The herald., 1897-03-24
BLOCKADE
OF CRETE
Bids Fair to Result in a
FiascO
CONCERT OF THE POWERS
WEAKENED BY WITHDRAWAL
OF PERFORMERS
CONCERT OF THE POWERS
Great Britain Won't Take the Lead
While France Declines to
Play at All
Associated Press Special Wire.

| Associated Press Special Wire.
LONDON, March 24-The Times cor
respondent at Paris calls attention this
| morning to the article in the French
constitution which debars the president
Of the French republic from declaring
war without the assent of parliament,
and says: Europe must be prepared
! for the withdrawal of France from the
European concert in the event that the
Cretan difficulty should require more
severe measures than the chamber of
| deputies will sanction"
ENGLAND BACKS OUT.
A dispatch to the Times from Vienna
| says that both Turkey and Greece have
promised the powers not to be the ag-
| gressors At Salonika-th the officials do not
conceal their belief in the probability of
war. They are enthusiastic, but not
| fanatical. The work of mobilization
proceeds rapidly and the railway SER
vice has been we'll organized. The
Times correspondent at Athens says a
telegram was received here last night
| (Tuesday) from Constantinople, assert
ing that the Turkish army has been
strictly enjoined not to cross the frontier
into Greek territory, even If attacked.
| A dispatch to the Chronicle says the
Turkish government, on hearing that
Greece was about to send a vessel laden
with ammunition to the islands of Nifty
lene and Scio, ordered the turkish ma
val commanders cruising in the archi-
pelago to prevent the landing of war;
like stores by every means in their pow
l Tx..-J t-l. IS
regarded as the key to Macedonia and
is being very strongly entrenched Sew
eral officers who served under Osman
Pasha at Plevna have been sent there
| to take command.
| The Daily Chronicles special cores
pondent says: The Greek government
has learned from its own official sources
that Great Britain refuses to take part
| in a blockade of Greece, though she has
no objection to such measures being TAX
en- by the other powers. The govern
ment also learns from similar sources
that admirals of the international fleets
in Cretan waters have informed their
respective governments that their posi-
tion is no longer tenable, and that they
must receive definite instructions or be
recalled.
The Daily Mail publishes a dispatch
| from Braila, Roumania, which says the
| Russian volunteer fleet has been ordered
! to concentrate itself in the ports of the
Black sea nearest Constantinople and
| to hold itself in readiness to sail. The
Russian army corps, which has been
stationed in Bassaria, is now moving to-
ward Odessa.
| A dispatch to the Chronicle from
Canea at midnight says the transport
ship Clyde, with the British contingent
of occupying troops, has arrived and will
land them today "wednesday. The proc
! lamation of the blockade consists Of
seven articles. The first provides that
no armed person and no person Of
Greek nationality. armed or unarmed.
shall be allowed to land without the au-
thority Of the senior naval officer on
| the station.
| The remaining articles of the block
! ade limit and state the conditions under
which vessels are to be searched. By
| the terms of the sixth article Greek
ships found without the blockade limits
| will be treated as hostile vessels. BY
| the seventh any Greek torpedo boats
observed within the limits Of the block
ade will be fired upon as soon as they
come within range of the International
| fleet.
The proclamation makes no allusion
| to the ports, but as two British ships
which have been loading at CaInea have
been forbidden to leave, the presump-
ton is that they are debarred by the
provisions Of the blockade. The ship
pers controlling the vessels have lodged
a formal protest against the prohibi-
ton as unjust and arbitrary.
The Daily Chronicle prints a rumor
that Lord Salisbury and the cabinet
discussed yesterday the sultan's ac-
ceptance of the proposition of the king
| of Greece to nominate Prince George
| as high commissioner of Crete. The
| Chronicle prints also another lobby
1 rumor to the effect that Great Britain
has declined to be party to the starv-
| ing of innocent Cretans in the interior
of the island, and a report that British
/ ships intend to rlzZ the blockade, con-
| tending that it is indefensible under in
| ternational law, inasmuch as neither
Turkey nor Greece has openly declared
war.
| The correspondent of the Chroicle at
| Athens says that on his return from
St. Petersburg on Monday, M. Onou. the
| Russian minister to Greece, had an au-
| dience with King George, to whom he
| presented an autograph letter from the
| d,n ura per cza riun The letter cordta
no political communication to the king.
| M. Onou then had an audience with
| Queen Olga, to whom he presented an
autograph ietter from the czar, con-
| tanning a draft OF $4,000 roubles for the
| Cretan refugees at Athens
| The correspondent remarks: Thus
! Russia's peculiar diplomacy offers :