The morning times., 1897-02-22
THE WAR I'm THE EAST.
Its Causes and Pass bilities and What 1t
all About.


plcations Involved, and to be sure that it
viii! not have taken on some entirely new
aspect before the written manuscript can
be put in type, and through the press. The
great, vexng historical Eastern ques-
ton, of which the Cretan troubles form
part, as the political and social relations
Of that island have for generations, is so
mixed up with national and dynastic, re-
ligious, military, financial, and commercial
questions, in all of which the several
powers of Europe have important and ex-
tremely varied and divergent interests,
thatit t becomes almost incomprehensible in
detail to the ordinary reader, without a
long course OF special study of the sub
ject, and an arduous excursion through
many authorities. In this respect it much
resembles the Schleswig Holstein ques-
ton, regarding which PRINCE Won Bismarck
once remarked that only two people in
Europe understood it, himself and another
man. He added that the other man was
dead, and he had forgotten all about it.
In a general way the Eastern question
has been present in Europe ever since the
Asiatic hordes under the sultan Moham-
med ii crossed the Bosphorus and captured
Constantinople, in 1853. But, in the
modern sense, it has arisen more particu-
larry from the antagonistic ambitions and
interests OF Russia and England. The
first named, a vast and productive country
ire
is commercially hemmed in by the ice of
almost Arctic winters on the north and
west, while its southern regions, and its
coast on the Black Sea, are handicapped
by the domination of Turky, traditionally
and bitterly hostile power, over the Bos
phorus and Sea of Marmora, its only out
let to the Mediterranean. In addition
TO this potent reason for wishing to dis
possess the Turk, and TO itself control
the only avenue through which its southern
commerce and naval power can reach
the Western world there is the national
religious sentiment among the Russian
people of all classes from the White
CZar" to the humblest moujik, which
amounts to a fanatical zeal for the re-
demption Of Constantnople, the ancient
capital of the Greek Church, as it was
of the Greek Empire, from the hands of
the unbelieving moslem. Thus persistently,
relentlesSly and increasingly, from the
time OF Peter the Great to this present,
Russia has schcmed, intrigued, diploma
| tiZed, and fought at every opportunity
to take the city and to drive the Turk
out OF Europe. u,
There can be 40 doubt tnat entire sue
| cess could have crowned this afnbi-
| ton long ago. bat for the intense opposi-
| ton OF Great Britain. 1t has always been
| the interest and policy Of that power to
| keep Russia bottled up / n the East; To pre-
vent the certain naval and commercial
| rivalry which would follow upon her
! possession Of gteFrtOry practically On the
Mediterranean, and To this DAY Great Brit
| ain has >Jcceeded. by appearing always as
! the friend and protector Of Turkey. by
| Managing to maintain an European concert
| OH the question Of keeping the Bospnorus
| and the DardaueIlcs closed To war vessels.
| and by playing on the fears. animoSitieS,
| jealousies and special interests of the other
| continental dynasties and cabinets, none
| of which have been at any time to- willing
| to swell the Importance ana power OF the
| Colossus of the North. This is the situation
| at large today, as it has been for two
| centuries at least; but it is one not likely
| to last forever. and, indeed, ii Came very
| nearly To an end in connection with the
| Turko- Russian war Of SIT. of which the
| current difficulties in and concerning Crete
| are an aftermath.
The pruXmate causes Of that war are
| to be found in the outbreaks in the Turk
| h-Danubian prinCipalities in $40 ana
1877. AT the beginning OF those disturb
| ances Turkey held in vassalage, more or
| less complete. all that count ry lying to the
| southwest OF Russia and east and south
east of Hungary, to the northern boundary
| of Turkey in Europe proper. This terri
| tory compri sed all those states and
| provinces then or now known 5 ROumania,
| Servfa, Montenegro, Bulgaria. Roumelia,
| Herzegovina, Bosnia and Albania. For
| several years revolutionary agitation had
| been working in some of these territories,
ana there are not wanting reasonsto think
| that they were promoted by Russian in
fluence. Be that as it may, in SIC an in
| surrection broke out prematurely in Bul-
garia, inhabited mostly by warltke
| population of Greek Christian mountain
eers who had been for ages suffering under
| the inhuman Gespotism of Turkish gov
| ernors and officials. This revolt was
| suppressed with such bloodShed and dhorrible
! atrocities that civilization stood aghast.
| 1t was believed that only Mohammedan
| fiendiShneSs could conceive and execute
| such inconceivable outrages and tortures
| as We're inflicted upon the Bulgarian men,
women and children, until recently Gen.
| Don Valeriano Weyler has taught us that
| Spanish troops under such a leader are
equally capable Of them
| Then the states of Servia and Roumania
| flew to arms, declared independence and
went TO war, in which (lS77) they were
quickly joined by Russia. The struggle
was sharp, bloody and decisive. At the
end Of the campaign, which it is need
| less to review here, Russia camped within
| sight of Constantinople and dictated the
terms of the treaty of San Stefano The
| Russian army would have marched into
and occupied ConStantinople but for the
presence in the Sea of MarInora of an
| immense British fleet. The San Stefano
treaty was revised by the powers of
Europe at the Congress of Berlin in SIS,
and the political situation of the Dan
ubian principaiities was much changed.
Servia and Rournania became indepen-
dent states, while Bulgaria became an
autonomous principality, though still nom
inally tributary to Turkey. Other read
iustments We're effected, unconnected
with the present purpose.
| In all this movement of the Greek
faith upon the stronghold of the sultan