DISTRESS IN ALBANIA.
[To THE EDITOR 01 THE "SPRCTATOR."1
Sra,—As the result of the Albanian revolt and its suppression no fewer than 25,000 persons, on the most moderate estimate, stand in imminent danger of starvation. The Times corre- spondent at Skutari wrote as follows on June 29th, after travelling in the districts of the Hotti and Kastrati clans :—
" All the dwellings of the Malessmi were either bombarded during the operations or subsequently burnt. The destruction is complete. The country is desolate."
This evidence has been corroborated by numerous other observers on the spot, including Miss Durham, the well-known Balkan traveller and authoress of "High Albania." "NO crops," she writes, " have been sown this spring, which can only mean the approach of famine upon an almost universal scale. Suffering is already acute, both among the 10,000 refugees who have fled to Montenegro, a small and poor country, whose resources, though generously given, cannot long support them, and among many thousands more in the marshes of Bregumatia and the Shale districts, from whom all supplies have been cut off.
It is imperative that relief operations, to which Sir Edward Grey has promised the support of the Foreign Office, should be prompt, and to this end the Committee of the Macedonian Relief Fund has arranged to organize its distribution under the direction of representatives who are leaving England immediately for Albania. Help will be given to all who need it without regard to politics or creed. The refugees are mainly, but not exclusively, Christians, and an urgent plea on their behalf has been received from Mgr. Sereggi, the Arch- bishop of Skutari, who is their spiritual head. We appeal for the generous support of British sympathy in an effort to save a gallant race from starvation and ruin.
Cheques in response to this appeal should be sent direct and made payable to the bankers, Messrs. Barclay & Co., Limited, 1 Pall Mall East, S.W., or to the Chairman of Executive, Bertram Christian, Esq., 10 Lancaster Place, Savoy, W.C.- We are, Sir, &o.,
(Signed) A. F. Loarnon : ; s FRANCIS, ARCHBISHOP or WESTMINSTER, ; G. CAMPBELL MORGAN; HAVER8HAN ; ARTHUR J. EVANS ; J. D. BOURCHIER ; /1. N. BRAILSPORD ; NOEL BUXTON ; BERTRAM CHRISTIAN; JAMES F. HOPE; SILVESTER HORNE; Noon LAW.
Macedonian Relief Fund, 10 Lancaster Place, Savoy,
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