The Savannah morning news., 1901-11-01
70 COERCE TURKEY
rpoKTED PURPOSE OF FRENCH
SQUADRON CONFIRMED.
FRANCE is TIRED OF DELAY.
,r,,r FORCE SULTAN TO A SETTLE
MENT.

81, souadron, Under Admiral Call
lard. Now En- Route to the Levant,
,vuI Wake a DemonstratioA-W
s,, First ut a Greek Port and
it Turkey Does Not Come to
Terms. VIII Proceed to Seize the
cn.tom Houses at One of Her
ports, Probably Smyrnn-Turkey
uas Three Days of Grace, Says
french Official.
paris Oct S1-The officials of the
rrsnch foreign Office confirm the re-
o,. that a division of the French
v.di+erranean fleet, composed of three
nottleships and two cruisers, under the
oor,n7and of Admiral Caillard has pro-
o.eded from Toulon to the Levant. to
rn.te naval demonstration against
Turkey.
foreign Office official, in commune
eating the foregoing to the correspond
emf here of the Associated Press. said:
1.-THE SQUADRON sailed with sealed or
ders. and proceeds first to a Greek
mort. the Island of SYRIA, l think, where
tbe Admiral will receive definite in
structions as to carrying out his seal
ed orders 1 am not at liberty to say
what the sealed orders are, but the
seizure of the customs at Smyrna
would probably be very effective way
of convincing the Sultan that Frances
patience is exhausted and that We
have decided to enforce an immediate
execution of the Turkish governments S
engagements. We, however, are very
hopeful that the Sultan will not COM
pei US to go to that extreme.
Three Days of Grace for sultan.
Our squadron will not reach the
Greek port before Sunday. The Turk
ish government has thus still three
days grace and we trust, in the mean
time, to receive complete satisfaction.
We have acted very considerably to-
ward Turkey, hoping, up to the last
moment, that she would carry out her
engagements, and it is only now when
we find that there is no serious condi-
ton of her doing so that we have re-
luctantly resolved to put stronger
pressure to bear in the shape of a
: naval demonstration. It is now two
months since the French ambassador,
Nj Constans, left Constantinople. His
departure failed to produce the desired
effect. On the contrary, even quays
and Tubini questions, which were set
tied by the Sultan's trades, remain
unsatisfied
10 Uphold French Dignity.
The internal situation in the Turk
ish Empire deferred US for some time
from taking drastic measures to en-
force our demands. But the dignity
of France could not permit the pres
ent state of affairs to be prolonged
indefinitely We sincerely hope the
Sultan will fully appreciate the fact
hat We cannot any longer be tri1ed
with, and relieve us of taking further
sters to safeguard our interests"
The official was asked what would
happen in the event of the French
squadron being ordered to seize the
customs and If the Turkish authori-
Ties resisted, and he replied:
That is a very unlikely contingent
cy but if it occurs l suppose we shall
nave to lombard the port. We do not
want bloodshed, and / do not believe
there will be any occasion for it,
The Squadron Called Back.
Late tonight the following dispatch
was received from Toulon:
The complete Mediterranean squad
ron returned to Toulon this evening
and anchored in the roadstead."
This would include Admiral Caillard' S
oNlslon, whose departure has thus been
either countermanded or postponed. If
Inc dispatch be correct, it would imply
mat the government has received news
from Constantinople since morning
which has not yet been divulged and
which has induced a change of plan.
1t was reported that Admiral Call
lard had been ordered to cruise within
reach of a dispatch boat to-day for
possible further instructions, and 1t is
significant that the torpedo boat de-
stroyer Hallebardo left Toulon at full
speed during the afternoon to rejoin
the squadron.