TUKKEY. 



739 



large vote "was cast, and the greatest order 

 and tranquillity prevailed, was favorable to 

 Prince Milan. When the Skuptschina met 

 according to appointment on the 2d of July, 

 the election of Milan was proposed by the 

 chief of the Provisional Government, and rati- 

 fied by the Skuptschina by acclamation. The 

 Skuptschina then elected a regency consisting 

 of Colonel Molivoi Petrovich Blasnavatz, the 

 Minister of War, Eistic, formerly agent of Ser- 

 via at Constantinople, and a representative of 

 the National Servian party, and Gavvilovich, 

 who in 1861 was Minister of Finance, and now 

 senator and head of a literary institution. 

 The Skuptschina held altogether three sessions, 

 and adopted the following resolutions : 1. At 

 least one Skuptschina yearly shall be convoked 

 until the coming of age of Prince Milan. 2. 

 The authorities and officials appointed by 

 Prince Michael shall continue to hold their 

 posts. 3. A monument to the late Prince 

 Michael shall be erected in the Topschider 

 Park by popular contribution. 4. Efforts shall 

 be made to develop the defensive strength of 

 the country as speedily as possible, according 

 to the plan proposed by the deceased prince. 

 5. Investigations shall be made into the state 

 of the police in Belgrade, on account of its de- 

 ficiencr. 6. Every Servian shall be respon- 

 sible for the life of Prince Milan. 7. The 

 Government shall strictly observe the friend- 

 ly relations with foreign powers cultivated 

 by Prince Michael. 8. Prince Alexander 

 Karageorgevitch and his descendants shall 

 never be permitted to occupy the Servian 

 throne. 



The Skuptschina was closed on the 4th of 

 July. On the same day the Council of Re- 

 gency issued a proclamation declaring that it 

 will observe the dictum of the late Prince 

 Michael, " the law is the supreme will in Ser- 

 via. 1 ' The Council promises to develop the 

 national military force in a manner conform- 

 able to the exigencies of the present time, to 

 advance the material interests, and to improve 

 the institutions of the country. It also prom- 

 ises that Skuptschinas shall be more frequently 

 convoked, and every thing done to insure that 

 prosperity to the country which is the result 

 of peace and order. On the 5th of July, the 

 solemn unction of Prince Milan, as sovereign 

 of Servia, took place at the cathedral. On the 

 30th of July, the imperial firman of investiture 

 for Prince Milan was delivered and promulga- 

 ted. It referred to the firman of the year 1830, 

 by which hereditary rights had been granted 

 to the Obrenovitch family, and also to the law 

 on primogeniture as established in favor of the 

 younger as well as the elder branch of the na- 

 tional dynasty. After the firman had been 

 read, the presiding member of the regency ad- 

 dressed Midhat Pacha, the bearer of the firman, 

 and adverted to the reply given by the late 

 Prince Michael on a similar occasion, adding, 

 in the name of the young Prince Milan, that he 

 would, like his predecessor, be constant in his 



loyalty and devotion to his suzerain, and would 

 zealously watch over the safety of the national 

 institutions. The members of the regency de- 

 sired Midhat Pacha to express their lively 

 gratitude to the Sultan for his gracious compli- 

 ance with the wishes of the Servian nation. 



A constitutional change of importance took 

 place in the semi-independent principality of 

 Montenegro. On the 10th of April, Prince 

 Nicholas convoked a sort of Constituent As- 

 sembly, charged to create a definitive organi- 

 zation, and to determine the position of the 

 prince toward the country. After an ardent 

 speech from the young Nicholas I., the Assem- 

 bly constituted itself in the open air, and com- 

 menced its labors, the results of which were as 

 follows: a special administration is charged 

 with the care of the public treasures ; it will 

 pay the prince like all the other functionaries, 

 for hitherto no distinction had been made be- 

 tween the public funds and the sovereign's 

 privy purse. The civil list of the sovereign 

 will be fixed by this national body. The ad- 

 ministration of the Church will be entirely 

 confided to the metropolitan, who will, also, 

 exercise a certain influence over public in- 

 struction. 



In the semi-independent principality of Ru- 

 mania several gross excesses took place against 

 the Jews. Diplomatic notes from several of 

 the great powers urged the Government to 

 adopt efficient measures for the protection of 

 the Jews. Party spirit in this principality ran 

 very high, and twice a new ministry was 

 formed, in May, under the presidency of Nich- 

 olas Golesco, and, in November, under the 

 presidency of Demetrius Ghika. On the 27th of 

 August, in accordance with the new law on the 

 organization of the army, Prince Charles is- 

 sued a decree ordering the formation of an 

 eighth regiment of infantry. Every regiment 

 is in future to consist of three battalions. As 

 a provisional arrangement, thirty battalions of 

 militia were to be constituted. A large quantity 

 of needle-guns, with which weapon the forces 

 of the Principalities will in future be armed, 

 were introduced from Prussia. 



Several insurrectionary attempts were made 

 in the province of Bulgaria. The most im- 

 portant was in July, when several armed bands, 

 coming from Rumania, crossed the Danube at 

 points between the Dobrudsha and Widdin. 

 The chief leaders of the insurrection were Kut- 

 shuk Stefan, Hadji Demetri, and Kiatib Alexan. 

 The Rumanian Government emphatically de- 

 nied the charge of sympathizing with the in- 

 surrection, and its official organ, the Official 

 Journal Romanul, of Bucharest, exhorted the 

 inhabitants of Bulgaria to preserve tranquillity. 

 The Turkish Government acted with great 

 promptness. Medhat Pacha, formerly govern- 

 or-general of the province, and now Grand 

 Vizier, hastened to the seat of the disturb- 

 ances at the head of a thousand picked troops, 

 all armed with the Schneider rifle. Even 

 before his arrival the insurgents had been 



