MACEDONIA

Lake of Ochrida: Macedonia.

Lake of Presba: Macedonia.

CHAPTER IPLAIN TRUTHS ABOUT MACEDONIA

War imminent between Bulgaria and Turkey—My secret inquiries—Atrocities by the Greek bands—Chats with the leaders of the insurrection—The truth about the intrigues in Macedonia—I visit the scene of the massacres—Stories told to me—Horrifying facts—Germany behind the assassins—A disgraceful truth.

This present record of my observations in the Near East would be incomplete without some description of my journey through Macedonia, and what I saw there.

The Macedonian question is the burning question of to-day, and one that can only be solved in one way—by a fierce and bloody war.

As I have already shown, there is every indication that hostilities between Bulgaria and Turkey must occur in the present year. Indeed, the thread is now strained to breaking point, and one need never be surprised to learn at the breakfast-table one morning that Bulgaria has boldly thrown down the gauntlet to the Sultan. Then, aided by Roumania—who will be induced to give her support in return for that additional strip of territory between the Danube and the Black Sea, as I have already indicated in a previous chapter—a fierce and bitter struggle will commence. With Bulgaria, the Northern Albanians will ally themselves according to the words of the various chiefs of whom I made inquiry; Montenegro, and of course Servia, will hold their own against the Turk, and the result must be that the whole of the Balkans will be aflame.

This forecast is no imaginary one. It is based upon information imparted to me in confidence by Cabinet Ministersthemselves—information which is in part in the possession of the Foreign Office at this moment. Secret preparations are in active progress both in Roumania and Bulgaria, while Servia has ordered her new artillery to be delivered at the end of this present spring. There is a tacit agreement between the Balkan States that affairs in Macedonia are intolerable, and that the decimated population must now be protected. And in summary of the various conversations I had with the monarchs and their Ministers in each of the Balkan capitals, I can only say that the view is unanimous.

In Servia, in Bulgaria, in Montenegro, in Albania, in Roumania, and in Macedonia itself I made every inquiry from reliable sources. From secret information, I was able to gather that there is but one solution of the question—War.

At present the Bulgarian bands formed to protect the Macedonians are passive. The organisation is still there, and will be of greatest use when hostilities are declared; but there is no activity, and there has, indeed, been little since the recent abortive insurrection.

Greek bands, aided and abetted by the Turks, are, however, everywhere, and each day the most awful atrocities are committed by them. Reports of these are received in Sofia and in Constantinople, but no representation is made by either of the Powers to the Sublime Porte or to Athens. “Macedonia!” exclaimed a well-known foreign Ambassador one day, while I was sitting at lunch with him at his Embassy, “Macedonia! We’re sick of Macedonia, and have ceased to trouble about it!”

Ceased to trouble indeed! Here a great and intelligent Christian population is being slaughtered in order to further the ambitious aims of Germany, and no one stirs a finger! Europe raised its eyes heavenward when it heard of the Congo atrocities, yet of poor Macedonia the Powers are “sick,” and she is cast helpless to the assassin’s knife!

Before going to Macedonia I sought and obtained the opinions of the leading authorities in the East, as well as those of the rulers and Ministers. Much told me by the various monarchs was, of course, in entire confidence, therefore I can only speak generally in declaring their opinion to be in favourof securing for Macedonia autonomy under a European prince as Governor-General.

In more than one high quarter Prince Danilo of Montenegro was mentioned as possible for the post, and in another the name of Prince Mirko of Montenegro was put forward. A German prince or an Austrian archduke would be impossible, but an English prince would be welcomed, and the name of Prince Arthur of Connaught was spoken of by more than one Balkan Cabinet Minister.

In Servia I had several highly interesting chats with Professor Civics of Belgrade University, who is a well-known authority on Macedonia, and who has recently published a book attempting to prove that the bulk of the Macedonian population is not Bulgar, but Serb. Many of his arguments I found, on exhaustive inquiry, to be well based, yet my own conclusion is that, after all, the great majority of the Macedonian population is really Bulgar.

This fact is admitted all through the Balkans, therefore the situation in Macedonia must of necessity affect Bulgaria more closely than any other nation.

The question of Macedonia is a most difficult and complicated one, but I spared no effort in order to thoroughly master it in all its various phases, and to get at the truth of the present and the probabilities of the near future.

In Sofia I had a long talk with Professor Agoura of Sofia University, who is one of the best-known authorities upon the Macedonian question. He has been in Macedonia many times, and, like myself, has had an opportunity of speaking with the people and hearing their grievances.

“In England the Macedonian question is entirely misunderstood,” he said. “Some writers have taken Professor Civics’ views, and endeavoured to prove that the Macedonians are really Slavs. But they are not. Their whole history shows that they are Bulgars.”

“And the present state of the country?” I asked.

“Never in the modern history of Macedonia has it been in such a bad state as at present. The Christian Bulgars are outraged, tortured, and shot, and their villages burntby the Greek bands, who are now under the protection of the Turks, and not a voice is raised at Constantinople in complaint. It is simply astounding that such a state of things should be allowed to exist in this twentieth century. Over one thousand Christian Bulgars were killed in the raids last year, and this year the number is known to be more than double. Bulgaria is, however, at this moment staying her hand. Weakened as the Macedonians are, and with Turkey protecting the Greek bands, our Bulgarian bands for the protection of the villages have but little chance. Of late, it has been the unfortunate Bulgar who has lost always. The Bulgar bands, it was found, compromised the villages, and at the same time were not strong enough to protect them. Therefore those still in Macedonia live in the mountains and come down when required. Ah!” he added, throwing up his hands, “the state of affairs is terrible! Only recently during a village wedding at Zagoutcheni the place was attacked by a Greek band and seventy men, women, and children killed.”

“And in your opinion what would be the best settlement of the question?” I inquired; for he was one of the greatest authorities in Europe upon the much-vexed problem.

“The best settlement of Macedonia would be an autonomy, but a restrained one—one that would not separate Macedonia from Turkey,” he replied. “Macedonia should be placed under a European Governor-General—certainly not German—preferably a Swiss. The police and the central administration should be vested in the Governor-General, and all other questions left to Turkey. Religion should, of course, be free. Bulgaria has no desire to annex Macedonia, as the Powers seem to think. I do not think that the question can be settled in any other way. A European conference should be convoked, and the matter dealt with at once. When you go to Macedonia, you will see for yourself the state of things. But remember, the Turks will let you see nothing if they can help it. You are going to Monastir. Good. Travel across to Ochrida, and you will see and hear things that will appal you.

Macedonian Christian abducted by the Turks from Klene, a village near Debr, and rescued by a Bulgarian band.General Tzontcheff,The Bulgarian leader in Macedonia.

Macedonian Christian abducted by the Turks from Klene, a village near Debr, and rescued by a Bulgarian band.

General Tzontcheff,The Bulgarian leader in Macedonia.

“Recently there have been, to my knowledge, eightChristian villages entirely destroyed by Greek bands—the inhabitants exterminated, and the houses burned to the ground. During the past two years there has never passed one single day without murders and outrages committed by Greek bands upon the Bulgar inhabitants of Macedonia. Unfortunately, the Turkish army arrives always too late to protect the population; but this is, of course, arranged: Indeed, it seems as though the Turks protect these Greek bands and assist them in their nefarious work. From Ochrida right down to Salonica these murders are of daily occurrence, always by the Greek bands. These bands operate in the arrondissements of Seres, Drama, Demir-Hissar, Kavala; in the Salonicavilayetat Enije-Vardar, Vodena, and Guevgueli; in Lerin, Florina, Castoria, Presba, and Murievo, and around Monastir. The Servian bands operate at Cumanovo, Palanca, Veles, Kitschevo, and Poretschi; while Turkish bands are just now massacring at Tikveschi, Schlip, Veles, Kotschani, Strousaitza, Razlog, Melnik, and Nevrokop. So it will be seen that where there are no Greek bands, there are either Turks or Servians.”

In Sofia I also met the renowned leader of the premature insurrection in Macedonia, General Ivan Tzontcheff, a short, smart, dapper little man, quick of movement and alert of manner. With him I likewise had a very interesting chat. As one who has the Macedonian cause at heart, as head of the Macedonian External Committee, and being in daily touch with events in that terrified country, he and his friend, Monsieur Gologanoff, were able to give me many details and explain much that is unknown to the English public.

I also met several times, and had long conversations with, Dr. Tartarcheff, who was president of the Macedonian Revolutionary Committee in Bulgaria, and who, after the insurrection, was taken prisoner by the Turks. Both men gave me much authentic information and introductions that were of great use to me in my journey through Macedonia.

The truth is that the Macedonian question is the direct result of the Treaty of Berlin, for by it the Treaty of St. Stefano—which incorporated Macedonia in the Bulgarian Principality—wasannulled. The Treaty of Berlin thus left Macedonia under the Turkish dominion, with a provision of a kind of autonomy under the control of the Great Powers.

This autonomy was worked up in detail by an International Commission in Constantinople in 1880. But it was not applied, and the situation in Macedonia remained the same as it was before the Russo-Turkish War, and became even worse, on account of the Turkish fanaticism aroused against the Bulgarians as the cause of their military disasters.

The Turkish persecutions and the new situation in Bulgaria attracted the greater portion of the Macedonian intelligent population into that Principality. A strong Macedonian emigration was therefore started to Bulgaria, which in late years has arisen to the number of more than 150,000.

Macedonia, thus drained of its intelligence, devoted its energies from 1880 to 1890 to a strong educational movement, which was favoured in a great measure by the political circumstances arisen after the union of Eastern Roumelia to the Bulgarian Principality in 1885. Towards the end of this period, 1880 to 1890, there had sprung up in Macedonia a young, vigorous intelligence, with a strong national conscience, longing for greater freedom in the national and economical development of the country, and aspiring for a wider field of activity. The Turks, afraid of the Bulgarian progress, began to restrain the activity of the Macedonians. The growing tyrannical régime of the Sultan Hamid made the situation still more difficult, and life became impossible in the country.

The Macedonians then sought their salvation in revolution.

This revolutionary movement had for its object the autonomy of Macedonia, which is declared by all I met in the Balkans to be the only solution of the question.

Several important reasons are given for this. First, it is argued that autonomy was secured by International Acts:—the Treaty of Berlin, and the International Commission in Constantinople, 1880. Secondly, it did not touch in any way the integrity of the Turkish Empire, a dogma in the policy of the European Powers. Thirdly, it did not in any wayimpair the suzerainty of the Sultan, who still remained the sovereign of the province, and who had himself accepted and signed the International Act. Fourthly, it gave full scope to the free development of all the inhabitants in the country, independently of religion or race. Fifthly, the autonomy not only did not affect the interests of any Balkan State, but was bringing a soothing element into the relations between the Balkan nations.

To-day the animosities between the Balkan nations have their common cause in Macedonia. She is the apple of discord. Every Balkan State is contemplating the conquest of this rich province and the playing of principal rôle in the destinies of the Peninsula. All have instituted church and school propagandas in the country, where they wage a furious war between themselves upon the shoulders of the native population. This war is made more cruel by the policy of Turkey, Germany, and Greece. So that in this way the Macedonian population is demoralised, and the Balkan nations themselves are exhausting their energy.

The autonomy, if secured, would exercise a benign influence towards an understanding between the Balkan nations. By the establishment of such an administration in Macedonia, under the guidance and the control of Europe, the Macedonians would take their destiny in their own hands. The different propagandas would not have such a propitious field for action, and the animosities would gradually subside. That this is the best solution of the Macedonian question is held by statesmen all through the Peninsula, for by the progress of time and the development of events the erection of Macedonia into a separate state must become dominant as the final solution.

The way for a Balkan Federation would then be cleared. Macedonia by itself would become a kind of Switzerland, and the nucleus towards the creation of a still more powerful Switzerland in the Balkan Federation, which, neutralised, would create in the Balkan Peninsula a field for progress and civilisation, but not a bridge for the conquering ambitions from the North.

With such broad ideas and with such hopes, the Macedonianswrote upon their revolutionary banner the watchwords, “Macedonia for the Macedonians.”

The revolutionary movement in Macedonia—which dates from the year 1893—began to develop into a strong organisation from 1896-97. The whole country, by patient work, was gradually covered with a network of secret societies, at the head of which was a Central Revolutionary Committee, which, in fact, had a greater power in the country than the official Turkish authorities.

This revolutionary organisation had an international character. In it were received all the Macedonians thirsting for liberty. In its ranks were not only Bulgarians, but also Vlachs, Montenegrins, Servians, and even Turks, discontented with the Sultan’s régime. But on the whole, the organisation bore a Bulgarian colour, chiefly on account of the great Bulgarian majority in Macedonia, and also on account of the suspicion that the organisation intended prosecuting Bulgarian ambitions.

For the reason that Macedonia had a population mostly of Bulgarian nationality, and through the agitation of Macedonian Emigration, the revolutionary movement found a favourable ground in Bulgaria. Here it was met with sympathy, which was followed by moral and material support. An organisation was instituted in the Principality, which spread its influence very rapidly through the whole country. This organisation was called the External Organisation, while that in Macedonia bore the name of the Internal Revolutionary Organisation.

The activity of these two organisations brought the revolutionary movement to a great development during the years of 1900 and 1901. The revolutionary idea became dominant in Macedonia. Nearly the whole population was united in a strongly organised body, and a great part of the men able to fight were armed, and fighting bands were formed which exercised the armed men. The country was divided into military districts, and the Macedonians were inspired with such enthusiasm that they welcomed, with a thrill of exultation, the impending struggle. The enthusiasm was no less great inBulgaria, where the coming insurrection was awaited with great hopes of success. Indeed, no nation in the Balkan Peninsula had shown such a power of organisation, such sacrificing spirit, and such fighting qualities as the Macedonians. An intimate knowledge of the Macedonian revolutionary movement, such as General Tzontcheff possesses, shows, indeed, the wonderful energy of the Macedonians.

A Bulgarian Band in Macedonia.

But alas! political intrigues from quarters with unfriendly dispositions towards Macedonian aspirations, sowed misunderstandings in the midst of the Organisation, and her forces were suddenly paralysed by internal strife just on the eve of the struggle.

The consequence was that the Macedonian revolutionary movement did not express itself in one general effort, but in partial insurrections, none of which showed the whole revolutionary energy. The insurrection in the valley of the river Stromina during the autumn of 1902 and the insurrection in thevilayetof Monastir in 1903 were easily crushed, and the hopes and expectations of the population unfortunately deceived.

After these abortive insurrections a new situation was created. The European Powers admitted the inability of the Turkish Government to establish order in Macedonia, and the principle of European interference and control was adopted. As a result of this principle, the Murshteg reforms worked up by Austria and Russia were proclaimed. These reforms, however, were not integral, but merely embryo reforms, from the expansion and development of which depended the pacification of the country.

On the other hand, the morale of the Macedonians was now shaken and the power of the Revolutionary Organisation shattered in consequence of the incomplete insurrections and the consequent Turkish victories.

Naturally, the Turks, faithful to their traditional policy, would avail themselves of this situation in order to hinder the development of the reforms in their true sense. The Greeks—whose policy is the partition of Macedonia—were, like the Turks, against such a development of the reforms, becausethe establishment of an effectual European control would lead to a good government, which would gradually evolve the destiny of Macedonia towards an autonomy.

Therefore, the policy of Turkey, Greece, and Germany had a common interest, namely, to paralyse the reforms, and became a common enemy to the Macedonians, who, by their Bulgarian majority, were striving for autonomy.

So, united in their action, Greece, and also Servia to a smaller extent, hurled, the one from the South and the other from the North, armed bands into Macedonia, who commenced their destructive work against the Bulgarian element, by killing the leading men and enforcing the country population to recognise Greek or Servian nationality. The Turks cover their action, and the villagers, unprotected and without arms, are unable to defend themselves. They are at the mercy of these bands, aided by the Turkish authorities.

Thus a cruel religious and racial war has sprung up in the heart of Macedonia, under the protection and instigation of the Turkish policy, and also under the benevolent eyes of Germany and Austria.

This terrible situation has been still more complicated by the Bulgarians themselves. The Revolutionary Organisation being shattered in its moral and material power, armed bands were formed after the insurrection, under unscrupulous leaders, who commenced acts of depredation upon the unfortunate Macedonians.

Just now the revolutionary organisation in Bulgaria is undergoing another crisis. It is divided into two principal flanks: the moderate and the extreme. The first-mentioned inclines towards a suspension of active revolutionary operations on account of the exhaustion of theMacedonianMacedonianpopulation and the unfavourable political situation in Europe, while the extreme party are urging a continuance of revolutionary action to exasperation. At the annual congress in January last the moderates had a chance to oust the extreme party, but the death of Damian Groueff, the chief of the moderates, who was killed in the village of Roussinovo (vilayetof Uskub) upset all their plans. On account of Groueff’s death they didnot take part in the congress, and the result is that the extreme party are now all paramount, and further reprisals may be expected.

Therefore from all sides—from Turks, Greeks, Servians, and even Bulgarians, as well as from an interested diplomacy—the Macedonians are pressed, and their aspirations for the autonomy compromised. And what is the result of all this? Only that the Macedonians are set by the interested Powers before the eyes of the Christian world as a cruel and barbarous population, unworthy of sympathy—worthy only of the tyrannical Turkish rule!

What is the remedy?

There is but one, the one advocated by the kings and princes of the Balkans and the Cabinet Ministers with whom I chatted, namely, to change the present farcical so-called reforms into an administration, under effectual European control by appointing a European Governor-General, responsible to the Powers. Then this terrible situation will change into the peaceful development of a country which is endowed by nature with bounty, but reduced by men’s covetousness to a perfect hell.

That Macedonia to-day is a hell I have seen with my own eyes. And moreover I have been under fire from a Greek band myself. I travelled—contrary to the advice of my friends, who feared the perils of the way—right through the heart of Macedonia from south to north, visiting the Seres and Melnik districts, which only a few days prior to my arrival had been ravaged by Greek bands. In one poor village I passed through, twenty-three women, children, and old men had been butchered in cold blood on the previous day, and I saw with my own eyes some of their mutilated bodies. Upon the women nameless atrocities had been committed.

In Caraja-Kioi, a village not far from Seres, I was told that a fortnight before, nineteen persons, mostly old men and women, had been massacred, and I was informed by eye-witnesses that the Greek band was assisted by the Turks, and that present at the massacre was a Greek metropolitan and a Greek consular employé!

I saw and spoke to two women who had been maltreated by the Greeks, and who still bore wounds. The head of one was bound by a bloodstained rag, and the arm of the other was in a sling.

What they told me was truly horrifying. Both had been outraged and left for dead, without a hand being raised in their defence. And their cases were only two out of several dozen. A child, a little girl of seven, had been decapitated by a brutal Turk, and a mother with her suckling babe had been tortured by slow burning.

Everywhere I went was the same terrible tale, the same cry for the protection of the Powers. At Vranja, in the Melnik district, I saw the gaunt ruins of seven houses which had been recently burnt, and was told how nine women, after being subjected to all sorts of atrocities, were afterwards shot, while at Bashna three men were burnt alive, in a house, and six women shot.

That journey through Macedonia still haunts me like a nightmare. On the one hand, I met the oily Turkish official in frock-coat and fez declaring that the country was quite quiet, and that all reports were exaggerated; while, on the other, I saw with my own eyes the devilish blood-lust of the Greeks, the poor people with their wounds still upon them, the mutilated bodies of innocent Christian women whose blood calls hourly for vengeance.

To Florina, up to Kastoria, and through the terrorised districts around the lakes of Presba and Ochrida I travelled, first under Turkish escort, but not being allowed to see what I wanted, I was permitted by a Bulgarian band to join them, and rode through the various districts. It was a somewhat perilous and exciting time, for I travelled quickly, wishing to get out of the country. Its terrors had got on my nerves, and the gloomy warnings of my friends ever rose within my mind. Greek bands seemed to be operating everywhere, and we never knew when we might not come into close quarters. Our way lay often through deep ravines, affording excellent cover for lurking Greeks.

So life was the reverse of pleasant.

Still I saw with my own eyes sights that appalled me, and I am certain that if the reader had seen what I have witnessed he would cry shame that such an awful state of things should be allowed to exist, and even fostered by a Christian civilised Power.

Does the Christian Kaiser, with all his outward declarations of belief in the direction of the Almighty, ever give a thought to the poor Macedonians butchered with his knowledge—butchered to further the secret aims of the “Fatherland”? Does His Imperial Majesty, when he bends his knee in prayer, remember the first tenets of the Christian faith?

Those who know, as I know, the secrets of German intrigue in Constantinople, cannot but feel contempt and disgust at the shameful sacrifice of human life in Macedonia, where Greeks and Turks outrage, torture, burn, and shoot the poor innocent populace, egged on by “pious” Germany.

Let the ambitious Emperor, who so often invokes God’s blessing upon the German nation, pause for a moment and reflect whether there is no hypocrisy in his political policy, and whether he himself, personally, can expect to receive the Divine aid he so constantly petitions with mock servility.

By raising his hand he could to-morrow stop those brutal, savage Greeks from their bloody work. Yet, by doing so, he knows he would nullify his policy of Germany’s advance southward, and would throw to the winds the years of secret diplomacy practised at the Sublime Porte. Will he do so?

Or will he continue to lift his eyes to Heaven, and close his ears to the death-cries of the poor slaughtered Christian women and children, who are every day being butchered for political purposes?

It was the Kaiser’s diplomacy that discovered the existence of the Roumanian population in Macedonia; it was by his intrigues at Athens that diplomatic negotiations between Greece and Roumania have been broken off.

Go to Macedonia yourself with an open mind and study the question on the spot, and you will, before a week haspassed, obtain quite sufficient evidence to convince you that what I have here written is the truth—that Germany stands behind both Greek and Turk, and encourages them with moral and material support to commit those awful and nameless outrages which are a disgrace to our civilisation.

CHAPTER IITHE TRUTH EXPOSED

Summary of my confidential information—War this year—The attitude of Greece, Bulgaria, Roumania, and Turkey—Procrastination, promises, and perfect politeness—A matter more serious than Macedonia—Warning to British statesmen and the public—The real truth exposed—Germany and India.

As summary of all my confidential inquiries throughout the Near East, I find that the present position as regards Macedonia is a very serious one.

Bulgaria, who has the largest population there, has undoubtedly decided to adopt a firm course, which must inevitably lead to war during the present year. Within a few months the Balkans will be in bloody conflict.

Greece is defiant, and her bands still ravage Macedonia. Monsieur Theotokis, the Prime Minister, has openly adopted a policy of defiance against Roumania, and of increased persecution of the Vlachs in Macedonia.

His attitude is a ridiculous one, and calculated to still further complicate the situation. He declares that the enemies of Hellenism have succeeded in persuading public opinion in Europe, and even European Governments, that the abnormal situation in Macedonia is due to the action of Greco-Macedonian bands, and has also made them forget the atrocities which Bulgarians had committed for six years against the Greeks, who had at last been compelled to rise and try to defend themselves. Whenever the Greek Government asks for compensation of the Powers, no matter what the question at issue, they are, he says, met with the argument that they were responsiblefor the atrocities in Macedonia, because they aided Greek bands. The Powers, he says, were informed that the Hellenic Government could not prevent succour being given to the Macedonian Greeks in their defensive campaign, but would use its authority to moderate the activity of the bands. Unhappily, the slackening of the activity of the Greek bands was followed by a recrudescence of that of the hostile bands. The Powers were informed that the situation was becoming intolerable, and unless they could take measures to oblige others to respect their wishes, the Greek Government would be obliged to defend a race which was resolved to live, and not to bend under the ferocity of its enemies. He maintains that it is the duty of Greece to accelerate her military preparations. Without an army she cannot be considered a factor in the East, or hope for the sympathies of others.

But M. Theotokis has gone even farther. His declarations are distinctly amusing. In the course of an interview in Athens in January of the present year he actually had the audacity to attribute the present situation in Macedonia to Bulgaria. He argued as follows:—

“For a period of six years armed bands of Bulgarians roved all over Macedonia, endeavouring to get the Greek Christian inhabitants to declare allegiance to the head of the Bulgarian Church, and backed up their efforts in this direction by committing murders and atrocities of every description. Notwithstanding repeated appeals of the Greek Government to the Powers to put a stop to these outrages, they were continued, and instead of being checked, went on increasing in number and violence. News of these atrocities reaching Greece daily, public opinion here was getting more and more excited, and finally, the Greek public having given up all hope of a stop being put to them, committees were formed with the object of taking action to protect their compatriots.“The Greek Government was powerless to prevent these protective bands from crossing into Macedonia, as, unfortunately, we have not sufficient forces to thoroughlyguard the frontier. The inability is not surprising, when you consider that Turkey with twenty times the forces at her disposal is not able to prevent them from getting across. That these bands should occasionally have seized an opportunity to avenge Bulgarian crimes, which had continued so long unrestrained, is only natural, as it is not possible to keep armed bands under proper control in such circumstances.“Finding at last that they had to face Greek bands, which they were not able to stand up against, the Bulgarians commenced to fill the world with complaints against the Greeks, and sent out descriptions of imaginary atrocities committed by Greek bands, when their only real cause of complaint was that they themselves could no longer commit crimes on the Greek Christians with impunity in the way they, for six years, had been accustomed.“The result of the great outcry raised by the Bulgarians was that strong pressure was brought to bear by the Powers on the Greek Government to prevent Greek bands from crossing into Macedonia, and the Greek Government increased the efforts they had always been making in this direction. Probably as a result of the efforts of this Government, fewer Greek bands have been operating in Macedonia during the past two months, and the consequence is that thirty-nine Greeks have been murdered in Macedonia during this period by Bulgarians, while only seven of the latter have been killed by Greeks.“The Greek Government have no interest whatever in hindering the efforts of the Powers to restore order in Macedonia. Quite the contrary; no one desires to see order restored there more than we do. But you must remember that the majority of the inhabitants of Macedonia are Greeks, and it is not in the power of the Greek Government to control public opinion in Greece in face of the atrocities committed by Bulgarians on our countrymen in Macedonia. If the Bulgarian propaganda in that country is put a stop to, the Greek Christians will have nothing to fear, and in such circumstances no Greek bandswill be found there, as their sole object in crossing the frontier was to protect their co-religionists, who for six years had been terrorised by the Bulgarians. Once Bulgarian crimes in Macedonia cease, there will be nothing more heard of ‘regrettable incidents’ in that country.”

“The Greek Government was powerless to prevent these protective bands from crossing into Macedonia, as, unfortunately, we have not sufficient forces to thoroughlyguard the frontier. The inability is not surprising, when you consider that Turkey with twenty times the forces at her disposal is not able to prevent them from getting across. That these bands should occasionally have seized an opportunity to avenge Bulgarian crimes, which had continued so long unrestrained, is only natural, as it is not possible to keep armed bands under proper control in such circumstances.

“Finding at last that they had to face Greek bands, which they were not able to stand up against, the Bulgarians commenced to fill the world with complaints against the Greeks, and sent out descriptions of imaginary atrocities committed by Greek bands, when their only real cause of complaint was that they themselves could no longer commit crimes on the Greek Christians with impunity in the way they, for six years, had been accustomed.

“The result of the great outcry raised by the Bulgarians was that strong pressure was brought to bear by the Powers on the Greek Government to prevent Greek bands from crossing into Macedonia, and the Greek Government increased the efforts they had always been making in this direction. Probably as a result of the efforts of this Government, fewer Greek bands have been operating in Macedonia during the past two months, and the consequence is that thirty-nine Greeks have been murdered in Macedonia during this period by Bulgarians, while only seven of the latter have been killed by Greeks.

“The Greek Government have no interest whatever in hindering the efforts of the Powers to restore order in Macedonia. Quite the contrary; no one desires to see order restored there more than we do. But you must remember that the majority of the inhabitants of Macedonia are Greeks, and it is not in the power of the Greek Government to control public opinion in Greece in face of the atrocities committed by Bulgarians on our countrymen in Macedonia. If the Bulgarian propaganda in that country is put a stop to, the Greek Christians will have nothing to fear, and in such circumstances no Greek bandswill be found there, as their sole object in crossing the frontier was to protect their co-religionists, who for six years had been terrorised by the Bulgarians. Once Bulgarian crimes in Macedonia cease, there will be nothing more heard of ‘regrettable incidents’ in that country.”

Thus it will be seen that the Prime Minister makes no mention of Germany or of German intrigue. He endeavours to put the blame upon Bulgaria, when all Europe knows well that it is Greece who is responsible for the present bloodshed, and even the Turkish Grand Vizier himself has condemned the action of the Greeks, and declared that in more than one instance the Greek bands have actually operated with the full knowledge and assistance of Greek consuls.

With such biassed views held by the Greek Premier, it can easily be seen that a solution of the problem of Macedonia cannot be arrived at without recourse to force of arms, and the more so, because of Bulgaria’s determination to make her power felt in the country where her subjects are being daily murdered.

The Turkish policy is the traditional one of procrastination, promises, and perfect politeness. The promised reforms are not carried out, the foreign officers employed in reforming the gendarmerie are disgusted with their treatment, and are fast leaving the Turkish service, while the Mohammedan rule is daily growing more and more oppressive, and the unfortunate Macedonians are being slaughtered under the very eyes and with the full cognisance of the Turkish officials, both civil and military.

In Constantinople it is believed that a seriousententeregarding Macedonia exists between Italy and Austria, and this belief is based upon Signor Tittoni’s recent declaration. From information I gathered from very reliable sources, however, I am in a position to state that the Turkish fears are utterly groundless. Anententeexists, but only in regard to Servia, Bulgaria, and Northern Albania. Austria desired that Montenegro should be included, but Italy—for very obvious reasons—made the complete independence of thatvaliant little country one of the stipulations. Hitherto Italy and Austria have carried on separate propagandas, but it is quite certain that the two are now amalgamated, and will in future work towards one common end.

Turkey has nothing to fear from either Austria or Italy, but from Bulgaria and Germany—from the former, who will assert her rights; and from the latter, who will eventually play the traitor and crush her.

My conversations at the Sublime Porte, in those shabbily furnished rooms, with seedy officials offering me cups of coffee, were often very amusing. I had really credited the Turk with more shrewdness, for the Oriental is usually supposed to be the finest diplomat in all the world. Yet from the Grand Vizier downwards to the men-in-the-street, they are all held fascinated under the benign smile of Germany.

Assurances were given me during those audiences with the rulers of Turkey that all was being done that could possibly be done in Macedonia; that reports of massacres were exaggerated; that the Turks were actually protecting the Bulgarians, and that the Macedonian question was not at all a serious one.

I will give one instance. It was admitted to me during one of my audiences at the Sublime Porte, that “a few incidents” had occurred, but I was assured that they were not serious, and that all was now quiet in Macedonia.

In reply, I pointed out that on November 7 last (Old Style) a Greek band descended upon the village of Karadjovo, and having disembowelled seven men, killed twenty-five Bulgarians. They then massacred most of the women and children in the village, and calmly went off.

I was then officially informed that it had been discovered that a certain Greek consul had been implicated in this raid, and that arms had been supplied through him. The Turks had therefore made a strong protest to Athens, and sent four battalions in pursuit of the assassins.

At Salonica, ten days later, I saw one of the peasants present at this massacre in question, and the description he gave of it was horrifying. His version of the affair was verydifferent from the official Turkish version, for he declared that the Turks themselves aided the assassins and allowed them to get clear away. Twenty-five women were, he said, outraged and afterwards killed. One woman had her hands cut off, and another’s feet were burnt over a fire. Other facts he told me were too terrible to repeat here.

Though the Porte may have made formal protest to Athens, there is but little doubt that the Turks were implicated in the massacre—as they are in most of those “regrettable incidents,” as they are called, which daily occur in the Land of Black Terror.

Permission was readily granted to me to travel through the country, but it certainly would not have been had it been known that beyond the lake of Ochrida I intended to disregard my Turkish escort and throw in my lot with the Bulgarians, declared by the authorities to be “insurgents” in order to see for myself.

I arrived at the village of Ghilposte, in the Seres district, two days after a Greek band had descended upon the little place, and I saw with my own eyes traces of their terrible atrocities. They had blown up ten houses by dynamite, and capturing four men, two women, and a baby one year old, had deliberately burned them all alive, as well as outraging three other women.

The leader of the Bulgarian organisation for the protection of the defenceless people furnished me with a complete list of all the atrocities committed by the Greek bands during the past year, but it is so long and the details are so revolting that I do not feel justified in including it in these pages.

The Turk is indeed a strange product. He hopes always to persuade the foreigner into adopting his own views. More than once I was told in Constantinople that there had beenno massacresin Macedonia this year, and that the country, especially in thevilayetof Monastir, was quite quiet!

General Tzontcheffin Macedonia.

The Turkish Burial-ground at Scutari, Asia Minor.

I went there, and discovered the exact opposite to be the case. In Constantinople also I was strongly persuaded, by interested persons, not to go to Macedonia; but I went, and I saw things that it was not intended that I should see.

I had travelled all through the Balkans in order to learn the real truth, and I did not intend to miss out Macedonia. Turkey, of course, makes capital out of the fact that the Vlachs, or Roumanian population, are between the devil and the deep sea. These unfortunate Macedo-Roumanians live under the cross fire of Greek and Bulgar, each of whom claims the right to save their souls. The Turks point—and perhaps justly—to this fact as one of the chief causes of the present disturbed state of Macedonia. The Turk pretends to be asleep, and to disregard the intrigues of the other Powers, but the fact is that he is very wide awake, and knows quite well that hostilities must break out at a very early date. Only he is misled by Germany, alarmed by a bogey put forward by Austria and Italy, and a little afraid, at times, of British protests.

There remains Roumania. Her attitude is a very serious consideration in discussing the immediate future of the Balkans.

In Bucharest I found that, although a Federation of the Balkan States would be welcomed, yet one fact is still remembered. In 1888, when the Bulgarians offered the crown of Bulgaria to King Charles of Roumania, as the first step towards a Federation, both Russia and Austria opposed it so strongly that the King was unable to accept. Roumania’s position towards Macedonia is now one of armed inactivity. Though the Macedo-Roumanians are slaughtered by the Greek bands, Roumania is compelled to stay her hand and offer no defence, because alone and unaided, her protest would be worse than useless.

That she will, ere long, ally herself with Bulgaria against the Turks, my confidential information goes to show. She desires a better frontier from the Danube to the Black Sea, and in order to obtain that concession from Bulgaria she will assist her to drive the Turk from Macedonia.

There is, however, a far more serious consideration, and one which has been overlooked by British statesmen and the British public.

During my journey of inquiry I made careful investigation into certain suspicious facts and certain clever intrigues. Theinquiry was an exceedingly difficult one, for the truth is well guarded, for very obvious reasons.

The result, however, reveals a state of affairs of which we in England have been unfortunately ignorant, and which, here exposed, should claim immediate attention by every right-minded and patriotic man.

The truth briefly is this. The recent war between Russia and Japan, the question of Morocco, the perturbation in Europe by the Russian defeats and revolution, on the one hand, and the weakness of the Macedonians made greater by the rivalries between the Balkan nations, on the other, have of late diverted the attention of Europe from the Near East.

But this is only a lull before the storm—a storm that must break in the near future, and which surely will have a world-wide significance. The countries denominated by the general name of the Near East are, by their geographical position and fertility, of immense importance. They have been the cradle of the ancient civilisation and of rich and powerful empires. The shores of the Ægean Sea and of the Eastern Mediterranean were once the most populated, and their commerce and wealth were unrivalled. The vast fertile provinces of Asia Minor have been the granaries of the Roman and Byzantine empires; while the valleys of Euphrates and Tigris breathed abundance and luxury. History is eloquent testimony of their past splendour. The reason of their gloomy present does not lie either in the exhaustion of the soil or in the loss of their geographical importance, but only in the administration which the Turk has established for centuries over them. A change in the administration will bring resurrection. Nay, the means and resources of the present civilisation must call forth in them an immense economical development.

Germany, with her usual foresight, has ever been on the alert.

Towards this Near East with gloomy present, but with a glorious future, the German policy has thrown covetous eyes. When Bismarck made his famous declaration—that the Eastern Question was not worth the bones of a Pomeranian grenadier—the German policy was already maturing a vast plan of penetrationin the Near East. The real truth is that the basis of this policy of penetration was the maintenance of the Turkish rule, as a means for its realisation.

The true extent of German intrigue is not realised in England, therefore I may as well explain that the policy was—

1. Support, and even encouragement, of the despotical régime in Turkey, in order to obtain the absolute confidence of Sultan Hamid.

2. Grasp of the reorganisation of the Turkish Army, and use it as her instrument.

3. Gain a dominant position in the Turkish finances.

4. Lay hold on the communications of the empire, and thus become the master of her economical development.

A full expansion was given to this policy after the accession to the throne of WilliamII., who in his first visit to the Sultan in 1889 laid the foundation of mutual friendship and admiration between the two rulers.

The results are astonishing. In less than a quarter of a century the German net has been cast over the whole body of the Turkish Empire. German diplomacy is paramount to-day in Constantinople. The Turkish Army has been reorganised upon the Prussian system, and is under German control. The finances of the Turkish Empire are gradually becoming a dependency to the German banks by loans and concessions, which are constantly increasing. By the great railway from the Bosphorus to the Persian Gulf, opening up by its branches the most fertile provinces of Asiatic Turkey, Germany becomes master of the economical development of this part of the Sultan’s empire.

Thus the economical and political influence of the Germans has been so much extended and has gained such a domination, that the Turkish Empire is, in a sense, already a German protectorate. No act of importance is possible in Turkey without the knowledge and influence of Germany. Every act of Abdul Hamid is under the control and direction of German diplomacy.Allemania bisum dostour(“Germany is our friend”) is a saying which has penetrated even into the mass of the Turkish nation, and the Kaiser has a full rightto boast himself as the protector and champion of the Mussulmans.

In the Balkan Peninsula, on the European side, the pioneer of the German policy is the Austro-Hungarian Empire. By tradition, by its dynasty, and by its alliance, Austria plays the rôle of vanguard to the German advance towards the Near East. The occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina has made Austria a Balkan power, and her plans are ready for the march of an Austrian army southward to the Gulf of Salonica, which will bring her in touch with the Ægean Sea and make her the ruler over the whole Peninsula. In the meantime, she is strengthening her political and economical influence in Servia and Albania by the same methods as used by the Germans.

In the midst of this land activity in the Near East, the importance of the Ægean Sea, which is the necessary link, was not lost to view. A footing was sought, and the island of Thassos was chosen as the foundation-stone of the future naval power in the Eastern basin of the Mediterranean. This island was picked upon because, in the first place, it would not attract attention, and, in the second place, because it would serve admirably the German plans. Thassos has a good geographical position in the Ægean Sea. It is not far from the Dardanelles, the door to Constantinople, and is very near the Macedonian shore, being in the very entrance of the port of Kavala.

With a naval base on this island, Germany would gain a still greater influence in Turkey, and especially on the European and Asiatic shores of the Ægean Sea. According to trustworthy information which I have obtained in confidence, a vast German activity is contemplated upon these shores in the very near future.

Thus the Germans, with the aid of the Turkish régime and of the Austrian Empire, are cleverly paving their way towards the Near East, and preparing the foundation of a “Fatherland” stretching from the Baltic to the Indian Ocean.

As Germany has already championed the cause of Turkey in Europe, what is to prevent her from carrying her influence,at an early date, over Egypt and the whole peninsula of India, where she will find sixty millions of Mussulmans, who fully recognise that England has abandoned her policy of bolstering up “the sick man” for many years past? These latter would welcome Germany as the champion of Mohammedanism, not only in Europe, but in all the Mussulman states of the Eastern world.

And then?

Surely this is a most important point, which should very seriously engage the immediate and earnest attention of all British statesmen who have the true interests of our Empire at heart!

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