The sun., 1897-06-13

mchbuTe IneIu "cikh uhto Ihoh' Nv
fraud. Let not these think they shall be raised
again at the Great Day, the day whereon man.
kind shall stand before the Lord Of all creatures.
BY no means"
Ono Of tho authors aims in giving q first
hand description Of tho condition OF Bosnia and
the Herzegovina under the Austrian occupa.
tion, of which little was known In England, was
to arouse feeling Of sympathy for the terrible
state Of Macedonia, the country which imme.
diatcly adjoined It. The truth cannot be too
often reaffirmed that, while Bosnia and the Herzc
govina are now law.abidlng, prosperous, and
comparatively free, their condition only eighteen
years ago was as pitiable as that Of Macedonia
Is now, and that tho barrier which then i'm
peded their delivcrance, as II impedes that OF
Macedonia oday, was the traditional alliance
OF England with Turkey. Mr.. Thomson is an
EnRishman. yet he does not hesitate 10 say
that England. more than any other Of the Euro
pcan powers, is responsible for the desolation and
misery of those portions Of the Balkan penin-
sula which have not yet shaken of the Turk
ish yoke As regards Armenia indeed, any
single-handed intervention on the part OF Eng
land Is regarded by the author as not only imro-
tic, but mpracticable. Meanwhile 1t is pro-
nounced OF little use. except for the purpose OF
urousing public opinion to hold excited meet
ings on behalf of the Armenans, until English
men have convinced the Continental powers
that they sincere in their professions of dis
ntcrcstedness, and are really not desirous Of
any further acquisitions OF territory. II is not
as II the Armenian massacres were the first that
had taken place, as If q feeling OF horror had
been now. for the first time, aroused in England
against the Turks. The massacre OF Scio in
1922 was more terrible and more uncalled
for than the cnormties committed in Bulgaria,
than the recent atrocities in Armenia. OF
100000 inhabitants, not 5000 were left alive
upon the island. Nevertheless. after this
sacre, unparalleled in modern history England
allied herself with Turkey in the Crimean war.
| To take more recent instance: The agitation
caused IN England by the Bulgarian horrors
| was in every way vehement and sincere
| is the present agitation. Yet, within very
short time, the rebound OF feeling was great
that the Cabinet OF Lord Beaconsfield fell strong
/ enough TO conclude defensive alliance with
| Turkey and to obtain possession Of Cyprus. 1t
| is true that at the present time there is in Eng
land an almost universal feeling Of revuision
| against the Turk. but Mr.. Thomson considers
| 1t quite probable that this revulsion. gen
uine as it undoubedly is, may be followed by
antRussian reaction, similar 10 that which fol-
| lowed the revulsion against the Turks caused by
| the massacres of Scio and Bulgaria. Such is
the opinion entertained on the Continent OF Eu-
rope and in the United States, and our author
| thinks that signs not wanting that in Eng
land an anti-Russian reaction is setting in.
| While, however, the author of this book rccos-
nizes that the hands Of his countrymen are tied.
| SO far as Armenia is concerned he insists that
/ when Macedonia shall take the place OF Ar
menia they will be in very different position.
| There will then be question of forcing the
| Dardanelles. for Macedonia lies to the westward
| Of them, and has extensive seaboard upon
| which British fleet can operate What hap
| pened the other day in Crete seems likely to
| happen in Macedonia at no distant date. The
Christian inhabitants will rise in discon-
nccted bands, which. no doubt can be easily
put down by the Turkish troops, but, II those
| troops should be guilty of the cruelties which
have invariably accompanied the suppression
OF revolts in Turkey. it seems impossible
that Russia could look supine!y on. With Ar
| menia the otherwise. Russia be-
ing indifferent to the Armenians. because
they are neither Slavs nor Orthodox Christians.
| In Macedonia on the other hand, almost the
whole of the population are Orthodox. and a
large proportion of them Slavs; there
fore. in Mr.. Thomsons opinion. 1t will be as
impossible to restrain the Russian people from,
sympathizng with the Macedonians and assist.
ing them 1t was in 1876 TO hold them back
from helping their kinsmen and coreligionists
in Bosnia, Servia, and Bulgaria We are re.
minded that, whatever may be the motives that
have influenced Russian statesmen. to the Rus
sian people the cause OF the oppressed Orthodox
Christian always has been, and always will be, a
holy cause. and a war undertaken on their be-
| half takes the aspect Of a veritable crusade
What actuates the Russian people in such a
conflict is not 50 much a wish for political ag
Rrandizement as genuine and natural desire
to improve the condition of peoples allied tc
themselves by blood and by tho still more
sacred tie OF common religion. r. sayi
fact that the same language, the old Slavonic, Il
used. both by the Russians and by the bulk o
the Balkan Christians in the services of tn,
Orthodox Church. 30 that Serb or Bulgar cal
} worship in Russia. or Russian in Serbia, o
} Bulgaria, or Macedonia, and feel as though h
were in his own country it will be clear to us moi
only that the Car Alexander III. was perfectl
sincere in his statement that he undertook tn
r war in order that the condition Of the Christian
. should DO bettered but that each succeeding
Q Car and all Russia with him. must be moves
: by tho same wish" What influences the Rus
SLAMS is. in truth, higher feeling than that de
-, sire for mere political advantage which In
3 fuences the other Christian peoples OF Europe
and. for that reason. II is inevitable that fror
: their hands the downtrodden races O. south
o eastern Europe and Asia Minor should look 70
!, their revenge.
y Is there any ground for tho hope that tn