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BULGARIA. 



garia. The Sobranje convened at Tirnova. the 

 ancient capital, on July 4. The strength of 

 the two factions in the Government was meas- 

 ured by the vote for president, Dr. Tontcheff, 

 a candidate suddenly proposed by Stambuloff, 

 receiving 275 votes, against 74 for the regular 

 nominee of the ministry, and a like number for 

 the candidate of the Opposition. On 1 July 7, 

 Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha was 

 elected Prince of Bulgaria by acclamation. 

 After receiving Ferdinand's conditional accept- 

 ance, and choosing a deputation to make the 

 formal tender to the prince-elect, the Sobranje 

 adjourned on July 9. 



Change of Ministers. After the election of a 

 Prince, the quarrel between members of the 

 Cabinet and Stambuloff was brought to an issue 

 by the latter's insisting that Nicolaieff, who 

 objected to the regent's giving direct orders 

 to the army, should resign. The whole Cabi- 

 net resigned, and a new one of moderate lib- 

 eral diameter was constituted as follows: 

 8toiloff, President of the Council, Minister of 

 Justice, and Minister of Finance ad interim ; 

 Nachevicb, Minister of Foreign Affairs ; Dr. 

 Tchomakoff, Minister of Public Instruction ; 

 Dr. Stransky, Minister of the Interior; Major 

 Petroff, Minister of War. The new Govern- 

 ment at once directed that all persons under 

 arrest for political reasons should be released. 

 Dr. Stransky, the leader of the Eastern Roume- 

 lian revolution, was, when called into the Cab- 

 inet, diplomatic agent at Belgrade. Major 

 Petroff was chief of staff during the Servo- 

 Bulgarian war. Stoiloff and Nachevich were 

 the conservative members of the late Cabinet. 



Installation of the Prince. Prince Ferdinand 

 telegraphed his acceptance of the invitation of 

 the Great Assembly, subject to the approval of 

 the Porte and the great powers. To the depu- 

 tation of the Sobranje which waited on him 

 at Ebenthal, in Austria, on July 15, he said 

 that he should hasten to Bulgaria if he fol- 

 lowed the impulses of his heart, but that trea- 

 ties mast be respected, and he hoped by allow- 

 ing his respect for them to justify the confi- 

 dence of the Porte, regain the good-will of 

 Russia, to whom Bulgaria owed her emanci- 

 pation, and secure the approval of the other 

 great powers. He announced his conditional 

 acceptance to the representatives of the pow- 

 ers in Vienna. The Porte sent a circular to 

 the powers asking an expression of their views 

 in regard to Prince Ferdinand's election, and 

 all gave a qualified consent except Russia, 

 which replied that, as the Assembly which 

 elected him was an illegal one the St. Peters- 

 burg Cabinet couid pay no attention to its acts. 

 The Bulgarian deputies urged Prince Ferdi- 

 nand to come at once to Tirnova and take the 

 oath of office. He intended first to visit St. 

 Petersburg, and enter Bulgaria if possible with 

 the approval of the Czar, but the Russian Gov- 

 ernment informed him that his election could 

 not be recognized on any pretext. After wait- 

 ing till the patience of the Bulgarians was al- 



most worn out, and finding the European 

 Governments apathetic, he decided to go to 

 Bulgaria without their consent, but not, per- 

 haps, without secret intimations from con- 

 trolling quarters. When he started, the St. 

 Petersburg Government addressed a circular 

 to the powers expressing the hope that they 

 would not tolerate this infraction of tho Berlin 

 Treaty, and declaring that Russia could not 

 constitute herself the sole guardian of its stipu- 

 lations, now threatened with final subversion. 

 On arriving at Widdin, August 11, the prince 

 issued a proclamation promising to consecrate 

 his life to the happiness of his dear people. He 

 took the constitutional oath at Tirnova before 

 the Sobranje, assembled in special session, on 

 August 14. The proclamation with which he 

 assumed the Government made no allusion to 

 Russia, or to the suzerain power, or to inter- 

 national treaties, and ended with the words, 

 " Long live Bulgaria, free and independent! " 

 The ministry resigned their portfolios into his 

 hands, and the Sobranje was prorogued. On 

 arriving at Widdin, Prince Ferdinand sent a 

 telegram to the Sultan presenting his homage. 

 The St. Petersburg Cabinet, in a dispatch to 

 the Porte, formally protested against Prince 

 Ferdinand's action, and Riza Bey was recalled 

 from Sofia, yet diplomatic relations were not 

 broken off, Artin Effendi receiving the nomi- 

 nal appointment of high commissioner to Bul- 

 garia. In answer to a circular of the Porte, 

 England and the other powers in an identical 

 note expressed their sense of the illegality and 

 impropriety of Prince Ferdinand's proceedings. 

 Russia proposed to denounce the Berlin Treaty, 

 and sounded the Turkish Government on the 

 question of the occupation of Bulgaria by 

 Russian and Eastern Roumelia by Ottoman 

 troops. The Turkish occupation of the Balk- 

 ans, accompanied with a peremptory demand 

 that Prince Ferdinand should quit the country 

 was then discussed ; also the sending of a Rus- 

 sian commissioner to Sofia, Gen. Ernroth be- 

 ing mentioned for the place, accompanied by 

 Artin Effendi, who should act in the same ca- 

 pacity for Turkey. The latter plan was sup- 

 ported by France and Germany, but the Porte, 

 following the counsels of the other powers, 

 declined to take part in such a proceeding. 

 When Prince Ferdinand arrived in Sofia, on 

 August 22, none of the foreign diplomatic 

 agents participated in his reception. Dr. Vul- 

 kovich, the Bulgarian political agent at Con- 

 stantinople, attempted to explain away the 

 declaration of Bulgarian independence con- 

 tained in the Prince's manifesto. The Turkish 

 Government in a dispatch to Prince Ferdinand 

 informed him that the Porte and the powers 

 considered his conduct illegal. Prince Ferdi- 

 nand asked permission to go to Constantinople 

 to do homage to the Sultan, biit it was refused. 

 The New Cabinet. There was much difficulty 

 in the formation of a ministry, but on August 

 31 one was constituted at last, made up of the 

 following members : Stambuloff, Prime Minis- 



