774 



UNITAKIANS. 



tion, for whose sake alone the Ottoman Gov- 

 ernment felt constrained to retain so expensive 

 and troublesome a dependency. The Imperial 

 Government insisted that the proclamation 

 against paying tithes should be withdrawn be- 

 fore concessions could be discussed, and this 

 was done by tlie Christian members of the As- 

 sembly. The Government had declared that it 

 could not go further than the Khalepa conven- 

 tion of 1879 without endangering the sover- 

 eignty of the Sultan over the island; yet un- 

 der pressure from the powers it agreed to a 

 compromise. On July 19, Mahmoud Pasha is- 

 sued a proclamation definitely ceding to Crete 

 one half of the customs revenue, promising 

 that deficits in bad years should be made up 

 from r,he surplus revenue of good years, grant- 

 ing to the Christians a larger share in the local 

 administration, and binding the Imperial Gov- 

 ernment to sanction all acts of the local legis- 

 lature within three months of their passage. 

 After accepting this favorable settlement, the 

 Cretan Assembly was closed on July 30. The 

 agitation did not cease immediately, and Mah- 

 moud Pasha was ordered back to the island, 

 but threats of military and naval action con- 

 vinced the unruly Candiotes that they could 

 gain nothing by further disturbances. 



The Montenegrin Boundary. The still unsettled 

 Montenegrin frontier was the occasion of 

 some fighting between Albanians and Monte- 

 negrins in the summer of 1887. A mixed 

 commission came to an agreement in July con- 

 cerning the delimitation of certain pasture- 

 lands in the Berana district that were still in 

 dispute. The suspicious conduct of Prince 



Nicholas of Montenegro in increasing his 

 troops and armaments created alarm in Con- 

 stantinople, as well as in Belgrade, Vienna, and 

 other capitals. The provocative acts of his 

 subjects impelled the Ottoman Government 

 to strengthen its garrisons on the frontier, and 

 to ask the good offices of Russia in averting 

 trouble, besides remonstrating directly with 

 the Montenegrin Government. The convention 

 for the delimitation of the frontier was signed on 

 November 7, and all differences were believed 

 to have been adjusted to the satisfaction of the 

 Montenegrins. It simply carried out provisions 

 of the Berlin Treaty which the Turkish authori- 

 ties were slow in fulfilling because they en- 

 tailed the handing over to Montenegro of dis- 

 tricts that were inhabited and owned by Al- 

 banians. 



Famine in Asia Minor. A severe drought in 

 Anatolia, extending over the southern part 

 of the vilayet of Broussa and the vilayets of 

 Angora, Konieh, and Adana, and with less 

 severity through parts of Smyrna, northern 

 Broussa, and Sevas, occurred in the summer 

 of 1887. The price of barley, which is the 

 principal food-product, rose to twenty times 

 the ordinary rate. Through the liberality of 

 the Sultan and other charitable persons Amer- 

 ican wheat and other food was sent into the 

 district, and the suffering of the people was 

 alleviated to some extent. Even drinking- 

 water was very scarce. Sheep, goats, and 

 horses perished in great numbers. To add to 

 the misfortune, after the grain, opium, and 

 other crops were dried up, there came heavy 

 rains which destroyed the grapes. 



TJ 



UNITARIANS. The " Year-Book of the Unita- 

 rian Congregational Churches" for 1888 gives 

 lists of 384 Unitarian societies and 482 minis- 

 ters in the United States and Canada ; and in 

 foreign countries, of Unitarian churches and 

 societies "in fellowship and habitual associa- 

 tion with Unitarians," in England, 277 ; in 

 Wales, 33; in Ireland, 46; in Scotland, 9; in 

 Hungary, 108; in Australia, 3; in Italy, (1 at 

 Milan); in India, 3; and in Japan, 1. The 

 minutes connected with the Protestant Unions 

 of Germany and Holland, and the Free Chris- 

 tian Union of Switzerland, hold opinions which 

 approximate to those of Unitarians. The in- 

 dependent " Church of the People " (Dr. Kal- 

 thoff), in Berlin, is a body of advanced Unita- 

 rian principles. Liberal Protestant services are 

 conducted regularly by M. J. Hocart in Brus- 

 sels, Belgium. 



The oldest represantative Unitarian body in 

 the United States, though a wholly voluntary 

 one, is the American Unitarian Association, 

 which was founded in 1825 and incorporated 

 in 1847. Its objects are to collect and diffuse 

 information respecting the state of Unitarian 



Christianity in America, to promote union, 

 sympathy, and co-operation among liberal 

 Christians ; to publish and distribute books and 

 tracts inculcating the religious doctrines be- 

 lieved by Unitarians; to supply missionaries; 

 and to help in the support of clergymen and in 

 building churches, when aid is needed. The 

 National Conference of Unitarian and other 

 Christian Churches was organized under the 

 auspices of the American Unitarian Associa- 

 tion in 1865. Ifc purpose is to promote the 

 spread of Unitarian doctrines and the unity 

 and harmony of the churches, by means of 

 conferences held regularly, at Which every 

 Unitarian church, association or conference, 

 theological, academic, and benevolent institu- 

 tion may be represented. It meets every two 

 years ; and its last meeting was held at Sara- 

 toga Springs, N. Y., in September, 1886. The 

 Unitarian Church Building Loan fund has 

 been formed by the American Unitarian Asso- 

 ciation and the National Conference co-opera- 

 ting with each other to aid Unitarian societies 

 in erecting churches. There are also con- 

 nected, or in sympathy with these bodies, the 



