114 



REVIEW OF REVIEWS. 



April 1, 1913. 



occupation of some of the largest. 

 The Powers will probably hx up some 

 arrangement on the lines of the old 

 Cretan agreement, one, by the way, 

 which has led to infinite friction and 

 difficulty ever since it was made. But 

 the Powers dare not allow one of their 

 number to have the Islands, and are 

 frightened to let Greece keep them, 

 holding that she is too weak to protect 

 them from a strong power in a Euro- 

 pean war, so are prett}' certain to 

 compromise on some form of Turkish 

 suzerainty. 



The wickedness of the War. 



That the war should have been re- 

 newed after the armistice was wicked 

 folly on the part of the combatants. 

 For this Bulgaria is chiefly responsible. 

 When the armistice was arranged her 

 representatives showed a criminal lack 

 of foresight, which staggered her 

 Allies, although they loyally upheld 

 their action. Greece, the only member 

 of the league who had not agreed to 

 Bulgaria representing her, refused 

 absolutely to be bound by the terms 

 arranged, and carried on the war 

 alone. The Bulgarian envoys, too, 

 were largely responsible for the delay 

 at the peace conference and for its 

 ultimate failure. The " coup d'etat " at 

 Constantinople was of course the chief 

 cause of the breaking up of negotia- 

 tions, and prevented the Powers from 

 reaping the result of their united 

 policy. " Ouem Deus vult perdere, 

 prius dementat." There seems no other 

 explanation of the insensate folly of 

 the Turks m refusing to recognise the 

 ufter impossibility of retrieving their 

 lost position. As it is, thousands of 

 lives have been lost and peace will now 

 be made on the lines proposed by the 

 Powers in January. It is clear though, 

 that Bulgaria's action m the peace 

 negotiations is resented by her allies. 



and further trouble is no doubt in 

 store. 



The Re-Crouping of the Balkan States. 



Roumania has been making friendly 

 overtures to Servia, and Greece is much 

 more happy in her alliance with King 

 Peter's subjects than with the Bul- 

 garians. In fact, trouble has occurred 

 whenever the Greek troops met those 

 of King Ferdinand. The worst case 

 was at Negrita, when the Bulgarians 

 fired on the Greeks with Krupp guns 

 and were replied to in kind. Bulgaria 

 therefore is likely to stand somewhat 

 alone, and Servia, Greece and Rou- 

 mania come closer together ; Monte- 

 negro does not count much in any case. 

 The Austrian bubble has been pretty 

 effectively pricked, and the Balkan 

 States united will not fear her. Whe- 

 ther they remain united or not will 

 depend mainly upon Roumania, whose 

 influence is certain to be exerted 

 against Bulgaria. The greatest incen- 

 tive to continue the League is the 

 demonstration the war has given that 

 " United we stand, divided we fall." 

 The European crisis which threatened 

 to develop into war over the settle- 

 ment of the Balkan question has 

 passed, but the balance of Power has 

 received a rude shock and will re- 

 quire considerable readjustment. 



Europe's Equilibrium. 



German}- m particular has had to 

 suddenly prepare herself for emergen- 

 cies, finding that she can no longer 

 rel\- upon Austria's assistance, for the 

 Dual Empire is entangled in the Bal- 

 kans, where the formerly despised little 

 states with no common policy are now 

 strong enough to give her trouble. Italy 

 is in no mood for war. She has Tripoli on 

 her hands, where she has still to stamp 

 out the spluttering remnants of opposi- 

 tion to her occupation. Consequently, 

 Germany is taking extraordinary mea- 

 sures to strengthen her army. In order 



