Norwich bulletin., 1919-02-15
HELLENIC CHARACTER OF NORTHERN EPIRUs

In connection with the claims which Greece is making for northern Epirus before the peace conference it is in eerest to note that Epirus was a Turkish province or vilaget contain | ing about 500 square miles l,efore 1912. It extended from Valona on the Adri- atlc to AclerIda in Macedonia and the Gulf of Prerela. Known as the villa get of Jannina, the capital waS at Jannina.
 Since 1890 the Epirotes had begun to rise in order to overthrow the yoke of the Ottomans and the Albanians. Pourquelle, the French envoy to Ali Pasha, in 1908. who remained in Epi- rus ten years in his work "1.'Histoire de Greece gives a continuous narra- ton of the efforts of the Epirotes to liberate not only themselves, but the entire Greek nation.
 Tjavellas, Bozzaris, Tsaras Dracos, Perrhaebus. were among the most he | roic leaders Of the Greeks during the war for Greek independence, in 1S21- 1 1880.
 ] The women of Sauli. throwing them selves down the rock of Zalongon; the women of kiounghi, throwing them 1 selves into the river to be drowned; :;
 the monk Samuel blowing the monas- l tery and killing himself and bis brethren in order that they may not 1 become slaves to the Albanian beys are sufficient evidences Of LRAN nation
 al aspirations of the Northern Epi- rotes l In 1856. the Epirotes. very numerous
 in Athens, took a very prominent part
 in the expulsion of King Otto, who
 sympathizing with Austria d5d not al
 low the Greeks to aid RUssl2 and lib crate Epirus in exchange for that aid
 In 1878. Lord Salisbury recognized the claims Of Greece on Northern Epi
 rus at the congress of Der in.
 In 1885 MT. Gladstone sent com mittee to report on the national aspi
 rations of the Epirotes. Mr.. Caillard
 one of the committeeman in an arti
 cle to the Contemporary Review 0
 April, 1885, writes that hr +Ound Epi
 rus Greek in language. cdstoms. cul ture and aspirations: From far ant
 near the Epirotes cam1 to IS aslin!
 that they ma! be freed that they ma,
 be joined to their mothcrl"nd, Greece
 We are Creeks our names ar Greek, our schools and our churche
 are Greek. We are not Albanians Viva AIr. Gladstone. We hope every thing from him! was the universe 7 CrN Of the lnRdblIanlS.
 . In 1912-1913 the Epirotes receive
 the Greek soldiers with such sheer frenzy of gIadness as to maNe it be yond doubt that their aspiration , were union with Greece.
 The Dopu'ation of Euirts is near
 lv half a milton. It consist. of Greeks
 Albanians. Turks. and Jews. Tn . Creeks number nearly 27SQa1, the Al banians 145,000, the Turks 25.000 an the Jews about 10 900.
 These figures are taken from th Turkish census of 1908, p'evious
 the parliamentary election of tn l. young Turks. If the Turks have erre ? at all in tha above given proportion | they certainly cannot be said to hay
 favored the Greek element at the e2 pense of the Albanians. 1t is vel l certain that the young Turks Ia tried to lower as much as possible t - numbers of the Creeks in order tht D the parliamentary representation fro : Epirus may ne. as far as possibI e Moslem in tEc majority.
 ] If we sho2Id consider the distribl q tion of the two clements the Greet e and Albani2ns. we should find tn; |. beth elements are interndEeG- and tn e the Province of Epirus cannot be sa 0 to be inhabited to the nortf by Alb; o nianS aXd tp the south py Greek