13 JUNE 1903, Page 3

The latest news from Macedonia is that the Sultan has

accepted the overtures of the Prince of Bulgaria, and has ordered the release of great numbers of Bulgarian prisoners. That is probably true, as is also the statement that the insur- gents, in anxiety about their harvests, are returning to their villages. The condition of Macedonia is nevertheless deplorable. Nothing is settled, the troops cannot be with- drawn, and as they are compelled to live in part on the country, oecasions of conflict between villagers and soldiers are innumerable. Whenever they occur, the instinct of the Asiatic troops is to seoure obedience by massacre, and it is only occasionally that their officers, who are ordered to respect the sentimentalities of Europe, can hold them in. One correspondent on the spot, it should be noted, maintains that the Turks cannot invade Bulgaria, for the Bulgarian Army, though it might not be equal to a battle in the open, can, and will, successfully defend the passes.