68 



BULGARIA. 



BURMAH. 



committees in the towns and villages, and the 

 gathering of contributions in support of the 

 movement. Considerable numbers of Russian 

 arms were imported into Bulgaria, and an ex- 

 traordinary number of Russian officers were 

 said to be entering the Bulgarian military ser- 

 vice. A denial of the unfavorable significance 

 attached to these circumstances was published 

 in the "Journal of St. Petersburg," which ex- 

 plained that the Russian officers were going to 

 replace others who were leaving the Bulgarian 

 service, and that the purchases of arms were 

 designed to replace the inferior arms of old pat- 

 terns which the militia had been obliged to use, 

 with new weapons of a better pattern, and that 

 they were made in Russia because the Bulga- 

 rians found the most favorable market there. 

 The arms and ammunition were bought and 

 landed openly. An approaching union with 

 East Roumelia was spoken of in Bulgaria 

 during the summer, but the movement would 

 be delayed, it was declared, by those who 

 talked of it, until late in the fall or winter, 

 when the Turks would not be able easily to 

 occupy the passes of the Balkans. Reports 

 at the beginning of August indicated that the 

 movement might be more comprehensive than 

 had been expected, and might embrace also the 

 forcible annexation of the Dobrudja, An ad- 

 dress was presented to Prince Alexander by 

 a deputation of the Bulgarians of Macedonia, 

 declaring that they looked to their liberated 

 brethren to procure for them a speedy deliver- 

 ance from the Ottoman yoke, and expressing 

 an anxious desire for union with Bulgaria, ac- 

 cording to the provisions of the Treaty of San 

 Stefano, which the Prince was conjured not to 

 forget. The Prince was said to ha\e given 

 the deputation an encouraging reply. Colonel 

 Wilson, a European officer who made a tour 

 of official inspection in East Roumelia, report- 

 ed on his return that he had ascertained that 

 preparations were being made by the Pansla- 

 vists with a view to union in the event of a war 

 between Greece and Turkey. Several reports 

 were circulated to the effect that Russian ves- 

 sels were secretly landing arms at places on 

 the Danube, all of which were declared to be 

 false. On the 10th of September a semi-official 

 statement was published at Berlin to the effect 

 that " there is reason to believe that Russia is 

 disposed at the present time to look coldly 

 upon the agitation in favor of the formation of 

 a Great Bulgaria. The Russian Government ap- 

 pears to deprecate any reopening of the East- 

 ern question, although it may not be disposed 

 to make a distinct avowal to that effect." On 

 the 2d of October Prince Alexander addressed 

 a letter to the Czar, announcing his satisfaction 

 with the results of his inspections of the troops 

 and the military establishments, and thanking 

 his Majesty "for having allowed Russian offi- 

 cers to come and organize the Bulgarian army, 

 and to make it worthy of the great objects it 

 is called upon to pursue. Those officers have 

 fully and entirely justified the confidence which 



I have shown in them from the beginning, and 

 have thereby rendered a great service to their 

 own country." He also asked to be permitted 

 to thank the Russian officers, on behalf of the 

 Czar, by an order of the day. 



The second session of the National Assembly 

 was opened November 1st, by M. ZancofF, the 

 President of the Council, representing Prince 

 Alexander. In the speech from the throne 

 the Prince again referred to the strong inter- 

 est which the Czar had shown in the welfare 

 of the country during his visit to Russia, and 

 to the marks of good- will he had received dur- 

 ing his visits to Servia and Roumania. Bulga- 

 ria also enjoyed the sympathy and good-will of 

 the other powers of Europe. The condition 

 of the troops was declared to be excellent. 

 As regarded other branches of administration, 

 Bulgaria had need of constant and earnest ac- 

 tivity in order to secure for itself its proper de- 

 velopment and to fulfill its mission in the Bal- 

 kan Peninsula. 



Prince Alexander made a visit to Russia dur- 

 ing the winter, stopping on the way for two 

 days at Bucharest as the guest of Prince Charles 

 of Roumania. He was entertained by the Czar 

 at the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, and 

 was engaged in conversation with his Imperial 

 Majesty at the time the explosion in the palace 

 took place, February 18th. The results of his 

 visits at both courts, as represented by the 

 Prince in his addresses to the Assembly, were 

 favorable to Bulgaria, and of a character to 

 encourage the hope of a continued friendship 

 between the two nations. In October the Prince 

 made a visit to Servia, with the understood 

 purpose of conferring with Prince Milan about 

 matters of common interest to the two coun- 

 tries. He was met on the frontier at Radaje- 

 vatz by General Leschjanin and staff, who had 

 been commissioned by the Prince to welcome 

 him, and was received on his arrival at Bel- 

 grade by Prince Milan and the Ministers of 

 State. 



The geodetic and astronomical survey of the 

 Balkan Peninsula, which was begun by the Rus- 

 sians in 1877, has been nearly completed. In 

 June, 1880, the trigonometrical network of the 

 observations and measurements covered the 

 whole of Bulgaria and East Roumelia, and a 

 part of the Turkish territory, and had been 

 connected with the Russian and Austrian sur- 

 veys. 



BURMAH,* a kingdom in Farther India. 

 Area, 470,000 square kilometres (190,000 

 square miles) ; population, 4,000,000. 



The events of the year in Burmah most 

 worthy of notice were those connected with 

 the efforts of the Government to resume diplo- 

 matic relations with England and the European 

 powers. After the withdrawal of the British 

 charge d'affaires from Mandalay in October, 

 1879, an embassy, composed of persons who it 

 was supposed would be acceptable to the Brit- 



* For a fuller geographical account, see " Annual Cyclopae- 

 dia" for 18T9, article BURMAH. 



