The Times correspondent, telegraphing from Cettinje on Thursday, tells us
that King Nicholas of Montenegro that day summoned the representatives of England, France, Russia, Austria-Hungary, and Italy—the German Minister is absent— to the Palace and outlined a series of conditions under which he thought an arrangement between the Turks and Albanians might be concluded. The King's proposal, adds the Times correspondent, "presumably has not been made without con- sultation with the Porte." The King further urged the Powers to consider some means for reassuring the refugees now on Montenegrin soil, for without such reas- surances they would not consent to return. It is to be hoped that the King's message means that at the eleventh hour wiser counsels are prevailing in Constantinople. If not, and if the King proves mistaken, it is difficult to feel anything but the gravest anxiety as to what will happen. If the revolt were to spread, not only through those parts of Albania which are now comparatively quiet, but also to Macedonia and Epirus, the strain on Turkey's military resources would become so great that she would be obliged to use almost her entire military force. But if all the available troops of Turkey were thus engaged, the temptation to Bulgaria to seize occasion by the hand might become too great to be endured.
Previous page
