The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-03-09
CONCILIATORY IN IT'S TONE.
Ready to Withdraw the Fleet FROM Crete, But
Not the Army.
London Times Sees Nothing in the Answer to
Prevent the Powers From Apply
ing Coercion.

NEW YORK, March "a special to
| the Herald from Constantinople says:
| According to a telegraphic communi-
cation received here from Crete. a
rumor is circulating there that the
German ironclad Kaiserin Augusta,
after having fired a blank shot as a
signal to the Greek ironclad Hydra to
discontinue her course, received a fun
hroadside from the Hydra
ATHENS, March 9.-The reply of
| Greece to the powers was finally draft
ed this morning and was sent to the
foreign legations this afternoon. The
cabinet sat all night in council, the
ministers not returning to their homes
until after daybreak today. The reply,
after acknowledging the receipt Of the
identical notes of the powers and recog-
nizing the extreme gravity of possible
results bound up in the situation, pro
ceeds as follows:
The government of his majesty,
/ King George, having examined with the
| closest attention the points WhereOn
! the great powers are agreed believes
it a duty to submit to the powers its
own opinion of the measures proposed
| by them, an opinion which is the out
| come of long experience and profound
knowledge of the Cretan situation.
Moved, profoundly, by the senti-
ments animating the powers and their
| sclicitude for the general peace, the
! Greek government will not fail in It's
duty, because Greece alsa has an ar
/ dent desire to contribute to the main
tenance of peace and to preserve from
complete ruin islanders so long and
! sorely tried and so often decimated
We believe that the proposed autonomy
/ Will unfortunately fail to respond to
the nobler intentions which inspired it,
and will suffer the same fate as many
| previous unsuccessful experiments in
! Crete
The reply then refers to six previous
| instructions in Crete, and argues the
likelihood that the present proposals
of the powers will terminate in a state
Of revolution. 1t continues:
! Anarchy will ravage the contry; fire
and sword in the hands of blind fan
| atheism will decimate people who do
| not deserve such a fate. In the face
| Of such a prospect, our responsibility
| would be enormous if we failed earn
estly to urge the powers to restore
| to Crete what she has already had
! at the time of the enfranchisement Of
the other Greek provinces and to lead
| her back to Greece to whom she has
| properly belonged since Capo Istrias
was president.
In the presence of the recent scenes
! Of massacre and pillage, the burning
of Canea and the frightful anguish or
the CretanS, exposed to and menaced
by the bOundless fury of MussulmanS
| XIyh tI.Ny Hxyn- tnV~T1
morse for it's own responsibility. 1t as
sumed last year to persuade the Cret-
ans to lay down their arms, but the
misfortunes which followed forbid us
again to undertake such a task. Even
had we attempted it, our voice would
have been only a feeble echo and
would not have reached the Cretan
people.
LAS autonomy would not fulfill the
noble aim of the powers, it is ObVi-
Gus what must be the situation of the
! unhappy islanders from today until the
establishment of autonomy. If the
powers persevere in their decisions in
the face of the foregoing views, then
in the name of humanity as well as in
the interests of Crete, the pacifying Of
which is the unique object of the sole
itude of the powers, we do not hesi-
tate to appeal to them on the subject
Of another measure proposed by them
namely, the recall of our troops.
Indeed if the presence Of the for
eign squadrons and the conviction that
they prevent the landing of Turkish
troops are deemed to render unneces-
sary the presence of the Grrek fleet
in Cretan waters, the presence of the
Greek army in Crete is nevert heless
shown to be desirable alike from SEN
timents of humanity and in the in
terest Of definite restoration Of order
Duty fOrbids US to abandon the
Cretans to the mercy of Mussulman
fanaticiSm and to the Turkish army
l which always deliberately and inten-
tiOnally had shared in the aggressive
acts Of the pOpulace against the Chris
tians.
Moreover, if our own troops, which
are worthy the fullest confidence of
the powers, had received a mandate to
pacify the island, their desires ard in
tentions would have been promptly re-
ceiVed with the most perfect satisfac-
ton. Then, order being restored. it
would be possible to ascertain the free
ly expressed desires of the Cretans for
a decision as to their fate. The sOr-
rows which have regularly required in
Crete for many decades not only pro-
fCundly agitate the Hellenic people, but
interrupt also all social activity and
gravely disturb our domestic economy
and the finances. of the state. Even if
we admit the possibility of forgetting
for a single instant our community
with the Cretans in religion, race and
blood, we could not in silence allow the
great powers to assume that the Greek
state is able longer to resist sucn
shocks.
Therefore, we appeal to the generous
sentiments animating the powers and
we beg them to permit the Cretan peO-
pie themselves to declare how they de-
sire to be governed.
-"Sl1o11ses
On the text Of the reply becoming
generally known through the city. the
populace exhibited great excitement,
and on all sides there were heated dis
cussions of the consequences likely to
follow. The warship Hydra has al
ready been called from Cretan waters
leaving only two small Greek vessels
in that quarter This is regarded as
a virtual yielding to the powers so far
as the fleet is concerned.
It is said, however, that the powers
cannot now shut the door against fur
Their negotiations. The cabinet, it is
understood, was unanimous as to the
terms Of the reply, the text of which