War, legitimate war, approaches in the Near East. The horrible
outrages in Monastir, and the districts round Adrianople, have broken down the long-enduring patience of Bulgaria, and the people threaten, if their kinsfolk are not assisted, to overturn the Government. The Ministry, there- fore,. with General Petroff at its head, have informed the Great Powers by circular that, as Turkey is " systematically devastating Macedonia, and massacring the whole popula- tion," and also mobilising her army with a view to concentra- tion on the Bulgarian frontier the Principality might be compelled, unless the Powers intervened, to prepare " for all eventualities." With that object, the Bulgarian Govern- ment have called out their first Reserves of twenty-five thousand men. It is not probable, unless urged by Great Britain and France, that the Powers will intervene ; but Russia is mobilising eighty thousand men in her Southern provinces, and Austria is preparing a fleet, nominally for manoeuvres, really for Salonica. The Turks, on their side, are drawing all their Regulars towards Adrianople. 'Unless, therefore, the unexpected occurs, that is, unless the British Cabinet suddenly becomes vigorous, the war to prevent which the Concert of Europe has given up Macedonia to devastation will break out, with results it is impossible to predict. Bulgaria will not be crushed as easily as Greece. Sofia, we may add, was profoundly agitated on Thursday by an only too credible report that the whole Christian popu- lation of Kastoria had been put to the sword.
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