giving cause for all sorts of disturbances. It is not impossible that the assassination of the Servian Vice-Consul in Pristina was aimed principally to get rid of a witness of Albanian cruelties and of the powerlessness of the local authorities, whose duty it is to defend the oppressed from their oppressors. All such causes not only give the right to the Servian Government, but impose on them the duty, to demand a full satisfaction from the Sublime Porte. The Servian Minister in Constantinople has received instructions in that sense, and to ask the moral satisfaction due to the insulted Servian flag as well as an indemnity to the family of the late Consul. As moral satisfaction, the Servian Minister is to ask that the soldiers of the garrison of Pristina make a défilé in front of the Servian flag hoisted on the Vice-Consulate. In doing that, the Servian Government is deeply convinced that it not only asserts the interests of their own dignity, but the consolidated interests of the entire international community, which cannot look on with indifference when the most sacred duties in the intercourse of the foreign States are brutally tampered with, and Agents are assassinated whose calling is to cultivate and foster the friendly relations of the various nations and States. M. Yovitchich has, therefore, the honour, in accordance with his instructions, to request his Excellency the Marquess of Salisbury to use his influence and friendly advice at the proper quarter that Servia may receive due satisfaction, and so hasten the judicious settlement of all questions raised in consequence of the unfortunate event in Pristina. The investigation, which is conducted by the Public Prosecutor of Uscup, in conjunction with the authorities of Pristina, and in the presence of the Servian Consul, the said M. Karich, has not had much result as yet. Several persons have been arrested, but there is no positive evidence of their connection with the crime. Among them is also the gipsy aforementioned. It is characteristic that the local authorities of Pristina in the beginning attempted to ascribe the murder to him, wishing to represent the assassination as a crime out of personal vengeance. The absurdity of such a supposition is evident when it is kept in mind that the gipsy in question had been taken to the police by the "gavas " of the Consulate some time before the murder, and that such an explanation is utterly impossible. It has been intended by this, it is thought, to give the murder quite a different character, and make a trivial matter of it. The Royal Servian Legation, London, July, 1890. Mr. Fane to the Marquess of Salisbury.-(Received July 16.) MY LORD, Therapia, July 12, 1890. WITH reference to Mr. Baring's despatch to your Lordship of the 2nd instant, I have the honour to state that from the information I have been able to obtain it appears that a border warfare of an unusually serious description has been going on between the Montenegrins and the Albanians. The Montenegrins appear to have made a regular invasion of the Sandjak of Ipek, and to have severely harried the country. Gusinjé especially suffered, and so much loss of life as well as of property occurred on the side of the Albanians that it is to be feared lest they may refuse to be quieted until they have taken ample revenge on the Montenegrins. However, the Turkish troops in the locality have now been reinforced, and, moreover, I learn that great satisfaction has been given to the Porte by the assurances which it has received from the Montenegrin Government, that they had nothing whatever to do with the incursion which took place in Turkish territory, and that they would do everything on their side to prevent a renewal of the conflicts between their people and the Albanians. The Marquess of Salisbury. I have, &c., EDMUND FANE. Mr. Baring to the Marquess of Salisbury.-(Received July 17.) MY LORD, Cettinjé, July 9, 1890. I INFORMED M. Vucovich to-day that your Lordship had instructed Her Majesty's Chargé d'Affaires at Constantinople to draw the attention of the Porte to the state of affairs on the TurcoMontenegrin frontier, and I availed myself of the opportunity to tell his Excellency that, judging from what I had recently heard, the situation had undergone a change, and that Turkey was now complaining of Montenegrin aggression. His Excellency declared that the reports were exaggerated, but he admitted enough to make it quite clear to me that there was a considerable amount of agitation going on in the Vassojevich district. With regard to the first encounter between Rugoviotes and Montenegrins, mentioned in my despatch of the 6th instant, he said that the former had provoked it by their menacing attitude. He denied that the villages of Pepice and Rjanica had been * Marquess of Salisbury to Mr. Fané, June 27, 1890 (page 1135). attacked, but admitted that the Montenegrins had threatened to attack them. The murder of the two Mussulmans of Sjenitza was, he said, unfortunately true, and he deeply regretted the deed, which he qualified as most abominable. The murderers had been brought to Cettinjé, and he himself would do all he could to have them most severely punished. He said that it was true that some Gusinjiotes had been killed by Montenegrins, but these were acts of vengeance. The people of Gusinjé had murdered and robbed Montenegrins, and the Montenegrins replied by murdering and robbing the Gusinjiotes. This very likely may be true, as the people of Gusinjé are notorious for their ferocity and fanaticism. M. Vucovich went on to say that strong measures had been taken, and that he hoped that order would now be completely re-established in the border districts. He added that orders had been given to the inhabitants of the Vassojevich not to offer resistance even if their villages were attacked by Albanians, but simply to withdraw. I have, &c., The Marquess of Salisbury. WALTER BARING. Mr. Fane to the Marquess of Salisbury.—(Received July 17.) (Telegraphic.) Therapia, July 17, 1890. I HAVE the honour to report to your Lordship that the Grand Vizier received to-day an Iradé from the Sultan, authorizing the issue of Berats to the Bulgarian Bishops in Macedonia. At the same time, however, his Highness received the Sultan's command that before giving effect to the said Iradé, he should satisfy His Majesty that no further demands would be made by the Bulgarian Government, especially demands of such a nature as would, if acceded to by the Porte, involve a departure on the part of the Ottoman Government from the stipulations of the Treaty of Berlin. I have communicated by telegraph to Her Majesty's Representatives at Sophia and Vienna the above information. Mr. Fane to the Marquess of Salisbury.—(Received July 19.) (Telegraphic.) Therapia, July 19, 1890. WITH reference to my telegram of the 17th instant touching the assurance to be given to His Imperial Majesty the Sultan by the Grand Vizier, to the effect that, if the Berats should be granted to the Bulgarian Bishops, no further embarrassing demands would be made by the Bulgarian Government, especially such as would be contrary to Treaty stipulations, I have to report that his Excellency Baron Calice and I both received yesterday a visit from the Minister for Foreign Affairs, and we imparted to him, for his own and Kiamil Pasha's information, our personal conviction that "our two Governments will not desist from urging upon the Bulgarian Government the necessity of prudence, moderation, and respect for Treaty engagements." The Marquess of Salisbury to Mr. Fune. (Telegraphic.) You may repeat, in my name, assurance you have given to Grand Vizier. Sir A. Paget to the Marquess of Salisbury.-(Received July 21.) (Extract.) Vienna, July 19, 1890. IN my interview with Count Kálnoky yesterday afternoon I referred, very naturally, to the satisfactory intelligence (reported in Mr. Fane's telegram of the 17th instant) of the Sultan having sanctioned the grant of Berats for the appointment of Bulgarian Bishops in Macedonia, intelligence which had, Count Kálnoky informed me, been likewise reported by Baron Calice, who, however, his Excellency said, had not mentioned the Iradé being accompanied by the condition specified by Her Majesty's Chargé d'Affaires. Count Kálnoky expressed the hope that by this concession the recent acute phase of the Bulgarian question might be considered to have passed over, and that, at all events for the immediate future, the relations between Bulgaria and the Porte might continue uninterruptedly on their hitherto peaceful and friendly footing. The Marquess of Salisbury. A. PAGET. Mr. Fane to the Marquess of Salisbury.-(Received July 21.) (Telegraphic.) Therapia, July 21, 1890. WITH reference to your Lordship's telegram of yesterday, I have the honour to report to your Lordship that Baron de Calice has received from Count Kálnoky a similar authorization to that conveyed to me by your Lordship. The Marquess of Salisbury to M. Yovitchich. M. LE CHARGÉ D'AFFAIRES, Foreign Office, July 22, 1890. I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 15th instant, relative to the recent murder of the Servian ViceConsul at Pristina, in which you express the hope of your Government that Her Majesty's Government will use their influence to obtain for Servia proper satisfaction for this painful incident. In reply, I have to state that, pending the result of the inquiry which is still proceeding, any intervention on the part of Her Majesty's Government appears to be out of place. I have, &c., M. Yovitchich. SALISBURY. Mr. Baring to the Marquess of Salisbury.—(Received July 24.) (Extract.) Cettinjé, July 17, 1890. WITH reference to my despatch of the 9th instant and to previous despatches, I have the honour to report that a somewhat better state of things now appears to prevail on the frontier. At any rate, no fresh outrages have taken place. This sudden amelioration proves, I think, with what perfect ease the Montenegrin Government can, if they only choose, restrain their subjects from acts of violence. I hear Tahir Pasha has been sent to the frontier to select sites for the erection of the block-houses. I see in the "Times" a Vienna telegram of the 6th instant, in which it is reported that Montenegrin bands were in Ipek. This is of course absurd. Ipek is strongly garrisoned, and is inhabited almost exclusively by Mussulmans, and no Montenegrin bands would be strong enough to attack it. The places attacked by the Montenegrins were two villages in the Lim valley, and a Rugova village called " Hatchai," which is not marked on any map in my possession. The Marquess of Salisbury. WALTER BARING. Mr. Baring to the Marquess of Salisbury.-(Received July 24.) (Extract.) Cettinjé, July 17, 1890. IN his despatch of the 20th August last Mr. Lamb reported to your Lordship that a Mixed Commission, which had been engaged at Berana for some months in an endeavour to settle the question as to the revenues of lands still owned by Turkish subjects in |