Brighouse & Rastrick Gazette. — 1891-04-04 (Brighouse, West Yorkshire, England)

ASSASSINATION OF A BULGARIAN MINISTER.  At a quarter to 8 on Friday evening, while M. Stambuloff, the Premier, and M. Beltcheff, Minister of Finance, were entering their official residences at Sofia, which are contiguous, an unknown man stepped forward antl, presenting a revolver at M. Beltcheff, fired three shots point blank at him. The Minister fell to the ground a corpse. The report of the three successive shots immediately brought a number of passers-by to the spot, but in the darkness and confusion the assassin, who took to his heels immediately afte: effecting his heinous purpose, made good his escape. Whether he wa in any way recognised is not known; but some witnesses of the crime say that he was accompanied by three other men, who assisted him to escape. The unhappy victim of the crime was conveyed into his house, and medical aid was at once summoned, though there was only too good cause to fear that life was extinct. When the doctors arrived they declared that the Minister was no more, and that from the nature of the wounds he must have becq killed on the spot. The Standarti corespondent at Sofia has had an interview with M. Stambuloff, who gave an account • of the event which, though not different from the version that has been made public, possesses some features of special interest. He said that the assassins had profited by the absence of the usual guard in the neighbourhood of the Palace, which it at present undergoing repairs, and were consequently able to observe his movements in safety. He first caught sight of them at the gate of the gardens opposite the hotel. They at once went in at this entrance, and came out again at the Tower Gate just at the moment that he and M. Beltcheil were passing. The rest of the story may best be told in his own words: "I happened to step back and leave a gap between myself and my companion at the very moment when a pistol flashed in my face, and the ball, which otherwise would certainly have entered my body, hit M. Belteheff. The report and the flash so close to me, and in the darkness, scared me for the instant, and, shouting 'Run, Beltcheff !' I dashed off myself. But the first shot had partially stunned him, and, as he raised his arm, which had deflected the bullet, he received a second ball straight in the breast. I stopped at once, and returned with some policemen who came up, in the hope of assisting my friend. Of course I ought to have gone straight on, and raised a hue and cry. I cannot tell you how unutterably shocked lam at the whole affair. I assure you that no outside advice for pressure shall induce me to shew the slightest clemency, or dissaude me from exterminating all who are implicated In it. I have known of the existence of a plot of this kind for some time, and one of the men mixed up in it confessed to me not long ago that he had actually lain in wait for the Prince, but, at the last moment, had lost courage, and had not ventured to tre the fatal shot."  According to the Times Vienna correspondent, 18 persons have been arrested at Sofia, including M. Karaveloff, formerly Prime Minister to Prince Alexander, and subsequently Regent, and also a Greek from Stanimaka, who is strongly suspected of having been an accessory to the crime. The city has been encircled with a cordon of troops, and orders have been given that nobody is to leave without a police pass. At Sofia, however, it is:very difficult to guard all the exits, and it is believed that the principal murderer, and at least one of his accomplices, managed to get clear away immediately after the crime. Two horsemen rode furiously into Tzaribord on Saturday morning, changed horses there, and vanished in the direction of the Servian frontier. They had been gone more than two hours when the local authorities received news of what had happened at Sofia, along with instructions to arrest suspicious characters. As the moment has come for speaking the full truth about Bulgarian affairs, I feel bound to state, (adds the Times correspondent) that, according to official reports that have been received from Naples, the late Colonel Mutkuroff,Minister of War, and M. Stambuloff's brother-in-law, committed suicide. Those who are cognisant of the facts hint, whether rightly or not Ido not pretend to say, that this officer was also involved in a plot, which, unfortunately for was discovered.