription above alluded to; but
the denizens of the highlands adjoining
Czernagora, no less unwilling to serve in the
militia than in the line, took up arms to
man, and, withdrawing to their mountain
Businesses, bid the imperial troops defiance.
The campaign, undertaken with view to
achieving their final subjugation by main
force, lasted three months and resulted in
the utter discontinue of their assailants.
When it became evident that they were in
position to protract their resistance indefn-
itely, and that the Austrian regulars had no
chance with them in mountain warfare,
Gen. Bodich, for many years the Governor
of Dalmatia, was authorized from Vienna to
enter into negotiations with them.
BY the treaty of Keziac, signed in 1870,
the exemption privileges of the Dalmatians
were confirmed to them. But last October
the Austrians decided to repeat the expert
ment of 1869 and to extend it to the people
placed under their guardianship by the
treaty of Berlin. The old subjects of the
Empire rose in revolt, and were soon fol-
lowed by the Herzegovians who, deeply
averse to military service under Power
having, from their point of view, no legal
claim to their allegiance, unquestionably de-
rived encouragement in their resolve to with
stand CONSUMPTION from the audacious ris-
ing of their Austrian neighbors against
similar requisition.
The insurgents are not numerous, but are
well-fortified in country possessing great
advantages for defense, and have so far sue
ceeded in resisting the large power of Aus
tria. If, as is surmised, they are secretly
aided by Russia, they will prove foes difficult
to overcome.