376 



GEEECE. 



The position taken by France, repudiating 

 the idea that France or Europe had promised 

 or guaranteed to Greece the boundary proposed 

 by the conference of the signatory powers held 

 in June, 1880, at Berlin, was formally declared 

 to the Greek Government in a dispatch of 

 Barthelemy Saint-Hilaire to the French minis- 

 ter at Athens, Count Mony, dated December 

 28th. He appealed to the Greeks to submit 

 the dispute to arbitration. The conference had 

 suggested an extension of Greek territory of 

 20,000 square kilometres, and a court of arbi- 

 tration could not be expected to reduce it by 

 as much as 2,000 or 3,000 square kilometres. 

 If Greece should reject the valuable accession 

 of territory which would certainly be decreed 

 to her without cost by the arbitrators, and 

 should elect to plunge into war for the sake of 

 a small additional extension, when the whole 

 of the territory claimed now belongs in fact 

 and of right to Turkey, then the civilized world 

 would do best to leave to Greece the entire re- 

 sponsibility for the terrible consequences. In 

 the complications which would result, the na- 

 tional existence of the Greek monarchy would 

 not, improbably, be blotted out. 



In a dispatch, dated January 7th, Barthelemy 

 Saint-Hilaire again reviewed the situation, and 

 emphasized his construction of the relations of 

 the powers to the Greek question. 



On the 20th of January Premier Coumoun- 

 douros addressed to the powers a circular note 

 on the Greek claims. The Berlin Congress, 

 recognizing the precarious state of feeling in 

 Epirus and Thessaly, and the danger to the 

 peace of the Orient arising from the existing 

 condition, adopted the thirteenth protocol, re- 

 lating to the rectification of the boundary. The 

 Porte endeavored to circumvent the decision 

 of the international Areopagus, after signifying 

 its acceptance in principle. The negotiations 

 over the particulars were continued over three 

 years without results, so that the supplement- 

 ary conference became necessary. The con- 

 ference of 1880 settled upon a boundary-line 

 which satisfied the requirements of the Treaty 

 of Berlin. The Porte then recognized the au- 

 thority of the decision, which was spoken of 

 as assigning important provinces to Greece. 

 Now it is sought to interpret it as a mere rec- 

 ommendation, the execution of which might 

 be refused or deferred indefinitely. The Turk- 

 ish policy of procrastination has no other aim 

 than to stir up race passions in the border 

 provinces, for the purpose of changing the 

 proportions of the different nationalities in the 

 population, and to tire out the Hellenic king- 

 dom, which had made military preparations to 

 occupy the territory assigned to it by the de- 

 cree of Europe, and to restore order there. 

 Europe ought to take measures to carry out 

 the decision, and remove the cause of the 

 strained and embittered state of feeling which 

 was continually growing worse, and the dan- 

 gers to the border provinces, to Greece, and 

 to Turkey, which were imminent. 



In a letter of instructions to Turkish embas- 

 sadors, dated the 14th of December, the Porte 

 offered to confer with the great powers con- 

 cerning the Greek boundary, through their 

 embassadors at Constantinople, but refused to 

 submit the matter to a court of arbitration. 

 The government at Athens likewise rejected 

 the proposal for a new arbitration. 



The preliminaries to the conference proposed 

 by the Porte were protracted till March. The 

 Greek and Turkish Governments were pre- 

 vailed upon to engage that no offensive steps 

 would be taken before the negotiations with 

 the powers were ended. Greece was informed 

 that no aid would be extended by the powers, 

 in case she refused to accept the boundary 

 agreed upon. The Cabinets of Berlin and Vi- 

 enna were in accord with the position taken 

 by the French Government. To this the Brit- 

 ish ministry also gave a formal adherence, in 

 order to not break the European concert, but 

 was inclined to uphold the guarantee of the 

 Berlin Conference, and anxious to safeguard 

 the interests of Greece. 



Messinesis, of ^Egion, interpellated the gov- 

 ernment in the Chamber, February 24th, with 

 reference to the diplomatic steps taken. He 

 dilated upon the wrongs committed upon the 

 Greeks in Thessaly, the severity with which the 

 poll-tax was being collected, and the imprison- 

 ment, proscription, and barbarous treatment of 

 the Hellenes. In Epirus and Albania as well, 

 the Greek population was driven into banish- 

 ment and thrown into prison by thousands, 

 and whole towns were destroyed through the 

 atrocities of the irregular soldiery from Asia, 

 which had been let loose upon the land. 



Coumoundouros answered that all had been 

 done which a Greek Government could do for 

 their oppressed brothers ; that they knew 

 nothing about negotiations in Constantinople, 

 and acknowledged only one decision of Europe, 

 that of the Berlin Conference. 



About the 1st of March, the Minister for 

 Foreign Affairs and Premier, Coumoundouros, 

 was visited by the ministers of the treaty 

 powers in a body. In answer to an interroga- 

 tory in the Chamber regarding the circum- 

 stance, he gave the information that it was to 

 notify him that fresh negotiations for a peace- 

 ful compromise had been entered upon at Con- 

 stantinople, and that the Porte had promised 

 not to commence hostilities pending the con- 

 sultations, and to obtain from him a like as- 

 surance ; to which request he gave the follow- 

 ing answer : " The King's government will be 

 guided by the wishes of the powers, as it al- 

 ways has, in the past. It will abstain from any 

 hostile act against the neighboring state, in the 

 hope that the negotiations commenced in Con- 

 stantinople will speedily confirm and regulate 

 the execution of the award of Europe." 



The first proposition made by the Porte 

 to the conference was the transfer of Crete, 

 and the cession of the portion of Thessaly be- 

 tween the existing boundary and the Peneus. 



