TURKEY. 



793 



The course of the Chamber, in constantly 

 trying to control the Government, finally led to 

 its dissolution on February 20th. In addition 

 to this, certain deputies who had played a 

 prominent part in Parliament by exposing the 

 abuses of the administration were ordered back 

 to their homes, the Government even refusing 

 the traveling expenses allowed them by the 

 Constitution. 



Immediately after the conclusion of peace 

 with Russia, Turkey was invaded from another 

 side. The Greek Government, unable any 

 longer to restrain the popular feeling for war, 

 gave the order, and on February 2d the Greek 

 troops to the number of about 12,000 men, 

 under General Soutzo and accompanied by a 

 numerous band of volunteers, crossed the fron- 

 tier at Lamia into Thessaly. Proceeding north- 

 ward, they occupied positions near Domoko, a 

 small town on the Larissa road, which was de- 

 fended by a Turkish garrison of 2,000 men. 

 The Greek army had precise orders not to at- 

 tack any Turkish troops ; and the ostensible 

 excuse for the measure was to prevent the 

 massacres of Christians which, it was asserted, 

 would take place in consequence of the in- 

 surrection. The news of this invasion hav- 

 ing reached Constantinople, the Turkish naval 

 squadron, commanded by Hobart Pasha, was 

 instantly sent to the Piraeus, the port of Athens ; 

 while Photiades Bey, the Turkish Minister 

 there, was ordered to leave it, almost involving 

 a declaration of war. The apprehended visit 

 there of the Turkish ships of war caused great 

 alarm to the Greek citizens and foreign resi- 

 dents ; but the several foreign consuls agreed 

 to promise that there should be no bombard- 

 ment. The Greek Government, however, at 

 the request of the representatives of the Pow- 

 ers, recalled its troops soon afterward. On 

 February 14th M. Kumunduros, the Minister 

 President, stated in the Chamber of Deputies 

 that the Powers having represented to Greece 

 that if she continued her course of action alone, 

 after the armistice was signed, she would for- 

 feit their protection, but if she suspended her 

 military action she might be assured of their 

 support, the Government thought it was their 

 duty to recall the army. 



The revolt in the southern provinces of Tur- 

 key spread rapidly in the beginning of the year. 

 In Thessaly, the insurgents formed a provi- 

 sional government, which proclaimed the union 

 of the province with Greece, and sent petitions 

 to the Greek Government on February Vth and 

 9th, praying that its influence might be used to 

 promote the realization and recognition of this 

 union. 



In Crete, the General Assembly on January 

 30th proclaimed the abolition of the sovereignty 

 of the Sultan and the union of Crete to Greece. 

 The proclamation was received with general 

 enthusiasm by the whole Christian population. 



The rapid advance of the Russians^ upon 

 Constantinople, even after the conclusion of 

 the armistice, produced the greatest excite- 



ment in England. The English Government 

 immediately took active measures to protect 

 British interests in the East, and for this pur- 

 pose ordered a portion of the Mediterranean 

 Squadron to proceed to Constantinople. Hir 

 Stafford Northcote, in announcing in the Com- 

 mons on February 8th that this measure had 

 been taken, added that it was done only to 

 protect life and property. In its orders to 

 Admiral Hornby on this subject, the English 

 Government instructed him to force the pas- 

 sage of the Dardanelles if necessary. The ap- 

 plication of force seemed inevitable for a time, 

 as the Sultan refused to grant the desired fir- 

 man, on the ground that the entrance of the 

 British fleet into the Sea of Marmora would 

 certainly be followed by a Russian occupa- 

 tion of Constantinople. This view was war- 

 ranted by the semi-official declaration by the 

 " Agence Russe " that the entrance of foreign 

 fleets into the Bosporus at a moment when 

 Russia and Turkey were concluding peace 

 would give to the former Power full liberty 

 of action. If the presence of the British fleet 

 were necessary for the protection of the Chris- 

 tians, it would also be the duty of the Russian 

 troops to afford them the same protection. 

 The Grand Duke Nicholas declared himself 

 highly gratified with the resolution of the 

 Porte to refuse the desired passage to the 

 British fleet. In the Turkish Parliament, how- 

 ever, this resolution met with a strong oppo- 

 sition, and Ahmed Vefyk was called upon to act 

 with the greatest caution toward England. 

 The Minister, in reply, stated that no force 

 would be used against the fleet, but that the 

 Porte would content itself with a simple pro- 

 test, and would throw all the responsibility 

 upon England. On the afternoon of February 

 13th the fleet passed through the Dardanelles, 

 and on the evening of the 14th it anchored 

 near the Prince's Islands, two miles south of 

 Constantinople. Immediately afterward Prince 

 Gortchakoff issued the following circular : 



The British Government has announced to us that 

 they were about to dispatch a portion of their fleet 

 to Constantinople for the protection of life and prop- 

 erty of British subjects, whose security, according 

 to information they had receivedj was threatened. 

 We contemplate sending a portion of our troot>9 

 temporarily into Constantinople for precisely the 

 same purpose, with this distinction that our pro- 

 tection, if there were occasion for it, would be ex- 

 tended to all the Christians. The two Govern- 

 ments, therefore, would be fulfilling a duty of hu- 

 manity common to both. Consequently this act, 

 pacific in its nature, could not assume any charac- 

 ter of mutual hostility. 



With regard to this note, Lord Derby said 

 in the House of Lords: "We do not admit 

 that the cases of our ships before Constantino- 

 ple and the military occupation of the city are 

 analogous. That is our opinion ; nnd I have 

 written a dispatch in reply to Prince Gortcha- 

 koffs telegram to that effect." 



On the 17th the squadron retired to Gera- 

 lik on Mudania Bay, 35 miles south of Con- 

 stantinople, but within a few days took up ita 



