II: 



REVIEW OF REVIEWS. 



April 1, 1913. 



his word, and left only " A heap of 

 smoking ruins " to his foe, for, before 

 surrendering, the Turks fired the city 

 which was speedily a sea of flames. 

 The capture of the stronghold liberates 

 some 50,000 Bulgarian troops, who 

 promptly reinforced the lines, investing 

 Chatalja, the last defence of Constanti- 

 nople. Although the Turks are beaten 

 flat, the Allies will not be able to en- 

 force their demands, because the 

 Powers have now determined that the 

 war must cease, and peace be made in 

 accordance with their terms. 



The Peace Terms. 



The Allies, despite their magnificent 

 achievements, are in a more chastened 

 mood than the\' were at the Peace 

 Conference in London last Januar}'. 

 The cost of the war in men and trea- 

 sure has been terrible, and, although 

 the chiefs of the Balkan League de- 

 mand much more than the Powers will 

 allow, it is probable that peace will 

 be made pretty much on the lines the 

 latter lay down. Before even Adrian- 

 ople had fallen, the terms put forward 

 by the Powers, and agreed to by Tur- 

 key, were as follows: (i) The new 

 frontier to extend from Enos on the 

 Aegean Sea to Midia on the Black Sea. 

 {2) Turkey to abandon all control 

 over Crete. (3) The Powers to decide 

 about the future of Albania and the 

 Aegean Islands, except Crete. (4) 

 Turkey not to pay a war indemnity. 

 This gives Adrianople to the Allies, but 

 allows Turkey to retain control of the 

 Dardenelles. The terms the Balkan 

 Allies insisted on were: (i) The sur- 

 render of Adrianople, Scutari, and the 

 Aegean Islands. (2) Turkey to re- 

 nounce all rights over Crete. (3) The 

 new frontier to extend from Rodosto 

 on the Sea of Marmora to Malatra on 

 the Black Sea. (4) Turkey to pay a 

 war indemnity. Since the fall of 

 Adrianople the Allies have agreed, in 

 substance, to the terms of the Powers. 



These, in a collective note, have com- 

 manded Montenegro to cease the at- 

 tempt to capture Scutari, but this httle 

 State, furious that the town is to be 

 included in an autonimous Albania re- 

 fused to obey, and pressed on the siege 

 with renewed vigour. An international 

 fleet is ready to enforce obedience. The 

 hard}' mountaineers have done little 

 to help in the war against the Turk, 

 and, although they started hostilities, 

 the}' have failed to subdue the one 

 town against which the}' concentrated 

 all their energies. Its fall could have 

 had no effect on the course of the vcar. 

 The}' will get little territorial aggran- 

 disement for all their pains, and will 

 be saddled with a huge debt. 



Albania anil the Islands. 



The Powers have decided that Al- 

 bania is to be an independent Re- 

 public or State, but whether the Al- 

 banians are capable of ruling them- 

 selves is quite another matter. There 

 is little cohesion r.mongst the people — 

 some are Moslems, some Christians. 

 They never paid regular taxes, and 

 each village has led an independent 

 existence. The concert of Europe will 

 have to see that some form of gov- 

 ernment is carried on, but ere long 

 Servia will no doubt come into her own. 

 An interesting complication would arise 

 if the new Republic decided to ally 

 herself with Servia without the con- 

 sent of the high contracting parties. 

 We should have a Cretan question over 

 again, only in a far more dangerous 

 form. In Montenegro itself, signs are 

 not wanting that union with Servia 

 ma}" take place. Many American-Mon- 

 tenegrins returning to fight for their 

 country are said to advocate such a 

 course, the}', having shaken off the 

 filial attitude towards King Nicholas 

 he is accustomed to from the rest of 

 his people. The question of the Aegean 

 Islands is complicated bv the Italian 



