Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1908-11-14


tai Of Tirnovo, and which may be COM
pletely rearranged by congress OF the
powers, was the result of the inter-
ference of those powers with the
terms of the Russo-Turkish agreement
signed at San Stefano March 3, 1878,
as the outcome of the Russo-Turldsh
war. On the invitation of Prince Bis
marck, Germany's Imperial Chancellor,
delegates to the interested powers met
in Berlin in the following June and
July, and considerably modified the
Russo Turkish agreement, as follows:
The independence of Roumania, Ser
via, and Montenegro was recognized,
while Eastern Roumelia received ad-
ministratiye autonomy and Christian
governor, but remained under the con-
troll OF Turkey. A gradual extension of
the Greek frontier also (thts was car
ried out in 1881 was promised the
Athenian government, and Bosnia and
Herzegovina were placed under the
practical administrative control OF
Austria-Hungary. Roumana returned
to Russia the Bessarabian territory
taken from her by the treaty of Paris
and received quid pro quo in the
shape of Dobrudia, and Turkey ceded
to Russia Ardahan, Kars and 'Batum.
Great 7ritain, whose interests were in
the hands of Lords Beaconsfleld and
Salisbury, managed to establish her.
self at Cyprus, thus assuming the vir-
tual control of the Levantine waters.
And finally the principality of Bulgaria
was created and constituted an auton-
omous and tributary state under the
suzerainty of the Sultan with a Chris
tian government and ndatnationalm militia.
Its ruler was to be elected by the pop
ulation and confirmed by the sultan
with the consent of the powers, but
the successful candidate for prince
could be no member of any reigning
houses identified with the great pow
ers, and he must reside permanently
in the principality.
The care that was taken by the Ber-
lin congress of 1878 to define the status
of the new principality showed that
the powers fully recognized the role
that Bulgaria was destined to play in
the future history VI the Balkans.
Dominated first by Austria and then
by Russia, the Bulgarian government
has constantly stretched the Berlin
mandate which gave the principality
Its existence until again and again an
open rupture with Turkey has seemed
inevitable. :
The princely title was made heredi-
tary with the form of address Royal
Highness" The first prince was Alex
ander of Battenburg, who ruled from
1879 until 1887. He is said to have
stimulated the overthrow of the gov
ernment of Eastern Roumelia in 1885,
which at once caused representatives
of the powers to reassemble in Con-
s;antinople, with the result that the
Porte retained only the two Mussul-
man districts of Kirjali and Rupchus,
while Bulgaria got the rest. Next,
Alexander made war on Servia, and
would undoubtedly have absorbed that
kingdom had he not been stopped by
Austria, which, by the treaty of Buch-
Arrest, re-established the status quo.
Next Russia took hand in the game
and the Cars secret agents foment-
ed a conspiracy. On the night of Aug.
81, 1886, Alexander was secretly lured
to Reni, in Russian territory, and
there made to abdicate. A revolution
headed by Stambuloff, then president
of the parliament, overthrew the pro-
visional government which obtained
while Russna was trying to gather
the powers together for new con-
gress, and Alexander returned, but
practically Russian vassal His iun-
fortunate pledges to Russia made him
useless to the revolutionary party, and
less than a month later, he formally
resigned the government into the
hands of a regency, presided over by
| Stambuloff.
Parliament on July 7, 1887, elected
Prince Ferdinand of Coburg, who ap-
pointed Stambuloff as his prime minis
ter. Under these two the country made
rapid progress, although conspiracies
inspired by Russian agents continued
to come to light, and in one of these
Stambuloff met his death. 1t was not
until twelve years ago that Russia de-
cided to recognize Ferdinand as the
reigning prince of Bulgaria, and on
Feb IA, 1896 his heir, Prince Boris,
was received into the Orthodox Greek
church. In 1898 Prince Ferdinand had
married Marie Louise, the eldest
daughter of Duke Robert of Parma.
She died in 1899, leaving besides Boris,
who was then five years old, three chill
dren-Cyril, born in 1895; Eudoxie,
born in 1898, and Nadeida. born one
day before her death.
Early in the present century Prince
Ferdinand, whose morner, by the way
was daughter of Louis Philippe, King
of the French, began campaign to
raise the political standard Of the Bal
kans by proposing a union of the
states whose independence had been
recognized or confirmed by the Berlin
congress. These plans failing, he
turned his attention to Macedonia
which on account OF It's heterogeneous
| population onered nne neld 1Or dls-
cord. His secret but naturally not pro
claimed idea was to free Macedonis
from the much-advertised Turkish
yoke, and in the chaos which would en-
sue make his own principality inde
pendent of Turkey.
With this aim in view Bulgarian
agents played off the Greek inhabitantl
in Macedonia against the Turks, anC
vice versa, the Turks against tn,
Jews, the Bulgars against the Greeks
etc. Every spring from 1901 to 1904
Bulgarian officers on leave of absenc'
entered Macedonia and there led ex
petitions against the Turkish author
tiles The situation thus became in
tolerable for Turkey. At length tn
Porte appealed TO the powers. Bul