17 MAY 1913, Page 1

- On Monday the Balkan Allies sent a reply to

the Note issued by the Powers on May 1st. While recognizing the intention of the Powers to settle the question of Albania and the Islands over their heads, they profess themselves unable to believe that "it is intended to refuse to allow the Allies to discuss questions affecting their vital interests, and resulting from the victorious war of liberation they hive undertaken." As the Times cprrespondent says, the original reservations of OM. Allies' have than been trpsforme4 into_a_tnere "pions

wish." Bulgaria in particular is to be congratulated on the reasonableness she has shown this week ; such moderation has indeed frequently in history been characteristic of the most heroic and successful combatants. We cannot therefore express surprise that Bulgaria should betray this excellent quality. On Wednesday Vice-Admiral Burney occupied Scutari at the head of an international force, and the blockade of the coast came to an end. A curious fact remains to be added. On Monday the Austro-Hungarian Government, without having given any notice of its intention to the Powers, annexed the tiny Turkish island of Ada-Kaleh, in the Danube, off Orsova. The island has been under Austro- Hungarian military occupation for more than thirty years. A Turkish official gloomily reported the fact to his Govern- ment, but offered no serious remonstrance.