Bismarck, and to leave a copy with his Excellency, should he desire it. Lord Odo Russell. I am, &c., DERBY. The Earl of Derby to Lord Odo Russell.* MY LORD, Foreign Office, May 19, 1876. In the despatch which I have addressed to your Excellency on the 19th instant I have stated that Her Majesty's Government are unable to give their assent to the proposals which the three Governments desire should be urged upon the Porte, and have mentioned the reasons which have induced Her Majesty's Government to refrain from doing so. Those proposals take the shape of certain defined points for negotiation between the Porte and the insurgents, coupled with an armistice and an intimation of an intention to take further measures should the negotiation be unsuccessful. None of these proposals had previously been discussed with Her Majesty's Government, or, so far as they are aware, with the other Powers signataries of the Treaty of Paris; and the inconvenience has consequently arisen again, as in the case of Count Andrássy's note, of a set of Articles being submitted for the acceptance of Great Britain without any opportunity having been afforded for a preliminary consideration of their details by Her Majesty's Government, or for the possible objections of Her Majesty's Government, to be considered by the three Governments concerned. Her Majesty's Government attach little importance to forms in matters of this kind, and would have readily accepted the present proposals had they appeared to them to afford a feasible plan for the pacification of the insurgent districts; but they cannot accept, for the sake of the mere appearance of concert, a scheme in the preparation of which they have not been consulted, and which they do not believe calculated to effect the object with which they are informed it has been framed. I leave it to your Excellency's discretion how far it may be desirable that you should indicate the views of Her Majesty's Government in this respect in your communications with the German Government. Lord Odo Russell. I am, &c., DERBY. Similar instructions were addressed to Her Majesty's Representatives at Vienna and St. Petersburgh. Copies were sent to Her Majesty's Representatives at Constantinople, Paris, and Rome. PROCLAMATION of the Prince of Servia, at the commence." ment of the War with Turkey.—Deligrad, June 18, 1876. (Translation.) TO MY BELOVED PEOPLE: A YEAR has almost elapsed since our brothers in Bosnia and Herzegovina rose in arms to defend themselves against the excesses of an arbitrary rule and unheard-of acts of violence. Their sufferings always awoke a sympathetic echo in our breasts, and when last year we heard them breathe again, I announced to our National Assembly my determination to do whatever lay in our power to seek for a satisfactory mode of pacifying those provinces, to whose fate we can never be indifferent. I said at the time that as Servia suffered most, both morally and materially, from those recurring insurrections, she has the greatest interest in putting an end, once for all, to a state of things by which they are caused. But, from the moment that the Sublime Porte entered into negotiations with the Great Powers for the purpose of effecting the work of pacification, it became our duty to wait patiently and respectfully for the result of that attempt so zealously pursued by them in favour of our suffering brothers. But the measures adopted by the Sublime Porte having failed in inspiring confidence in the insurgents, the heroic struggle continued in the Herzegovina, and a cruel repression made itself felt in Bosnia. Whilst we were looking on as mere spectators on our western frontier, a fresh insurrection broke out in the opposite direction in Bulgaria, which thus became the theatre of fearful devastation and acts of cruelty. The results of Mussulman fanaticism made themselves felt in European Turkey, and assumed such dimensions in Constantinople amongst the class teaching the Koran that these are now exercising a paramount influence on the destinies of the Empire within the metropolis. All these symptoms leave little hope of pacification, and the state of affairs, instead of improving, becomes every day more perplexing, leaving no hope to Servia of extricating herself from the difficult position in which she has been for nearly 12 months. Notwithstanding all these difficulties we have done nothing to embarrass the Porte or the Great Powers in their attempted work of pacification; on the contrary, my Government supported numerous Bosnian refugees at a considerable sacrifice, we preserved order on our frontiers, and our army, which had been sent thither, was recalled. Affairs followed their natural course with us, and we gave no occasion to the Porte to mistrust us. In spite of this the Ottoman Government surrounded our country with troops on all sides, from the mouth of the Timok to the mouth of the Drina. The Turkish army assumed a threatening attitude towards us, and, with its connivance, barbarous hordes of Bashi-Bazouks, Circassians, and Albanians made inroads into Servia, pillaging churches and peaceful inhabitants, threatening the latter, and frequently carrying off cattle, &c. Brothers, for nearly a year you have suffered such acts of violence on our dear soil, entire districts have been compelled to act as watchmen, and protect their lives and families against pillaging forays. All our representations to Turkish authorities and to their Government have proved fruitless, and they continued to encircle Servia with their army, thus interfering with our commerce, and, by putting a stop to our growing prosperity, compelled us to adopt exceptional measures. Thus, without having war, we endure all the miseries of war. Owing to your patience, to your respect to law, and to your obedience to my authorities, you refrained from giving vent to your just indignation at these numerous acts of violence. In the presence of such complications, can my Government be reproached with having carried out the resolutions of our "Skoupstchina," our National Assembly, in providing proper measures of defence for the security of the country? And still this is made a subject of reproach against us by the Porte, who has herself forced all these sacrifices upon us. Brothers, without paying attention to your wounded feelings, I listened to the advice given me by the Guaranteeing Powers, and continued in the path of reason and moderation, and I made you subdue your deep sentiments; but the Porte, instead of giving us credit for this forbearance, asked for an explanation on the subject of our armaments. Even then I endeavoured to make a modest and conciliatory reply, and proposed sending a special Mission to Constantinople with a view to bring about a lasting peace between us and the Suzerain Imperial Government. By way of replying to this offer, the Porte decided on collecting a variety of irregulars on our frontier, savage hordes of Bashi-Bazouks, Circassians, and Albanians approached from various directions, and even barbarous Kurds from Asia were sent for, evidently for no other object than that of exposing Servia to the calamities of fire and plunder, of humbling us, and destroying our prosperity. The Porte, unable to justify its own bad management to the world, is evidently seeking. for some pretext to throw on us the responsibility for its own crimes, and she imagines that it would be a great boon if Servia could only be annihilated; if a country whose institutions stand out in such striking contrast to those of the neighbouring Turkish provinces could be made to disappear from the list of self-governing lands. Brothers, were we to continue, after all this, in an attitude of forbearance, our moderation would be taxed as weakness, our silence considered as cowardice, unworthy of the descendants of Doushan and of Milosh. Though a war between the Porte and the Servian people has become inevitable, I have, however, made representations at Constantinople, pointing out certain measures likely to pacify the disturbed provinces, and to extricate Servia from the perilous position in which she finds herself through no fault of her own. I demanded that the Turkish troops and irregular hordes should be withdrawn, and I announced that the Servian army was about to enter the disturbed provinces in self-defence, in the name of the humane and brotherly sentiments which animate us towards our suffering brothers, to bring them peace and order, and reorganize them on a basis of justice and equality without distinction of creeds. It behoves the Porte to say only one decisive word, and thus put an end to the effusion of blood. Servian soldiers, we go into this war, not with any feelings of hatred or revenge, but merely impelled by a strong desire to restore peace amongst our brothers. Proud as you ought to be of the mission of freedom which has been assigned you by Providence in this portion of Eastern Europe, go forward, soldiers, hopefully and with confidence, using your arms only against those who oppose you. In crossing the frontier, do not forget that we shall adhere to the principle of the integrity of the Ottoman Empire, unless the opposition of the Imperial army should make our sacred cause depend on the fate of battles. Remember, likewise, that the provinces whither you are going are inhabited by brothers of the same race, ready to receive you as deliverers; some there are among them who have been estranged from us by difference of creed, but they still continue our brothers by race and language. Should any of these offer resistance, you must have recourse to arms; to those, however, as also to any of your enemies who are peacefully disposed, you must give protection for their lives, their families, their property, and their worship. This is my firm determination as well as your sacred duty, and by this means only can you gain the sympathy of the civilized world, and convince it that you deserve a better place among nations than the one which has hitherto been assigned you. Ours is a national movement, and there ought to be no room in it either for religious fanaticism or for social animosities; we bear with us the spirit of order, justice, and security; not that of destruction, incendiarism, or devastation. Strangers are to be treated by you with that spirit of hospitality which is innate in Slavs. Show respect to the frontiers of the neighbouring kingdom, and avoid every occasion of offence to the Imperial and Royal Government, which is entitled to our special gratitude for the generous assistance given to the Bosnians and Herzegovinians who took refuge on its soil. Full of confidence in your courage and patriotic feelings, I go with you, and as your leader; with us will go our brave countrymen, the Montenegrins, with my chivalrous brother, Prince Nicholas, at their head; we shall also have on our side the heroic sons of the Herzegovina and those of Bosnia, who have suffered centuries of cruel oppression. The laborious Bulgarians are only waiting for us; and the love of independence of the proud Greeks, the descendants of Themistocles and of Bozaris, will not allow them to remain long inactive. Forward, therefore, my soldiers, in the name of Almighty God, the righteous Father of all people, for justice, liberty, and progress! MILAN M. OBRENOVITCH IV. TURKISH NOTIFICATION of the Declaration of War by Servia and Montenegro against Turkey.*-Constantinople, July 2, 1876. The Turkish Minister for Foreign Affairs to Musurus Pasha.(Communicated to the Earl of Derby by Musurus Pasha, July 3.) (Télégraphique.) Constantinople, le 2 Juillet, 1876. LE Prince de Serbie a adressé à son Altesse le Grand Vézir une lettre assez longue, datée le 22 Juin, dans laquelle, après avoir articulé certains griefs non fondés, et parlé de la concentration des troupes du côté de la ligne de démarcation, il finit par déclarer sa résolution de co-opérer, par l'emploi des forces militaires de la Serbie, à l'établissement d'un état de choses favorable aux intérêts communs de l'Empire et de la Principauté. Le Prince prie, par conséquent, la Sublime Porte de lui faciliter sa mission, en donnant aux autorités Impériales l'ordre de renvoyer dans leurs foyers ce qu'il appelle des bandes des pillards, faisant allusion aux irréguliers, et d'enjoindre aux troupes Impériales de ne pas mettre obstacle à ses efforts, afin de lui permettre de professer hautement le principe de l'intégrité de l'Empire. En même temps, dans une dépêche adressée à l'Agent de la Principauté, M. Ristich l'invite à proposer à la Sublime Porte de confier au Gouvernement Princier l'administration de la Bosnie contre le paiement annuel d'une somme fixe et invariable. *Laid before Parliament with "Correspondence respecting the Affairs of Turkey and the Insurrection in Bosnia and the Herzegovina,” in 1876. |