410 



GREECE. 



The dispatch then proceeded to show, among 

 other things, that there had never been a gen- 

 uine movement iii Crete for separation from 

 Turkey, the insurrection of 1867 having been 

 rather a Greek invasion than a rising of the 

 island itself; and that the inhabitants of Thes- 



PORTICO OF THE ERECHTHEUM, ATHENS. 



saly and Epirus had " always lived peaceably, 

 and willingly submitted themselves to the Ot- 

 toman authorities ; that they have never taken 

 up arms to make good supposititious claims ; 

 that they have sometimes endured, but never 

 invoked, the intervention of a neighboring 

 country ; and that, in fact, if rendered secure 

 from the enterprises set afoot by that neighbor, 

 they would continue to live happily and pros- 

 perously under the laws, of the Ottoman Em- 

 pire. It was not, therefore, in the name of 

 these provinces, the annexation of which he 

 demanded, that M. Delyannis was entitled to 

 speak at the table of the Congress." The Porte 

 did not consider itself qualified to deal with 

 the argument that the annexation of the prov- 

 inces named would complete the happiness of 

 Greece, but the circular pointed out that it 

 could not be made to agree with the avowal 

 that the Hellenic Government wished to unite 

 under one sway 'all countries inhabited by 

 Greeks; and suggested that " political honesty 

 will not permit the dismemberment of one 

 nation to the advantage of another, for the 

 simple reason that the latter would thus be 

 rendered happier." The dispatch concluded 

 with an expression of confidence that the 

 European Powers, duly enlightened on the 

 subject, would " hasten to bring home to the 

 Cabinet of Athens counsels of rectitude and 

 prudence, calculated to turn it from an enter- 

 prise equally unjust and impolitic. In any 

 case Europe will never seek to follow Greece 

 along this dangerous path, and thus run the 

 risk of jeopardizing its work of peace." 

 This circular was not well received by the 



Powers. The Greek Government addressed a 

 note to the Porte calling upon it to nominate 

 delegates to examine the question of the recti- 

 fication of the frontier recommended by the 

 Congress. While the answer to the note was 

 delayed for a considerable period, it was given 

 out that Savfet Pasha was willing to cede 

 eventually to Greece several islands of the 

 Archipelago, but no territory of the Turkish 

 mainland, and reinforcements of troops were 

 dispatched to Epirus and Thessaly. Hobart 

 Pasha spent three days at Athens about the 

 first of October. In an interview which he 

 had with the King, his Majesty told him that, 

 while disposed to wait with patience the de- 

 cisions of the Powers, Greece would continue 

 its preparations, and, should Europe remain 

 deaf to its claims, would stake its existence 

 on the result. The King^s words are said to 

 have made a deep impression upon the Pasha. 

 Shortly after this the Porte seemed to manifest 

 a disposition to come to terms with Greece if 

 the Hellenic Government would accept a sim- 

 ple rectification of frontier. At a meeting of 

 the Turkish Ministers in November, Savfet 

 Pasha urged upon his associates the necessity 

 of coining to an amicable arrangement before 

 any foreign intervention should take place. 

 The delimitations recommended by the Berlin 

 Congress were, he said, impracticable, but the 

 Porte would give an equivalent in the direc- 

 tion of Valo. These views were adopted by 

 the Council, and on the llth of the month the 

 Porte made to the Greek Minister at Constan- 

 tinople a proposition for the appointment of 

 delegates. Early in December the Porte ap- 

 pointed a military commission to examine into 



RUINS OF THE ERECHTHEUM, ATHENS. 



the details relating to the rectification of the 

 frontiers, and to present a report on the strate- 

 gical aspects of the question. On the 21st of 

 December Mukhtar Pasha, Jahan Effendi, and 

 Abeddin Bey were appointed the Turkish com- 



