Delaware gazette and state journal., 1896-01-23
corre.pondence London relegraph.

people, VINO ASK Ior nOInlDH Dettef tndn
to be left to themselves and their work.
They are infinitely more active and la
borious than the Servians, and consid-
srably more imaginative than the Bull
Rarians The poetry of heathendom still
hourishes in the soil of Macedonia un-
derneath Byzantine Christianity, like
primroses under the snow. Many Of their
customs and amusements, and even RS.
ligious ceremonials, are survivals from
the days when Peroon was the god of
thunder, and the woods, hills, streams,
and trees were alive with Villas and
graceful, pretty spirits, who we're con-
tinually helping or thwarting warriors,
princes and brave men.
The Macedonians are now among the
most distrustful, reserved people on the
face of the earth. This trait is shared
with them 10 some extent by all the
Christian subjects of the Commander
OF the Faithful In Europe and Asia,
but they take the palm. They shrink
from a traveller as the ancient Jews
used 10 fly from the leper. And this
is natural enough, all things considered.
For out OF ten foreigners who visit
Macedonia at least nine come thither
for political purposes, and the upshot
OF this, 80 far as the natives are con-
6idered, is imprisonment, Punishment
to the mines, or death in some mys-
terious form, to say nothing of the ruin
in which the whole family ia involved.
The people sadly want surcease of sor-
row in some form or other, reforms or
annexation to Bulgaria, but what they
do not want is any further aggravation
OF their misery. And this is the in
variable result of intercourse with
foreigners Hence | could not persuade
one out OF ten Macedonians to open his
mind 10 me, detail his grievances, or
admit that there was anything in his
daily life that was capable of being
bettered. Nay, they would scarcely
exchange a word on any-the most in.
different topics. You see, there are
epies as numerous as flies about, " one
man explained to me, land it is quite
enough if they report that such and
such traveller conversed with such
and such rayah. All the escorts given
to travellers are composed of spies,
who sometimes invent when they have
nothing to report, and the end Of the
song is ruin to the rayah. They are
tired of travellers, because they invari-
ably suffer from them, and all their
promises of improvement are lies. Bull
garians come here and agitate in favor
of annexation with Bulgaria; Serbs
come and purchase partisans for an
nexation to Servia; but the people
would be glad TO be annexed to Hades
itself if that caused any perceptible
change for the better. But it is all
froth and deception.
Under such circumstances a tourist
may travel through Macedonia and
never discover that anything is very
wrong there, unless he observes the
extreme poverty and detection of the
people and draws his own conclusions.
But why should the Bulgarians take
such an absorbing interest in Mace.
donian affairs? / asked. because, -
he replied, the Treaty of San Stefanc
gave Macedonia 10 Bulgaria; because
the Bulgarians consider the Slavs here
as their compatriots; and because ir
Sofia alone there are nearly $50. OOC
Macedonians who have brothers, sisters
parents or children IN Macedonia. >
well, can you tell me what the gricv
ances of the people really are; Are
they Of a religious nature?" "les ant
no. They are not religious in the sens,
that man is prosecuted until or un
less he abandons his church. There il
little of that here-at least directly
On the other hand, there ia genera
feeling among all Mohammedans tina
Christians are only tolerated, and tina
even this liberation should cease. An,
it is ceasing gradually; for now, whel
a man is murdered, no efforts whateve
are made to find out who killed him
when a mans property is taken fron
him, no machinery can be set in mo
tion to recover it; when man E daugh
ter is abducted he dare not complai
lest he be spirited away; when til
sharp point of every law is turne
against him, no organ in all the Stat
has any sense of duty towards him. [
word, if he asserts his right I
liberation, be is outside the law by tn
fact itself; and this is the case of nun
bers of Christians. :"
| fancied that this communicative
person a schoolmaster by profession
was given to exaggeration, and | dis
counted his narrative accordingly
But after some further investigation
found he was right ON the whole.
Macedonian Christian, unless he haI
pens to be under the wing of some con
sui, and often even though he il, ha
as few rights as a Spartan helot.
he refuse to pay the cXorbitant bribe
demanded by the tax collector he ma
be beaten to within an inch of his life
his wife and children insuted, and h
has no redress. He never owns th
land he tils and very seldom has an
rights OF property in the produce. A
10 IN, 10 L., "a Al
Moslem, and the Christian is no better
and generally much worse, off tina
were the Russian serfs previous
their emancipation.
There are, of course, Christian con
munities which have the usufruct ,
certain estates which they till in con
mon' but the soil is generally ver
poor; were it otherwise IL would /
taken from them by the Turks. The
are thousands Of ways Of eifccting Il
transfer without paying a para 10 ii
giaour, and they have been tried vii
success and impunity over and oy,
again. But even If the land wcrr aver
where fertile, oyerhnWug with mi
and honey, the rayah would have lift
reason to smack his lips, for the taxe
which are of infinite elasticity. w1u
absorb nearly everything he produce
and the officials and Arnauis woubI a,
propriate the rest, The fault is Meth
in the soil nor in the methods Of III
ing it, but 10 the systematic spolati,
of the Christians. which is the corne
stone of the Turkish administrative
on which everything elise hinges.
the Ottoman government introduc
the reforms it promised it would he i
directly encouraging an insurrectio
and directly impnycrishing liz staupc
est Moslem friends and supporters,
least one-half Of the real salaries of Il
civil servants and If the higher mi
tary dignitarios consist If money.
moneys worth, which has beou lIapal