PROGRESS OF THE ^YORLD. 



223 



event the town was to pass from 

 Turkish hands, made an arrangement 

 with King Nicholas which allowed him 

 to leave with all the honours of war, 

 and secured his support when, with a 

 seasoned army at his back, he pro- 

 claimed himself King of Albania. Aus- 

 tria is furious at the way in which she 

 has been tricked, . and insists that 

 Montenegro shall evacuate Scutari. If 

 Essad is successful in planting himself 

 upon the throne of the new State, and 

 he comes of a powerful Albanian 

 family, his arrangement with King 

 Nicholas would probably prevent him 

 occupying the town, even if it were 

 evacuated. The action of small com- 

 munities has often upset the most 

 careful plans of the Great Powers, as 

 instance the cast of Wallachia and 

 Moldavia, whose union was strongly 

 opiDOsed by the Concert of Europe, 

 which informed them that the>- must 

 both elect princes to rule over them. 

 They both elected the same man, a 

 contingency the Powers had over- 

 looked, and modern Roumania came 

 into being. Something similar may 

 happen in Albania, but whatever does 

 take place m that distracted land, 

 there is, fortunately, no prospect of 

 Europe going to war over it. 



The Allies Disunited. 



Whilst fighting a common foe, ^the 

 Balkan AlHes were united, but the divi- 

 sion of the spoil shows that the very 

 existence of the League is m danger, 

 and ere long Greece and Servia may 

 flv at Bulgaria's throat. The great 

 success of the Allies may well be the 

 cause of their dissensions. No doubt 

 the general spheres each was to have 

 m the event of victor>' were decided 

 before the war began, but their states- 

 men could hardly foresee the amount 

 of territory there would be to divide. 

 Puffed up with victory, as the Allies 



AN AUSTRIAN VIESW". 



The Balkans should be an easy chair for the 

 Dual Monarchy. 



are, they must be most difficult peoples 

 to conciliate, and clash of arms 

 amongst them would not be surprising. 

 In such an event Bulgaria will be in a 

 desperate position, for Roumania is 

 not likely to again stand aloof. M. 

 Tcharykoff, who did \-eoman service 

 as one of Russia's delegates at the 

 Peace Conference in 1907, and retired^ 

 or was almost dismissed from his post 

 as Ambassador at Constantinople two. 

 years ago, has been sent by Russia to 

 reconcile Turkey and the Allies, and 

 form, if possible, a general Balkan 

 Federation. He will have a ver}- stiflF 

 task. 



The Command of the Air. 



Britam is wakmg up to the danger 

 that threatens her from tlie air, and 

 mmisters m Parliament are fulh" occu- 

 pied in answering questions about 

 what IS being done to meet this new 

 peril Apparentl)- very little has been 

 attempted. The Government ,s mark^ 



