Ward A.W. The Cambridge History of British Foreign Policy. 1783-1919. Volume 3
Подождите немного. Документ загружается.
THE
NOVIBAZAR
RAILWAY
PROJECT
395
that
the Powers
should
represent
to
the
Sublime Porte that the
heavy
charges
on the
Macedonian
Budget
for
the
maintenance
of
Turkish
troops
are
out
of all
proportion
to
the
services which
they
render in the
mainten-
ance
of
public
security,
and
that
the
only
effective means of
suppressing
the bands
lies in
the
increase
upon
a
large
scale of
the
gendarmerie,
the
formation
of
mobile
columns of
gendarmes,
and
in
granting
executive
power
to the officers in
command. The
savings
effected
by
the
reduction
of the
troops
would
provide
funds for
their
increase
and
adequate
equip-
ment."
This
vigorous
call
fell on
deaf ears
;
for
none of
the
other
Powers
cared
for
the
sufferings
of
the
Macedonian
peasant.
Well
might
Lord
Newton exclaim
that Great
Britain was
the
only
sentimental
country
in
the
world
!
While
pleas
for
inaction were
trickling
in
to
Downing
Street,
a
deadly
blow was
struck at the
waning
prestige
of
the
Concert.
On
January
27th,
1908,
Baron
Aehrenthal,
the
masterful
diplomat
who
succeeded
the
pliant
Goluchowski at the
Ballplatz
in
1906,
announced
that
he had
obtained
from
the
Sultan
permission
to
survey
the
route
for a
railway through
the
sanjak
of
Novibazar,
connecting
the Bosnian
system
with the
Turkish
terminus at Mitrovitza
1
.
Article XXV
of
the
Treaty
of Berlin
empowered
Austria to
construct
military
and
commercial roads
through
the
sanjak
;
and,
though railways
were
not
specifically
mentioned,
nobody argued
that the
Austrian
Minister
was
exceeding
his
Treaty rights.
On
March
24th,
Prince Biilow
spoke
with
sympathy
of
the Austrian
project,
"though
we neither
gave
nor
were
asked our
advice." "I was informed of
the
intention,"
echoed
Tittoni in
the Italian
Chamber,
"but
I
could
not
dispute
the
right.
There
is no
danger
to the Concert
or
to
peace
if
all
the Powers
regard
railways
as an
item
in
the
reforms of
Macedonia."
Very
different
was
the
reception
of
the news
in
Russia.
Izvolsky
complained
that
it
was a
gross
violation
of
the
spirit
of
the
Miirzsteg
Agreement
;
and
the
cooperation
in
the
Balkans
inaugurated
in
1897
came
suddenly
to an
end.
The wound was far too
deep
to be
healed
by
Aehrenthal's
subsequent
acceptance
of
the
project
of
a
railway
from
the
Danube
at the
junction
of
Servia and
Roumania
to San Giovanni di Medua
in
northern Albania.
Sir
Edward
Grey's
references
to Austria's
action
were
polite,
but
unambiguous.
"
Our
attitude towards these
railway projects,"
he
declared
on
February
28th,
"
is
one
of
benevolent
neutrality.
But this
latest
project
has
undoubtedly
1
See
Molden, Graf
Aehrenthal,
pp. 32-8.
396
TRIPLE ALLIANCE
AND
TRIPLE ENTENTE
been the occasion of
very
marked
comment.
That
this
special
moment
should be chosen
for
promoting
a
large
railway
scheme which
requires
the
Sultan's
consent was
sure to
excite
apprehension
lest individual Powers
should
be
turning
their attention
to
objects
specially
adapted
to their
interests.
Any impression
of
that kind
must
produce
a
most unfortunate
effect on
public
opinion
in
the
Balkans,
at
Constantinople
and on the
Concert
itself. I
should
regret
exceedingly
that
any
such
impression
should
gain ground,
because I wish to
see the Concert
maintained for Macedonian
reforms
Moreover,
in
discussing
the Macedonian
question
you
are
never far
from
the
Turkish
question,
which has
more than once led
to a
European
war. As
long
as
the
Concert exists
you
have
a
certain
guarantee
that
the
question
will
not lead
to
war. Once
they
lose touch
with one
another,
you
cannot
tell
what
misunderstandings may creep
in and how
far
they
may go.
Has
then the
launching
of a
railway
scheme
really
affected
the
Concert
adversely?
I
trust
not;
but
I
do
feel that
it
is incumbent
on
the
Powers,
after all that
has
passed,
to
make
it
clear that there is no
ground
for
such
an
apprehension."
The
Foreign
Secretary
proceeded
to
repeat
the
demands,
the
acceptance
of
which
by
the Powers he had
been
privately
endeavouring
to secure
throughout
the
winter,
and
added
that it
might
be
necessary
to
go
further.
"
If
a
Turkish
Governor were
appointed
for a fixed
term
of
years
—
a
man
whose
character and
capacity
were
accepted
and
recognised by
the
Powers
—
and
if
he had a
free hand and
his
position
were
secure,
I
believe
that
the
whole
Macedonian
question
might
be
solved.
Under
secure and
effective
administration
the Financial
Commission and the
gendarmerie
would
have the
fullest
use made of
them,
and
the
country,
I am
convinced,
would
be
swept
of
bands and
pacified.
I am
not
putting
that forward
as a
definite
proposal
to
which we
ourselves are
pledged.
We have no amour
propre
in
the
matter.
We are
perfectly ready
to abandon
any proposal
of
our
own,
if
any
of
the
Powers will
come
forward with
any
other
proposal
likely
to
be as
effective or
more
effective
and
which recommends itself
more to
the
Concert
as a
whole.
For I
am convinced that
the Macedonian
problem
can be
settled
if
the Concert will
only seriously
take
it in
hand.
Tinkering
at
the
Miirzsteg
programme
will not
improve
the situation.
Anything
less than
a
real
remedy
can be little better than a farce. We are
rapidly
arriving
at
that
point
when the Concert must either
justify
itself
or
stultify
itself.
Macedonia,
if
it continues to be
neglected,
must
sooner
or
later
provoke
a
catastrophe."
Sir
Edward
Grey
had
recovered the
unfaltering
accents
of Lord
Lansdowne.
Aehrenthal
complained
to the British Ambassador
that,
according
to
this
argument,
Austria was
prevented
from
doing
anything
to
promote
her
interests
in
the
Balkans,
lest
she should
thereby
encourage
AN
INDEPENDENT
GOVERNOR
DEMANDED
397
Turkish
resistance
to reform.
The
Austrian
Press,
led
by
the
Fremden-
blatt,
roundly
declared
that
an
independent
Governor
was
impossible
without
coercing
Turkey
;
and
comment
in
the other
capitals
was
no
more
encouraging.
Undeterred
by
the hostile
reception
of
his
speech,
Sir
Edward
Grey
embodied
its
substance
in
a
vigorous despatch
to
the
Great
Powers. The
Government,
he
declared,
had
received
the
replies
on
his
Gendarmerie
proposal
with
great
regret
;
and no
alter-
native
scheme
had
been
proposed.
"
If the note on
judicial
reforms is not
presented,
and if it
is understood
that
the
Powers have
dropped
this
project
without
putting
forward
any
other
proposal
of
reform,
the
effect will
be
most
deplorable.
The situation
is
not
beyond remedy
;
but it
cannot be remedied
by
half-measures. Were
a Governor
of Macedonia to be
appointed
who would
be
given
a free hand
and be
irremovable
for a
term
of
years
except
with the consent of the
Powers,
and were
an
adequate
force
of
gendarmerie
and of
European
officers
placed
at his
disposal,
the
Government
are convinced that the
country
might
be cleared
of
bands
and
pacified
in a short time. The
Governor
would be a Turkish
subject,
and
might
be
a Christian or a
Mussulman.
The Government believe
that,
if all the Powers make it
known that
they
are
equally
in
earnest
and
resolved,
they
can
secure
the
acceptance
of
any proposal
which
does not
involve a
disintegration
of
Ottoman
territory.
If
the Powers are not
prepared
to
assume
this
attitude,
the
Concert,
as an instrument
for
securing
reforms,
has ceased to exist."
The
prompt
response
of
the
Russian
Government,
which since
the
sanjak
coup
was now free
to
pursue
its
own
line,
manifested
a
welcome advance
towards
the British
standpoint.
While
still
unable
to
accept
the
proposed
reduction
of Turkish
troops,
it
supported
the
increase
of
the
numbers and
powers
of
the
Gendarmerie.
If
the
appointment
of a
Governor
for Macedonia
had no chance
of
being
adopted
unanimously by
the
Powers
or
accepted by
the
Sultan,
the
same
object
could be attained
by making
the
Inspector-
General
irre-
moveable for a
term
of
years.
At the
same
time,
judicial
reform
should be
seriously
pressed.
Sir
Edward,
delighted
by
the
reply,
virtually
accepted
the
proposal
that the
Inspector-General
should
be
raised
to the
rank of
Vizier,
confirmed
for a
term
of
years
and
super-
seded
only
with the
consent
of
the
Powers.
There
seemed at last
to
be
some
prospect
of
advance.
If
further
progress
was
to
be
made
it
could
only
come from
the
growing
intimacy
of Great
Britain
and
Russia
;
and
it was
to foster
the
spirit
of
confidence
and
cooperation
that
King
Edward
accepted
the
invitation to visit
the
Tsar
at
Reval
in
June.
The
first visit ever
paid by
a
British
Sovereign
to
Russia
aroused
398
TRIPLE
ALLIANCE AND
TRIPLE
ENTENTE
unusual interest
both
at
home
and
abroad.
Radical and
Labour
circles
in
England deplored
the
step
at a
time
when
the
struggle
between
the Tsar and his
people
was
at its
height,
and
Nicholas
dared
not welcome his
guest
in his
own
capital.
Grim
stories
of
"
Stolypin's
necktie,"
of
prisons
crowded
with
untried
prisoners,
of
a
torture-chamber
at
Riga,
of
exiles
rotting
in
Siberia,
had
filtered
through
to the
West.
The
Conservative
Press,
on
the other
hand,
pointedly
recalled
the
King's journey
to
Paris in
1903.
The
visit was
sharply
challenged by
the
Labour
party
in
the
debate on
the
Foreign
Office
vote
on
June
4th,
and
warmly
defended
by
Sir
Edward
Grey
on
grounds
of
high policy.
The
King's
visits
abroad,
he
began,
had
been
uniformly
beneficial. No
negotiations
were on
foot
for
any
new
treaty
or
convention
with
Russia,
and none would
be
initiated
during
the
visit.
But
it
would
emphasise
the fact that
the relations
between
the
two countries
were
of a
friendly
character.
The
Convention of
1907
and
the
Reval
visit were
parts
of
the
same
policy.
"
I
am for a
loyal understanding
between the
countries,
working
together
where
their
interests touch.
I
stand
by
that,
and if
the House
rejects
it
or
makes it
impossible
I
fall with
it.
That
is
a
policy
of
peace.
The
other
policy
urged
on us leads in
the
direction
of war."
The
visit,
moreover,
was
long
overdue,
and could
not
be
postponed
without marked dis-
courtesy.
We
might
as well
tear
up
the
Convention,
and
to
continue
the
discussion of
Macedonian reforms would be
fruitless. The
internal condition
of Russia was
irrelevant to
the
issue,
and
we had
no
Treaty rights
to
justify
interference.
"
You
think
you
are
simply
advocating
a breach
between
two
Governments,"
concluded
the
Foreign Secretary.
"You
are
advocating
something
which in
the
long
run
is bound
to
make bad blood
between the two
peoples."
If
it
was
too late to
cancel the
visit,
replied
Keir Hardie on behalf of
the
Labour
party,
let it
be of
a
private
character.
"
For
the
King
to
pay
an official
visit
is
to condone
the atrocities
for
which
the
Tsar's
Government
and
the Tsar
personally
must
be held
responsible."
Mr
Balfour
supported
the official
policy,
which was
approved
by 225
to
59;
but the
large
number
of
abstentions
in
a crowded House
was
symptomatic
of
a
widespread repugnance
to intimate relations with
the
Russian
Government.
King
Edward
was
perplexed
and
annoyed
at the outburst
of
resentment.
"
Thevisit."
writes Sir
Sidney
Lee,
"
followed his cruises
round
the
other
northern
capitals,
and he
regarded
as overdue the
personal civility
to
the
KING
EDWARD AT REVAL
399
Tsar,
who
was
nephew
to his
wife,
and to whom
he
was
deeply
attached.
The
unrest
in Russia
was no
concern of
his,
and
only
awoke
in
him
sym-
pathy
with the
ruler
whose
life it
oppressed.
He
was
hardly
conscious
of
the
deep-seated feeling
which
the
alleged tyranny
of
the
Russian Govern-
ment
had excited
in
many quarters
in
England
1
."
On
June
10th,
the
King
and
Queen,
accompanied
by
Sir
John
Fisher,
Sir
John
French and Sir
Charles
Hardinge,
reached Reval.
11
1
am
confident,"
declared
the
Tsar,
"
that this
meeting
will
strengthen
the
numerous
and
powerful
ties
which unite our
Houses,
and
will
have
a
happy
result
of
bringing
our
countries closer
together,
and of
maintaining
the
peace
of the world.
During
the
past year
several
questions
of
great
importance
for
Russia
and Great
Britain have
been settled
satisfactorily.
I am
certain
that
Your
Majesty appreciates
as much as
myself
the value
of
these
agreements,
for,
despite
their limited
scope,
they
can
only
aid in
spreading
between
our countries the
sentiments
of
goodwill
and
mutual
confidence."
"
I can
cordially
subscribe to the words of Your
Majesty
on
the Con-
vention
recently
concluded,"
replied
the
King.
"I
believe it will
serve
to
strengthen
the ties
which unite our
peoples,
and I am
certain it will lead
to
a
satisfactory
settlement
of
some
important
matters
in
the
future.
I am
convinced
that it will also
greatly
aid to maintain
the
peace
of the world."
Izvolsky
and Sir Charles
Hardinge
also
issued a
communique stating
that
they
were
in
complete agreement
on
all
points.
"The
two
Ministers
have convinced themselves
anew of
the desire
of Russia and
Great Britain
to maintain the best relations with
all
the other
Powers,
and
to
give
none
of
them
reasons
for
disquietude
as
to the
object
of
the
special agreements
between the two countries
or of
their
general
policy."
These
soothing
assurances
merely
stimulated
speculation,
and
far-reaching
designs
were
confidently
attributed
to
the actors
in
the
drama.
In
Germany
and
Austria,
fantastic
legends
were current.
"The
assumption
at the
time,"
wrote Reventlow
in
1915,
"and
later
proved
correct,
was that the
monarchs
arranged
to launch a
war of
annihilation
against Germany
and
Austria,
in
association with France
and
the Balkan
States,
as
soon as Russia had
reorganised
her
army.
The Russian
experts
calculated
that this
would
require
from
six to
eight
years."
Prince Biilow
displayed
his
anxiety
by
pointed enquiries;
and
Izvolsky
assured him
that
"no
open
or
secret
Anglo-Russian
Conventions existed which
could be
directed
against
German
interests."
That
apprehension
was felt
in
still
higher quarters,
as was
revealed
by
a
speech
of
the
Kaiser to
his
officers
during
an
inspection
1
Dictionary
of
National
Biography
y
Edward VII.
4
oo
TRIPLE
ALLIANCE
AND
TRIPLE
ENTENTE
at
Doberitz.
"It
seems
they
wish
to
encircle
and
provoke
us. We
shall
be able to
support
it.
The German
has never
fought
better than
when
he
has
had
to
defend him on
all sides."
A few
days
later
he
was
greeted
at the
Hamburg
regatta
with unusual
enthusiasm and
by
Die Wacht
am
Rhein. "When
I
asked
myself
what this
outburst
meant,"
he
declared,
"our old German
song
burst forth.
Then I
knew.
Gentlemen,
I
thank
you
and I
have
understood
you."
Germany
was mistaken
in
attributing
to
the
chief
actors at Reval
designs
against
her
security
or welfare
;
but
she was
justified
in
the
belief that the
visit
had
tightened
the bonds between the two Powers.
In
a letter to
BenckendorfF,
written
on
June
18th,
Izvolsky
reported
that
the
general
impression
of
the visit
was
extremely
favourable
1
,
and
that
the
King
had
openly
expressed
his
satisfaction,
referring
with
special
pleasure
to the
happy
trend
in Russia's
domestic
affairs
and
Stolypin's
activities.
He had
had
long
conversations with
Hardinge
on
the
European
situation.
The
latter
did
not
think
that
Anglo-German
relations
would
grow
worse
just
at
present;
but,
if
Germany
continued
to
build
at her
present pace,
in seven or
eight
years
an
extremely disquieting
situation
would arise.
Then,
doubtless,
Russia would
be the
arbiter. It
was,
therefore,
the
wish of
Great
Britain,
in
the
interest
of
peace
and the
Balance
of
Power,
that
she
should
be as
strong
as
possible by
land and sea.
Sir
Charles
Hardinge
spoke warmly
of
the
result
of the Convention
of
1907,
and declared
the
Cabinet to
be
resolved
on
cooperation
in Persia. Macedonian
reforms
were
fully
discussed,
and the
British
proposals
were reduced to dimen-
sions which
Izvolsky
hoped
would be
accepted
by
the
Powers.
Nowhere
was the
Reval visit
more
anxiously
canvassed than
in
certain
secret
conventicles
both
within
and without the
dominions
of
the
Sultan.
Young
Turk
exiles
in
Western
Europe
had
long
planned
and
plotted
for a
republic
and a
Constitution,
and
a network
of
committees
was
formed
in
European
and
Asiatic
Turkey,
with their
headquarters
at
Salonika
2
.
Fearing
discovery,
the Committee
of
Union
and
Progress
planned
a
rising
for
September
;
but
the
meeting
at
Reval
determined
it to
forestall
by
immediate action the
inter-
vention
which it
appeared
to
foreshadow.
On
July 3rd,
Niazi
Bey
raised the
flag
of
revolt at
his native
village
of
Resna, and,
on
July
23rd,
the
Constitution
of
1876
was
proclaimed.
On the
following
day,
Abdul
Hamid,
confronted
by
the
Young
Turk
ultimatum,
"Sur-
1
Siebert, Diplomatische
Aktenstuche, pp.
777-9.
2
See
Moore,
The Orient
Express,
ch. 21
: "The
Young
Turks."
THE
YOUNG TURK REVOLUTION
401
render,
or we march on
Stambul,"
granted
the
Constitution.
The
revolution
was
hailed
with
delight
throughout
the Ottoman
dominions,
and
the
murdering
bands
disappeared
as if
by magic.
Opinion
in
this
country greeted
the
revolution
with
enthusiastic
and
almost
unanimous
approval,
though
a
few of
the
older Glad-
stonians
grumbled
that
nothing good
could
come out
of
Turkey.
The
sentiment
of
relief was shared
to
the full
by
the
British
Diplomatic
and
Consular
Representatives
and
by
the
Foreign
Secretary
himself
1
.
Sir
Edward
Grey
instructed
our
Charge
d'affaires to
congratulate
the
new
Grand-Vizier,
Kiamil
Pasha,
the
Grand Old Man of
Turkey,
on
his
accession to office
and
the
promulgation
of
a
Constitution.
"His
Highness
should
be assured that the warmest
sympathy
has been
called forth
by
this event
in
England,
in which
country
the welfare of
Turkey
is
earnestly
desired
by
means
of
a
regeneration
of the
Administra-
tion As far as
H.M.'s
Government
are
concerned,
the Macedonian
question
and
others
of a similar character will
entirely
disappear,
once
good government throughout
the
Turkish
dominions
is
established. You
may
assure his
Highness
that
any
changes
or
genuine
efforts on such
lines
will
not
be embarrassed
by
us,
but will receive
our
fullest
sympathy."
On the same
day,
Petrograd
was informed of
the
opinion
of
the British
Government that
"any representations
for
the creation
of a
mobile
force should
be
suspended."
Izvolsky agreed
that it
was
"essential
that Great Britain
and Russia
should avoid
placing
themselves in
antagonism
to
a Mussulman movement
productive
of
genuine
re-
forms,
and
that
a fair chance of
showing
what
good
it
could
bring
about
should
be
afforded
to
that movement.'
'
Thus ended
the five
years'
wearisome
struggle,
waged
almost
single-handed by
Lord
Lansdowne and
Sir
Edward
Grey,
for
the relief
of
the
suffering
peasantry
of Macedonia.
In
the course
of
the
summer
the
whole
machinery
of
control
—
the
Gendarmerie,
the
Financial Commission
and
the
Civil
Agents
—
was
scrapped.
If
it was
in some measure
an
act
of
necessity,
it
was,
in
scarcely
less
degree,
an
act
of
faith.
The
disinterested
sympathy
of
Great Britain was
warmly
appre-
ciated
at
Constantinople.
"A
deputation
visited the
British
Embassy
at Pera
to-day," reported
Mr
G. H.
Barclay,
"and
said
that
they
entertained the most
friendly feelings
to
England
as the
country
which was the
champion
of
liberty. Englishmen
have
been the
recipients
of
many
expressions
of friendliness
from
Turks,
who
feel that
their
aspirations
to Constitutional
liberty
cannot
lack the
moral
support
of
Great
Britain."
1
Turkey,
No.
i,
1909.
Correspondence
respecting
the Constitutional
Movement
in
Turkey.
w.&c.m
26
4
02
TRIPLE ALLIANCE
AND
TRIPLE
ENTENTE
The new
Ambassador,
Sir
Gerald
Lowther,
in
presenting
his cre-
dentials
to the Sultan
on
August
7th,
informed him
that
his
wise
action
in
granting
the
Constitution
had
made an
excellent
impression
in
England.
"
In
reply,
he
twice assured me that he
was
firmly
resolved to act
in
future in
accordance with
the
principles
of the
Constitution,
and stated
that he
depended
on
H.M.'s Government
giving
him material and
moral
support.
Along
the entire
route
from Yildiz to the
Sublime
Porte and
from
there to
the
Embassy,
a distance of about four
miles,
large
crowds
made
me
an
enthusiastic and
spontaneous
demonstration."
In
a
cordial
interview
with
the
Turkish
Ambassador on
July 31st,
Sir
Edward
Grey
asserted
that
our
quarrels
had
never
been with the
Turkish
people,
but
only
with
that
particular
form of
government
which
the Turks
themselves
had now overthrown.
III. The Bosnian
Crisis,
1
908-1
909
While
this
country
was
still
ringing
with
praises
of the
Young
Turk
revolution and
of
the almost
miraculous
restoration
of
tran-
quillity
in
the
bloodstained
valleys
of
Macedonia,
the
harmony
of
the
European
Chanceries was
rudely
disturbed
by
a
proclamation
of
the
Emperor
Francis
Joseph, announcing
the
formal
incorporation
of
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
in his
dominions,
on
the
ground
that
annexa-
tion
was
the
essential
preliminary
to the
grant
of a Constitution
1
.
Aehrenthal had
secured
the
concession
for
the
sanjak
Railway
without
consulting
Russia
;
but he never dreamed
of
annexing
Bosnia without
a
previous
understanding.
The
sanjak
controversy
left
Izvolsky angry
and
suspicious
;
but the mood
passed,
and
in
April, 1908,
he
expressed
his
desire
that the entente
of
the two
Powers
should
be
renewed.
In
a
Memorandum,
dated
June
19th,
he
accepted
the
sanjak
Railway
and
announced
his
readiness,
should the
maintenance
of
the
status
quo prove
impossible,
to
discuss
changes,
among
them
the
annexation
by
Austria of
Bosnia,
Herzegovina
and the
sanjak,
in return
for
the
opening
of
the
Straits to
Russian
warships.
The
intimation
that
Austria
might
annex
Bosnia was a
delightful
surprise
to
Aehrenthal
;
and,
once
assured of
Russia's conditional
assent,
he
determined
to
carry
out the
project
with the
least
possible
delay.
The
statesmen
met at
Buchlau,
Berchtold's castle
in
Bohemia,
on
September
15th.
It was
agreed
that
Aehrenthal
should
give
his
colleague
notice
before
1
See the
Austrian
Red-book, Diplomatische
Aktenstucke
betreffend
Bosnien
und
die
Hercegovtna;
Friedjung,
Das
Zeitcdter
des
Imperialiances
,
II.
165-284;
Molden,
Graf
Aehrenthal,
pp. 39-110;
Conrad von
Hotzendorff,
Aus
meiner
Dienstzeit,
vol. 1.
THE
ANNEXATION OF BOSNIA
403
taking
action
;
but
they
afterwards differed as
to the
date
when such
action
was
expected
1
. The
German and
Italian
Ministers
were
in-
formed
of the
impending
annexation,
but
not
of
its
exact date.
After
completing
his
cure
at
Carlsbad,
the
Russian Minister
crossed
the
Alps,
intending
to discuss
coming
events with
Italy,
France
and Great
Britain. The
Austrian
Minister,
on
the
contrary,
returned to
Vienna resolved
to
act,
and
arranged
with Ferdinand that
he
should
simultaneously
proclaim
Bulgaria's independence
of
the
Sultan.
On
October
1st,
the Austrian Ambassadors
to France
and
Italy,
Great Britain
and
Germany,
were
despatched
from
Budapest
with
autograph
letters
from
their
Sovereign
which
they
were
ordered
to
deliver on October
5th.
When he reached
Paris on
October
3rd,
Izvolsky
found a
letter
awaiting
him
from
Aehrenthal,
announcing
that annexation
would
take
place
on
October
7th.
Since,
however,
President
Fallieres was
to
be
away
on
October
5th,
the
audience of
Count
Khevenhuller was fixed
for
October
3rd;
and on
that
day
the
letter
of Francis
Joseph
was
presented.
"This
letter,"
commented
the
President,
"announces the annexation
of
Bosnia. What
of
the
independence
of
Bulgaria?"
"It
is all
arranged,"
was the
prompt,
but
indiscreet,
reply. "Bulgaria
will
anticipate
us
by
a
day."
When
Count
Mensdorff
presented
the
Emperor's autograph
letter,
King
Edward made
no
attempt
to conceal
his
displeasure,
and
the
Ambassador
afterwards
complained
that he
had
been "turned out
2
."
Lord
Redesdale,
who was
staying
at
Balmoral when
the news
arrived,
has described
the
anger
of his
royal
friend.
The
King's
autograph
reply
expressed
his
regret
at
the
action taken
by
Austria,
and
reminded
the
Emperor
of
the Pact
of
1871.
The
monarch's
indignation
was
shared
by
the
Press,
The Times
leading
the
hue and
cry
with resonant
denunciations.
In
a
speech
to
his
constituents
on
October
7th,
Sir
Edward
Grey
declared
that
any
modification
of
the
Treaty
of Berlin
must be
approved
by
another
European
Congress, just
as Russia's
repudiation
of
the
Black Sea Clauses
of
1856
had
to be ratified at the
London
Conference
of
1871,
in which
Austria
had
taken
part,
and
which
decreed
that
"no Power
can free
itself
from
the
engagements
undertaken
by treaty
nor
modify
its
stipulations
without
consent
of
the
Contracting
Parties."
"We
cannot
recognise
the
right
of
any
State to
alter
any
international
treaty
without
consent,
and we cannot
Izvolsky
's
story
was told in
The
Fortnightly Review, September,
1909.
irenthal's
reply
appeared
in
the November
issue.
Man
hat mich
fortgejagt.
26—2
4o
4
TRIPLE
ALLIANCE
AND TRIPLE ENTENTE
recognise
the
result
of
any
such action
till the
other
Powers,
Turkey
included,
have been consulted." The actual
change
involved
in the
proceedings
of
Austria
and
Bulgaria
was
not
great
;
but
the
manner
was
irregular
and
abrupt,
and
the incident was
particularly
deplorable
at
a
time
when
Turkey
was
setting
her house
in
order.
"
Our relations
with the Government
of
Turkey
have
changed
from
friction
and
remonstrance to
very deep sympathy
Hatred,
strife
and
oppression
have been
swept
away,
and
have been
replaced by fair-play,
peace
and
goodwill.
Never
in
history
has
there
been,
I
think,
a
change
more sudden
and
so beneficent."
The
British Government
wished
the
Young
Turks to have
a fair chance.
Any
slighting
of
the
new
regime
must
give
a
military
direction to a movement
entirely
peaceful,
and
plunge
Macedonia
and Armenia back into the
deplorable
state
from
which
they
had
recently
emerged. Turkey
might
rest
assured
that,
in
any
revision
of
the
Treaty
of
Berlin which
freed Austria
or
Bulgaria
from
their
obligations,
her status
and interests
would
receive
full
consideration.
The
British,
French and
Russian
Ambassadors at
Constantinople
were instructed to tell the
Porte that
all
changes
in
the
Treaty
of
Berlin
required
the assent
of
all its
Signatories
;
and a
British
squadron
was
sent to the
Aegean
as a
symbol
of
sympathy
and
support.
On
October
12th,
Lord
Lansdowne
asked the
Government
for
information,
adding
that
there
was a
feeling
of
the utmost
dismay
in
the
country.
Lord
Fitzmaurice
replied
that
no
definite
arrangements
for
a Conference
had
yet
been
made,
and
expressed
a
hope
that the
aggrieved
States
would
indulge
in no
hasty
action.
On
the
following
day,
however,
an
official
communique
announced that
the
British
and
Russian
Ministers
had
agreed
to
demand
a
Conference.
Izvolsky
had
thus
secured
the first item
of
his
programme
;
but
the
second
and
far more
important
of his
demands
—
compensation
for
Russia
—
had
been refused.
The
Russian
Minister
had
agreed
in advance
to the
annexation
of
Bosnia
and
Herzegovina
in
return
for Austrian
support
for
the
opening
of
the
Straits.
The British
statesman,
on the other
hand,
had
known
nothing
of the
conspiracy against
the
Treaty
of
Berlin;
and,
after
denouncing
its breach
by
Austria,
he could
hardly
support
the
proposal
for
a further
encroachment
on
Turkish
sove-
reignty.
On the
day
of
Izvolsky's
arrival,
The
Times
had
roughly
warned
Russia
"not to
join
in
the
undignified
scramble,
which
would
alienate
Turkey
and
forfeit the
goodwill
of
Powers
with
which
she
was
on
the
best
of
possible
terms."
The
Foreign
Secretary
made
it