RUSSIANS AT ADRIANOPLE his sword to the wounded hero and assigned him Charchov as a place of imprisonment. The fate of Plevna practically brought the whole campaign The Turks to an end. By the capture of Osman's army the whole of Scattered. Bulgaria north of the Balkans and west of the Kara Lom, with the exception of Widin, was cleared of the Turks, the Russians being in possession of the principal passes across the Balkans, excepting their southern ends. It was decided to proceed with a winter campaign. Gourko's force was raised to 80,000 men, and Radetzky's to 70,000 at the Shipka Pass. On January 4th, 1878, Sofia was occupied by the Russians without opposition; and on January 9th, by Skobelev's advance over the Shipka Pass, the Turks were surrounded and 30,000 men surrendered. Suleiman was preparing to oppose Gourko's advance between Philippopolis and Sofia when he heard of the surrender of Shipka. He retired upon Adrianople, but, finding that he could not reach that city before Radetzky, took refuge in Macedonia, leaving a rearguard under the command of Fuad Pasha. Fuad detained Gourko for three days near Philippopolis, but was finally driven into the mountains. The remains of Suleiman's army were collected on the coast and taken to Constantinople by sea. The Russians occupied Adrianople on January 22nd, without opposition, and on the last day of the month an armistice was signed which led to the Treaty of San Stefano. In the middle of December Servia began to join in the war, Turkey's and attacked Nish and Pirot in the south and Widin in the east. Appeal to The Greeks were forced to defend their frontiers against the wild Britain. Tcherkesses, whom the Turks were unable to restrain. The latter were reduced to the last extremity, and there was a chance at last of their meeting with a fit punishment for their prolonged career of crime, but they addressed a circular to the Powers asking for intervention. Abdul Hamid wrote a personal appeal to Queen Victoria, which, to the disgrace of Great Britain, met with a favourable response. British traditional policy had always been to oppose Russia and support Turkey, a policy which is now considered to have been a serious error. It was imagined that the aggrandisement of Russia implied danger to India, whereas wise statesmen ought to have seen that by depriving Russia of her natural growth towards the Mediterranean, and forcing her to Eastern conquest, instead of recognising her as the legitimate heir to the Byzantine Empire, they were compelling her to adopt a system of expansion which threatened to pass the barrier of the Himalaya. Britain Prepares for War. Treaty of The British Cabinet was now hopelessly divided, some of its members wishing to see the Christian Cross replace the Crescent on the dome of St. Sophia, others to declare an immediate war with Russia. Parliament met on January 17th, and on January 23rd the British fleet was ordered to leave Besika Bay for the Dardanelles, to keep the strait open, and, in the event of riots at Constantinople, to protect the lives and property of British subjects. The admiral started on the following day, having received a firman from the Sultan, without which, under the Treaty of London, no ship of war could pass the Dardanelles. However, wiser counsels prevailed, and he was recalled to Besika Bay, which, for the honour of his country, he ought never to have left. But a credit of £6,000,000 was asked for in Parliament to prepare for war, should war be necessary. The Treaty of San Stefano was the wisest measure ever San Stefano. proposed for the pacification of the Balkan Peninsula. It was by no means favourable to Russian ambition, and, indeed, suggested the suspicion that it was drawn up by Ignatiev with exaggerated moderation, because he knew that as soon as it was concluded it would be torn to pieces by Great Britain. It created a large Bulgaria, founded on knowledge of the history of that country and her claim, through her energy and steadfastness, to be the dominant Power in the Peninsula. It recognised that Tirnova and Ochrida are the two foci of the Bulgarian nation, just as Moscow and Kiev are of Russia, one the civil, the other the religious capital. The new Bulgaria received Kavala on the Ægean as a port for the exportation of her produce. She was recognised as a free Christian province of the Turkish Empire, with an elective prince. Thus constituted, she could not have been a satellite of Russia, but was far more likely to become ungrateful to the Power which had created her, and thus be an effective barrier to the advance of Russia towards Constantinople. In their ignorance, the bulk of British statesmen knew nothing of this; they had no knowledge of Bulgarian history, and an incorrect map was issued to members of Parliament, which entirely distorted the true state of affairs and represented Ochrida as a part of Macedonia. Servia, Montenegro and Roumania were to be acknowledged formally as independent in theory as they were already in fact. Bosnia and Herzegovina were made self-governing provinces, and other provinces inhabited by Christians acquired a similar position. Russia was to receive an indemnity of £12,000,000. Bessarabia, which which was now part of Roumania, was to be BIRTH OF JINGOISM exchanged for the Dobrudsha, which now belonged to Russia, and in Asia Russia was to receive Batoum, Ardahan, Kars and Bayazid. at Con This very moderate arrangement, which, if accepted, would have British Fleet solved most of the questions which afterwards disturbed the East, stantinople. was received by Great Britain with a shout of indignation, wholly irrational and unfounded. However, before its conclusion there was danger of war between Russia and Great Britain, and the feeling between the two countries was adroitly stimulated by Lord Beaconsfield. On February 11th the British fleet was sent to Constantinople, without the permission of the Porte, and Prince Gortshakov announced that Russian troops would immediately enter Constantinople, which would have been the best thing that could happen. At Woolwich Arsenal extra hands were employed, and the vessels at Chatham were ordered to be ready for sea. The fleet before Constantinople was reinforced, and preparations were made for a land expedition. The music halls vociferously shouted the refrain of the song, 'We don't want to fight, but, by Jingo, if we do, We've got the ships, we've got the men, we've got the money too." Succeeds Although it was quite obvious that the treaty did not Lord endanger either British or German interests, it was thought Salisbury necessary to appeal to the arrangement of 1856, by which Great Lord Derby. Britain, France and Austria had agreed to maintain the integrity of the Turkish Empire; and Lord Derby, the Foreign Minister, informed Gortshakov that the whole treaty must be submitted to a European congress. This Russia objected to, declaring that she could only accept a discussion of those points which affected European interests. When the reserves were called out, Lord Derby resigned, Lord Salisbury taking his place. The new Foreign Secretary did not lose a minute in issuing a circular dispatch that the Treaty of San Stefano must be submitted to a congress of the Powers, which eventually met at Berlin. To that question our attention must now be directed. Russia. CHAPTER IV THE CONGRESS OF BERLIN British and GREAT BRITAIN and Austria had been waiting at the doors of Austrian the congress house in the village of San Stefano in order to destroy Jealousy of the treaty between Russia and the Porte so soon as it was concluded. Jealousy and vindictiveness had been roused by the victories of Russia, and the two Powers had no doubt that the conditions of peace would be such as to excuse their passions and raise them to a higher pitch. Sincere, therefore, was the surprise at the moderation of the terms proposed; but Great Britain, at least, refused to be pacified, and the warlike spirit she had so laboriously evoked had got beyond her control. A council of the Crown had met in Vienna on February 24th, at which Andrassy had asked for a credit of 60,000,000 gulden, which was granted by the delegates on March 21st. This was rather with the view of lending emphasis to the policy of Austria than as a war loan. Indeed, the Minister announced that, in his opinion, the outstanding questions could be settled without war; he had no objections to the proposals about Bosnia and Herzegovina, but felt that he could not permit the creation of a large Bulgaria. Indeed, Ignatiev, the author of the treaty, took pains to spare the susceptibilities of Austria by giving her a means of control on the west similar to that which Russia was reserving for herself on the east. Britain's But the attitude of Great Britain was very different. As we have already said, she clung closely to the arrangements of Paris in 1856, and demanded that the whole of the treaty should be submitted to the arbitrament of Europe. The Ministry obtained from Parliament a credit of £6,000,000, preparations for war were pursued with vigour, the reserves were called out, and the unusual step was taken of summoning Indian troops for active service in Europe, a measure of very doubtful legality. Lord Stanley was placed at the War Office, and Gathorne Hardy took the seals of the India Office, which had been left vacant by the transference of Lord Salisbury to the Foreign Office. A circular note of the new Foreign Secretary, dated April 1st, 1878, explained Great Britain's position. He said that it had SALISBURY'S MANIFESTO been recognised by the European Powers, including Russia, in This manifesto, based upon ignorance and prejudice, is a A Disdiscreditable event in British history. As we have said, the map creditable of the Balkan Peninsula distributed to members of Parliament was of a mendacious character. Reference to authoritative sources, such as Petermann's Mitteilungen, would have shown that the Bulgarians were the predominant Power in the peninsula and that the Greeks had no claim to consideration. Salisbury knew little or nothing about Bulgarian history, or the conditions on which alone a stable government could be erected. This circular rested on the mischievous attitude assumed by Beaconsfield at the outset of his Ministry, when he was in dire need of a policy. Salisbury admitted afterwards that he was wrong; but it is a poor reparation for a disastrous error to say some years Event. |