The Hawaiian gazette., 1903-04-07
TROUBLE IN THE BALKANS.

1t is not made quite as clear as cole
be wished by the cable whether h,
Moslems of Albania are preparing fol
| an uprising against the Turks, bu, 1
} they are, and II the Sultan cannot qiel
them. and armed intervention on h,
results, then 1t may be said with reis
enable certainty that the end of HI
Turkish power in Europe Is at hand
For the Albanians known in old tines
as the Arnauts, and in still older tines
as the people of that great general
Pyrrhus king of Epirus, have never
been much more than nominal subjects
of the Porte.
Scanderbe3 held their independence
from the rule of the Sultaps as a
Christian. and Ali Pasha did Me same
the Albanians has always been more
of a political question than a ma ter
of faith. 1t frequently happens that
the women of an Albanian family are
Christians, and the men followers of
the Prophet. With a people like that,
religion sets but lightly-and a war With
the Turk would not be in any sense a
religious war unless the political ne.es-
stiles of the Albanians should give the
political color-and then they wtuld
color it according to circumstances
Tho Of
ina, an allied race, have the SINE
characteristics and regulate their ton-
duct in the same way. 1t will be re-
membered that at the close Of the
Russo-Turkish war, Austria was gwen
these two Danublan provinces, ION
condition of their pacification," but
really to secure the assent of the Aus
trian Emperor to the Berlin treaty
against the San Stefano convention,
which the pro-Russian sentiments Of
Franz Joseph led him to favor
Bosnia and Herzegovina were paci-
fed, at an enormous cost of blood and
treasure, but the pacifcation left
wounds that the Bosnians would Ike
to open again-and a religious hatred
that was intense because of the /poit- |
ical aspects of it. The Bosnians ire
the better Mohammedans because their
new masters are Christians, and not
because they pray to Mecca. They
pray with arms in their hands, and
they turn in their praying southwark I
to the house Of their Albanian brethren
because they see in the south the ris
ing of a war cloud that may hold in
its dark folds their chance of VEN
geance.
Naturally, Austria, but a congeries
Of unevenly yoked states in a condition
Of chronic hostility, one with the other,
Is uneasy at this indication of revolt
in it's southern provinces. Naturally
England holds up the hands of Austria.
She has always done that. And of
course no action can be taken in the
Balkan peninsula, by any nation, with
out the assent of Russia. For the
Car is the heir of the Turk by self
election. r-.... r....
When the troops of these three pow
,rs enter upon Turkish soil. that is the
md. Just what share of the patrimony
he Gar will allot to his new partners
n the division is not clear, in the light
II this newest alignment. Russia al
'eady owns Roumania and Bulgaria,
II effect, and must have Constanti-
lople, whatever tides. Austria owns .
Bosnia and Herzegovina with sort of
aversion to Servia, and Albania will
It better with her domain than with
hat of the Gear, although there Is
Montenegro to be reckoned with. Mon
enegro adjoins Albania, too, and 9
Montenegro loves Russia and hates q
AUSTRIA. Nobody knows what Eng /
'nd's share is to be, and perhaps no G
ody in Europe cares England is n
actor, now, more on the commercial
nan the political side. a
Also, there Is the Turk. 1t is true, I
nat with Albania and Macedonia gone, /
here will be little left of European q
turkey, but there are the drilled hordes,
Asia, and the Turk is q fighter.
herever he halls from. In fact, when n
comes to the death throes, the Turk h
romises to be about as difficult for his +
ayers to handle as dying whale.
here will be profit in his cutting up,
ut it will be advisable to do the first
ltting from a safe distance. =
-$- :,