BULGARIA. 



75 



nance ; Vulkovich, Minister of Public Works 

 and Minister of the Exterior ad interim ; Gre- 

 koff, Minister of Justice ; and Tesharoff, Min- 

 ister of Education. The new National Assem- 

 bly, a simply consultative body, contained 80 

 members, elected by the indirect system. 



The Conservative party became gradually 

 imbued with the same jealous distrust of Rus- 

 sian supremacy which the Liberals professed. 

 The latter represented the sentiments of the 

 bulk of the population, among whom gratitude 

 toward their Russian deliverers, and affinity for 

 the popular ideas agitating Russia in contra- 

 distinction to the ideas of liberty and reform 

 which prevail in Western Europe, co-existed 

 with a jealous spirit of resistance to the domi- 

 nation of the Russian Government. 



The Russian generals worked tor a time in 

 harmony with their Conservative colleagues. 

 But in January, 1883, a difference arose re- 

 garding the projected line of railroad from So- 

 fia to Rustchuk. On their insistance, Vulko- 

 vich retired from the ministry, being succeeded 

 by Stoiloff, a man of similar patriotic Bulga- 

 rian sentiments. The pretext for the dismissal 

 of Vulkovich was the action of the Govern- 

 ment in the matter of a Radical demonstration, 

 for which action Soboleff was himself chiefly 

 responsible. Zankoff, who had been kept in 

 prison for many months, was a few weeks be- 

 fore allowed to leave the country. He returned 

 to Rustchuk, and was received with public 

 manifestations of sympathy. The demonstra- 

 tion was suppressed by the prefect. The Gov- 

 ernment, trying to satisfy all parties, dismissed 

 the prefect and reimprisoned Zankoff. Other 

 subjects of dispute arose, particularly the ques- 

 tion of employing the civil power to execute a 

 disciplinary decree pronounced against Mile- 

 tius, Archbishop of Sofia, by the Bulgarian 

 Synod. Soboleff acquiesced in the forcible 

 seclusion of the prelate, but fearing the effect 

 in Russia, where the act might be construed as 

 an indignity committed upon a high dignitary 

 of the Holy Orthodox Church, threw the 

 blame upon his colleagues. In March, Stoi- 

 ioff, Gregoff, and Natshevich sent in their res- 

 ignations. A working Cabinet was formed, 

 in which a Russian, P -ince Hilkoff, was given 

 the Ministry of Public Works, and other Rus- 

 sians or partisans of the generals the other 

 posts. The rupture between the Conserva- 

 tives and the Russian ministers became com- 

 plete. When the Prince went to Moscow to 

 attend the coronation of the Emperor, after 

 first visiting the Sultan at Constantinople and 

 stopping at Athens, he found there a deputa- 

 tion from the National Assembly, a deputation 

 of Liberals, and his two Russian ministers, all 

 desirous of laying their grievances before the 

 Emperor. When, after the ministerial crisis 

 in March, the Russian generals took the gov- 

 ernment of the country entirely into their own 

 hands, they found themselves isolated. The 

 contracts which they distributed among Rus- 

 sians rendered them unpopular. They rejected 



the authority of the Prince, and represented at 

 St. Petersburg that constitutional government 

 ought to be restored. They approached the 

 Radicals, who demanded the restitution of the 

 constitution of Tirnova. The Prince, who 

 submitted tamely to the open insubordination 

 of the Russian ministers, resisted the return to 

 regular government, because he would not 

 govern with a Radical ministry and Assembly. 



The only hope of emerging from the lawless 

 condition under which the country suffered, 

 with no sovereign power capable of exercising 

 authority, was by a compromise and fusion of 

 the two warring political parties. The Russian 

 emissaries were under standing orders to bring 

 about a return to a constitutional regime as the 

 chief part of their task. The Liberal leaders 

 were recalled from exile, and in August they 

 held consultations with the chiefs of the Con- 

 servative party. Their demand for the convo- 

 cation of a Grand Sobranje, for the re-estab- 

 lishment of the constitution of Tirnova, was 

 inacceptable. 



The Russian Government sent M. Jonin as 

 extraordinary embassador to direct the set- 

 tlement of the question of the Constitution. 

 Prince Alexander quarreled outright with his 

 chief minister, and attempted to dismiss him 

 and form a ministry of Bulgarian Conserva- 

 tives. The Russian generals thereupon showed 

 the Prince orders from the Emperor not to 

 leave the country, even at the Prince's com- 

 mand. Jonin then presented an ultimatum, 

 demanding that the Prince should lay down 

 his autocratic powers, call a Great Sobranje 

 within six months, for the adoption of a Con- 

 stitution, and in the mean time leave the ad- 

 ministration entirely in the hands of the two 

 generals. Alexander finally complied with the 

 demand by issuing a manifesto on Sept. llth, 

 announcing the appointment of a commission 

 to elaborate a Constitution which would be 

 laid before a Great National Assembly. 



The Prince, in order to avoid the humiliation 

 of resigning the sovereignty to the Russian 

 agents, made up his mind at last to come to 

 terms with the Liberal party. Zankoff and 

 Balabanoff, on behalf of the Liberals, and 

 Natshevich and Grekoff, the Conservative lead- 

 ers, effected a compromise, whereby the con- 

 stitution of Tirnova was restored by proclama- 

 tion, subject to revision by the Great Sobranje, 

 but the legislative powers were to be exercised 

 by the extraordinary Sobranje elected in De- 

 cember, 1882, as to some extent they virtually 

 had been all along, instead of by a new So- 

 branje elected under the old Constitution. This 

 course was urged in a resolution of the Nation- 

 al Assembly in which both parties united their 

 votes. By this turn of affairs, General Sobo- 

 leff was taken by surprise, and rendered power- 

 less. The entire episode was prearranged by 

 the Prince and the political leaders, all parties 

 suddenly sinking their differences for the pur- 

 pose of escaping the dictation of the obnoxious 

 Russian agents. Giving the anomaly of gov- 



