274 



Tini; Review of Reviews. 



supreme jjower is a ste|) in the right direc- 

 tion. The merits of this organisation were 

 rather in the direction of the destruction of 

 the old r('gime than the construction of a 

 new Turkey, ^"o-day the pohcy of con- 

 struction must begin, and to no country 

 does Turkey look as she does to us. Were 

 those who are sincerely anxious for the 

 creation of a new Turkey to be assured that 

 the British lunpire, which is also the greatest 

 Mohammedan Empire, were behind them, 

 the present stop-gap Cabinet would make 

 way for one composed ot the most progress- 

 ive elements. To expect drastic changes 

 at Constantinople while the Turks cannot 

 know who are their friends and who their 

 enemies is expecting too much. We must 

 give them a friendly lead. Although the 

 actual Government does not pretend to be a 

 permanent one it nevertheless contains many 

 elements of good. It means to maintain the 

 Chamber and to insist that the Elections 

 shall be tree. It excuses itself for the 

 amnesty of the old exiles by the fact that it 

 is strictly constitutional, since these officials 

 of the time of Abdul Ilamid were exiled 

 without any legal trial. The surest guarantee 

 that no unconstitutional methods will be 

 followed is that Turkey to-day looks towards 

 Great Britain, and knows that by following 

 constitutional methods she at least avoids 

 any danger of meriting a rebuff. 



The Albanian disturbance 



Albania, 



Montenegro, ^^'1'' 'iiore smoke tiian hrc, 



and and the prompt measures 



Bulgaria. ^.j,.^.,^ ,^^. ^^^^ authorities in 



the way of an expression of readiness to 

 treat with the rebels, and at the same time 

 showing jjreparation for the emplovnient of 

 militarv force, had a very salutary cfTect. 

 The Albanians not only returned home, but, 

 having obtained rifles, went towartls the 

 Montenegrin frontier with the avowed inten- 



tion of repelling anv attack from the sub- 

 jects of King Nicholas. The Albanian 

 situation is one which will have to be dealt 

 with in due course, but it is very compli- 

 cated indeed, there being little national 

 cohesion and a very decidedly developed 

 system of clan vendetta to be taken into 

 account. For the moment Albanian unrest 

 must mean Servian and Bulgarian anxiety, 

 since in Macedonia and Old Serviathe bulk 

 ot the po|)ulation is related to the people of 

 one or other State. But it is extremely 

 improbable that cither King Ferdinand or 

 King Peter desires to pull the chestnuts 

 out of the fire for Austria or Russia, and 

 they know quite well that by precipitating 

 war they are creating a situation very well 

 calculated to swallow them up as well as 

 extinguish any future hopes. We may 

 take it then that there will be no movement 

 on the j)art of Bulgaria or of Servia, and 

 that these nations will aid, as far as is possi- 

 ble with the sentiments of their populations, 

 in Turkey's work of regeneration. But it 

 must not be forgotten that in Bulgaria 

 especially the voice of the people may in 

 the end override the will of the King anil 

 the Government. We do not, however, 

 believe that the wiser course will be aban- 

 doned, and with a mutually tolerant appre- 

 ciation of inevitable frontier incidents, 

 peace will be preserved. And internal 

 peace will thus synchronise with the coming 

 peace with Italv. 



N\'e are too ajjt to regard 

 The Progress the Smaller luiropean States 



°f nil 



Bulgaria. — especially those m the 



proximity of Turkey — as 



nure epluiucral creations, living from hand 



to mouth, and re\elling in battle, murder, 



and sudden ileath. it is therefore a pleasant 



corrective to this erroneous view of things 



to record the twenty-fifth anniversary of the 



