[War with Bulgaria.]

No. 606.-DECLARATION OF WAR by Servia against Bulgaria. Nisch, 14th November, 1885.

(Translation.)

THE King hereby declares that, in consulting the Skuptchina, he has taken all the necessary measures to show clearly that Servia cannot remain a disinterested spectator of the change which has taken place amongst the people of the Balkans, and, above all, cannot allow it when it is to the advantage of a State which has employed all its liberty to prove itself a bad neighbour towards Servia, and to be unwilling to respect either the rights, or even the territory, of Servia.

The unjustifiable Customs regulations which Bulgaria has introduced against Servia, and which have put a stop to all commercial intercourse between the two countries, have had, on the part of Bulgaria, for their exclusive object to give evidence of its unfriendly disposition towards Servia, dating from the commencement of Bulgaria's existence.

The forcible and unlawful seizure of the district of Bregovo, and the protection granted to the refugees in their intrigues against the internal order of the kingdom, I have pardoned, as I wished to give a proof of the patience which becomes a State which has bought its liberty with its own blood, which-assisted by the sympathy of Europe-has made progress, and which, at each step of its development, has preserved and respected the rights of others as if they had been its own.

But the ill-treatment of our subjects in Bulgaria, the closing of our frontiers, the gathering of undisciplined masses on our frontiers, their acts of aggression against our border population, and even against our Army, to which is entrusted the defence of the Servian territory, all constitute a provocation to which I cannot remain indifferent, having regard to the great interests of the country, to the dignity of the people, and to the honour of the Servian arms. For these reasons, I have accepted the state of an open rupture which the Bulgarian Government has commenced,

*See Protocol between Bulgaria and Servia of 25th October, 1886 (No. 619); Act of 30th March, 1887 (No. 620); and Act of December, 1888 (No. 625).

19th 31st

[War with Bulgaria.]

and I have therefore ordered my faithful and heroic Army to cross the Bulgarian frontier.

The just cause of Servia is to-day intrusted to the decision of arms, to the heroism of the Army, and to the mighty protection of God.

In addressing this Proclamation to my dear people, I rely with confidence, in this grave moment, on the love of the people towards their country, and on their devotion to the holy Servian

cause.

Nisch, November 2 (14), 1885.

MILAN.

[A Proclamation to the above effect was also addressed by the King of Servia to the Servian people on the same day. An Armistice was signed between Bulgaria and Servia on the 28th November, 1885, subject to certain conditions which were settled by an International Military Commission at Pirot, on the 21st December, 1885 (No. 609), and a Treaty of Peace was signed on the 3rd March, 1886 (No. 610).]

[War with Servia.]

No. 607.—DECLARATION of War by Bulgaria against Servia, 14 November, 1885.

PROCLAMATION.

WE, Alexander I, by the Grace of God and the national will, Prince of Bulgaria.-The Government of our neighbours the Servians, guided by private and political purposes, desiring to annul the sacred right of the union of the Bulgarian nation, to-day, without any legal or justifiable cause, proclaimed war against our State, and commanded their Army to enter our territory (No. 606). With great sorrow we receive this sad news, because we never believed that brethren of one blood and religion could begin a fratricidal war, and in the troublous times through which the small States of the Balkan Peninsula are passing could so inhumanly and inconsiderately behave towards neighbours who, without causing damage to any one, are working and struggling for a noble, justifiable, and praiseworthy cause. Leaving to the Servians and their Government the sole responsibility for the fratricidal war between two brother nations, and the bad consequences which must befall both countries, we inform our beloved nation that we accept the war proclaimed by Servia, and have given orders to our brave and heroic Armies to commence action against her and manfully defend the territory, honour, and liberty of the Bulgarian nation. Our cause is a sacred one, and we hope that God will take us under his protection, and give us the necessary help that we may triumph and conquer our enemies. Assured that our beloved nation will hasten to support the arduous but sacred task of the defence of our land against the invasion of the enemy, and that every Bulgarian able to bear arms will come under our banner and fight for his country and liberty, we invoke the Almighty to preserve and defend Bulgaria, and to help us in the trying and difficult times through which our country is passing.

May Almighty God help us!

November 14, 1885.

ALEXANDER.

[War with Servia.]

[An Armistice was concluded between Bulgaria and Servia on the 28th November, 1885, subject to certain conditions, which were settled by an International Military Commission on the 21st December, 1885 (No. 609), and a Treaty of Peace was signed on the 3rd March, 1886 (No. 610).]

RUSTCHUK AND VARNA RAILWAY.

[Differences arose between the Government of Bulgaria and the Rustchuk and Varna Railway Company, as to the amount of the obligation laid on Bulgaria by Art. X of the Treaty of Berlin (No. 530, p. 2772), which said, "Bulgaria takes the place of the Imperial Ottoman Government in its undertakings and obligations towards the Rustchuk and Varna Railway Company, dating from the exchange of the ratifications of the present Treaty." A proposal was made by the British Government, in 1882, to refer the dispute to the arbitration of the Ambassador at Constantinople, but it led to no result. (See "State Papers," vol. 75, p. 1059.) Ultimately the Bulgarian Government purchased the line, an Agreement to that effect having been signed on the 4th December, 1885.]

[Eastern Roumelia.]

No. 608.—PROTOCOLS of Conferences between the Plenipotentiaries of Great Britain, Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, and Turkey, for regulating the state of Affairs in Eastern Roumelia, in conformity with the Treaty of Berlin (No. 530). Constantinople, 5th25th November, 1885.*

PROTOCOL.

ABSTRACT OF PROTOCOLS.+

No. 1. Presidency of Conference conferred on Saïd Pasha. Naoum Effendi and M. Hanotaux to be Secretaries, and Youssouf Bey Assistant Secretary. Deliberations to be kept secret. Arrangements agreed upon as to drawing up of Protocols.

Constantinople, 5th November, 1885.

No. 2. Saïd Pasha states the bases of deliberations to be the examination of the state of affairs in Eastern Roumelia, and an agreement upon a solution, in conformity with the Treaty of Berlin (No. 530), as to the rights of the Sultan, and the re-establishment of the status quo ante. The Plenipotentiaries of the Powers represented in the Conference express their adhesion to the declaration of Saïd Pasha, the Plenipotentiaries of Great Britain and France explaining that they must ask for fresh instructions from their respective Governments in the event of definite proposals being made outside the terms of the Circular of Invitation. Ottoman Plenipotentiaries called upon to shape their proposals for the re-establishment of order.

Constantinople, 7th November, 1885. No. 3. President states that, in seeking a solution, the Ottoman Government has had three considerations in view, viz. :-(1) Ottoman Government to make no sacrifices, material or territorial; (2) Balkan frontiers to be fortified in accordance with

For full text of these Protocols, with an English Translation, see Parliamentary Papers, Turkey, Nos. 1 and 2 (1888).