108 



BULGARIA. 



ances in different parts of the country, with 

 the object of hastening a Russian occupation. 

 In Dubnitza, on the Macedonian frontier, a riot 

 occurred, during which the sub-prefect and 

 both of the Government candidates were mur- 

 dered. In Vratza, Zankoff partisans prevented 

 the election from taking place by force; and 

 in Bela Slatina, by spreading a false report 

 that the Government had postponed the elec- 

 tions. Before the elections, it was generally 

 believed that proofs of Karaveloff s complicity 

 in the plot to kidnap the prince existed in the 

 hands of the authorities, yet he still remained 

 a member of the regency, though, holding but 

 little intercourse with his colleagues. He was 

 excluded from the list of Government candi- 

 dates for Sofia, and on an independent ticket 

 received scarcely any votes. 



Treaty of Friendship with Servia. During the 

 crisis, the Servians as well as the Roumanians 

 manifested a strong interest in the independ- 

 ence of Bulgaria, and a desire was shown in 

 Servia to resume friendly relations with Bul- 

 garia. The regents nominated Dr. Strausky as 

 diplomatic agent in Belgrade. The Servian 

 Government made no objection to his person, 

 notwithstanding the part he had played in the 

 Roumelian revolution, but said that it would 

 welcome him as a commissioner to arrange 

 certain difficulties, before all, the Bregovo ques- 

 tion, preliminary to re-establishing regular dip- 

 lomatic intercourse. 



On Oct. 25, Dr. Strausky arrived at Bel- 

 grade as the Bulgarian diplomatic agent, and 

 the same day an agreement respecting the re- 

 sumption of diplomatic relations was signed. 

 Since the war, there had been no commercial 

 or postal intercourse between Servia and Bul- 

 garia. The agreement contained the following 

 stipulations : (1) The Bregovo question to be 

 referred to a joint Servo-Bulgarian delimita- 

 tion commission ; (2) a treaty of commerce to 

 be concluded within six months ; (3) Servian 

 refugees in Bulgaria to be removed to a dis- 

 tance of sixty kilometres from the frontier ; (4) 

 the Vakarel-Sofia-Zaribrod line of railway to 

 be constructed as rapidly as possible, and the 

 line from Nish to Pirot also, if practicable. 

 Gen. Kaulbars informed the Servian Govern- 

 ment that the diplomatic relations with the 

 regency would not be recognized by Russia. 



Russian Menaces. After the elections diplo- 

 matic negotiations were resumed. The Rus- 

 sian agency transmitted a note from Gen. 

 Kaulbars protesting against the complaint of 

 the interference of foreigners in the elections, 

 and delivered two other documents, one com- 

 plaining of an attack on Ihe Russian consulate, 

 the other declaring the election of the Great 

 Sobranje illegal. 



Gen. Kaulbars returned to Sofia on Oct. 22. 

 He refused to accede to the proposition of the 

 rogents that the powers should agree on a can- 

 didate within t\vo weeks on condition that the 

 meeting of the Sobranje should be postponed 

 that length of time. Gadban Pasha on the 22d 



presented a note from the Grand Vizier, re- 

 questing a postponement until Turkey could 

 negotiate with Russia regarding the choice of 

 a prince. The Turkish Government, influenced 

 by Russian representations, objected to the 

 meeting of the Sobranje, because the validity 

 of the elections was contested. The Bulgarian 

 Government on Oct. 28 addressed a circular to 

 the powers announcing that the Great Sobranje 

 would meet in Tirnova on Oct. 31, and proceed 

 immediately to the election of a prince. The 

 Turkish commissioner was informed that, if he 

 doubted the legality of the elections, he might 

 convince himself by attending the sittings of 

 the Assembly. 



On the 25th of October two Russian war- 

 vessels anchored in the roadstead of Varna, os- 

 tensibly to protect the consulate and Russian 

 subjects, according to the explanation given by 

 the Russian Government to the great powers, 

 though at the same time the Bulgarian Govern- 

 ment was informed that the demonstration was 

 intended as a protest against the convocation 

 of the Sobranje. Baron Kaulbars announced 

 that the execution of the officers arrested for 

 the plot of Aug. 20 would be followed by im- 

 mediate action on the part of Russia. On Oct. 

 28 the state of siege was proclaimed by the 

 Bulgarian Government, on account of the at- 

 tacks of the opposition press, and of a plot to 

 overturn the regency, and set up a ministry 

 under Zankoff. The Russian Government or- 

 dered all the steamers on the Black Sea to be 

 in readiness to transport troops, of whom there 

 were 40,000 ready to embark. Baron Kaulbars 

 announced that sailors would be landed from 

 the Russian frigates at Varna, of which there 

 were now three, and informed the regents 

 that if opposition were offered the town would 

 be bombarded. On the 28th he delivered an 

 ultimatum, declaring that if the authors of cer- 

 tain outrages on Russian subjects were not 

 punished he would leave Sofia and break off 

 diplomatic relations. The Bulgarian minister, 

 Nachevich, asked the names of the offenders, 

 but he answered he was not a detective. 



On Oct. 31 the regency yielded to the Rus- 

 sian menaces, to the extent of releasing all the 

 officers who were concerned in the plot to ab- 

 duct the prince. Kaulbars demanded to know 

 if the authors of a recent plot against the re- 

 gency, for which two Russians and ten Monte- 

 negrins, with their Bulgarian accomplices, had 

 been arrested, were included in the amnesty. 

 It was the officials concerned in these arrests 

 who^e punishment he demanded. 



The conduct of Gen. Kaulbars and the mili- 

 tary preparations in the Crimea indicated that 

 the Czar, who was known to have taken the 

 management of the Bulgarian difficulty entire- 

 ly out of the hands of M. de Giers and to be 

 conducting it directly through Baron Kaulbars 

 without regard to diplomacy or public law, was 

 determined to forcibly intervene in Bulgaria. 

 The German Government interfered to dissuade 

 him from precipitate action. Their represen- 



