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The Review of Reviews. 



has the fullest assurances that Bukharest 

 will not move. The mobilisation of the 

 Roumanian Army along the northern 

 bank of the Danube, which forms the 

 frontier between Roumania and Bul- 

 garia, would suffice to prevent war 

 between Bulgaria and Turkey. And 

 such action on the part of Roumania 

 would be the direct result of a request 

 by the Great Powers. Austria can 

 bring pressure to bear on Servia, as 

 history has shown time and again, 

 since Austria has never failed to exercise 

 this power to the detriment of Servia' s 

 national development. Thus there 

 should be no difficulty in avoiding war 

 from the North. If there be peace, the 

 credit will largely remain with King 

 Charles. We would also go so far as to 

 say that Italy and her allies would never 

 have ventured on the present dangerous 

 " powder-play " had they not been 

 sure of the policeman. If the situation 

 can be held stationary even for ten 

 days, the crisis is over, since it is im- 

 possible for Bulgaria, at any rate, to 

 maintain her army on a war footing for 

 many days without disastrous results. 

 Thus there is every probability that 

 Turkey, freed from the preoccupation 

 of Tripoli, will be able to turn her 

 attention to reform at home. The pre- 

 sent display of warlike possibilities will 

 serve as a stimulus to more rapid reform. 

 But the essential is that this country 

 shall lose no time in assuring Turkey 

 that we are going to help her, to back 

 her up, and to prove that the 

 Turks who demonstrated before 

 the British Embassy in Constantinople 

 and cried " Vive V Angleterre " were not 

 buoying themselves up with a false 

 reliance on British friendship. It is 



easy to understand why it is im- 

 possible for any other Great Power, 

 save ourselves and possibly France, to 

 undertake the task of helping Turkey 

 disinterestedly. Russia wishes Constan- 

 tinople and part of Asia Minor, Austria 

 desires the road down to Salonica, Italy 

 longs for the Albanian coast of the 

 Adriatic, while Germany hopes by sup- 

 port of Austria's desire to obtain a 

 Mediterranean or Adriatic seaport. 

 Inevitably therefore these countries 

 must either desire a weak and not a 

 strong Turkey or else be prepared to 

 forgo their ambitions. 



However much this 

 Islam— the Key couutry may be in 

 British Empire, f^vour of refonus in 

 Turkey, and even if 

 there be much sympathy for their 

 small neighbours who have decided to 

 force the pace, we cannot afford to 

 forget that our interests are vitally 

 bound up with Turkey. The two 

 Mohammedan Powers must stand to- 

 gether — we, at any rate, cannot afford 

 to allow undue coercion and possible 

 disaster to befall the Caliphate. If we 

 were ready, if Constantinople were to 

 pass out of Turkish hands, to constitute 

 ourselves as guardians of the holy 

 cities of Islam, we might be able to 

 decide impartially in a Near Eastern 

 question. As it is, we cannot help our- 

 selves : we must support Turkey. 

 Material interests, again, should urge us 

 to do so, since we have nothing save 

 sentimental bonds with Bulgaria, 

 Servia, and Greece ; they are always 

 bound to be more likely against us 

 in any European coalition than with 

 us. And this not because they par- 

 ticularly desire it, but because we have 



