GREECE AND THE BALKAN STATES 



and his confederates became for the time the real rulers of the country, and on their 

 initiative a large number of legislative measures were submitted by the government to 

 the Chamber, which passed them with mechanical docility. Some of the new laws met 

 the real requirements of the country, but others betrayed the crude statesmanship of 

 the soldier politicians who devised them. Eventually, however, the popularity of the 

 League declined, dissensions broke out among its members, and a naval mutiny at Sal- 

 amis (Oct. 29th) indicated a rift in the harmony between the army and navy. The 

 Mavromichalis ministry; which the officers tolerated so long as it carried out their 

 orders, began to display a spirit of independence, and certain features of the new legisla- 

 tion met with opposition. A demand for the immediate settlement of the Cretan Ques- 

 tion addressed by the Porte to the Protecting Powers (Nov. loth) suggested the fear 

 that Turkey would endeavour to profit by the distracted condition of Greece. 



After the settlement of the various questions arising from the Bulgarian declaration 

 of independence in 1908 the relations between Turkey and Bulgaria had become normal. 

 arj On July 23, 1909, a number of Bulgarian officers attended the celebration 



of the first anniversary of the restoration of the Turkish Constitution at 

 Constantinople, and during the autumn several Macedonian revolutionaries were 

 expelled from Bulgaria. The efforts of the Young Turks, however, to infringe the privi- 

 leges of the Christian nationalities in Macedonia caused some uneasiness, and the 

 severities practised by Djavad Pasha during the autumn in putting down a revolt in 

 Northern Albania seemed to indicate that the new regime in Turkey had not abandoned 

 traditional methods of repression. On November 25th, King Ferdinand paid a short 

 visit to King Peter at Belgrade. 



1910. The beginning of the year 1910 found Greece in a state of confusion bordering 

 On chaos. The relations of the Military League with the Mavromichalis government 

 became daily more strained, and at the end of January, M. Mavromichalis 

 Greece: resigned, being replaced in the premiership by M. Stephen Dragoumisj 



M. Vealzclos. who took Colonel Zorbas into his cabinet as minister of War. Conscious 

 of its waning popularity and unable to deal with the perplexities of the 

 situation, the League had already sought the advice of M. Venizelos, the eminent Cretan 

 politician, who had arrived at Athens on January loth. He at once devised a pro- 

 gramme which enabled the League to make a triumphant exit from the political arena. 

 He suggested the convocation of a National Assembly to sanction the changes which 

 the military reformers and, indeed, the bulk of the nation desired, and in the space of a 

 few weeks succeeded in inducing not only the officers but the opposition leaders and 

 eventually the king to accept his proposal. The retirement of the Mavromichalis 

 ministry became inevitable. Having practically arranged the affairs of Greece in accord- 

 ance with his ideas, M. Venizelos returned to Crete on February 28th. 



The new Greek ministry under M. Dragoumis, who was highly respected -by all 

 parties, adopted the programme of M. Venizelos, and worked in comparative harmony 

 Convocation w ith the League, the inclusion of Colonel Zorbas in the cabinet tending to 

 of the Greek moderate the violence of the military junta. King George, who had always 

 played the part of a constitutional sovereign, was opposed to the convoca- 

 tion of an Assembly, on the ground that under the Constitution such a body 

 could only be called into existence by the vote of two successive Chambers. The holding 

 of fresh elections, however, involved the prospect of a rupture with Turkey owing to-the 

 resolve of the Cretans to send deputies to the new Chamber, whose admission, the Porte 

 had declared, would constitute a castis belli. In view of this danger, and having received 

 assurances that the League would dissolve, the king personally announced to the Cham- 

 ber (March soth) his decision to summon a revisionary assembly as provided for by 

 clause 107 of the constitution. The League simultaneously issued a manifesto declaring 

 that the interference of the army in political affairs had ceased. Thus came to an end 

 the military pronunciamento, which had been prolonged for a period of six months. If 

 the methods of the officers were crude their intentions were excellent, and the general 

 results of the movement were beneficial for Greece. 



