It begins to be admitted that those who believed in_
the- " settlement " of the Balkan trouble were at all events• premature. The conflicts with the insurgent bands in Macedonia grow fewer, but they continue ; and the insurgents awe evidently more desperate. The Prince of Bulgaria himself has warned the Divan that unless they are treated more leniently he may be unable to hold in his people; but the representation has as yet had no effect. Stories are oozing
out wnich show that the people are being treated with cruelty, so great that in one case, that of a village named Smerdesh, where extirpation is alleged, the Turkish Government itself has promised an inquiry. The Albanians also as usual refuse to stay beaten ; and altogether there is considerable uneasiness in Vienna. The Turkish Government is raising money, and has consented, in consideration of a small loan, to a " unifica- tion of the Debt," which is greatly desired by the bondholders. It seems, too, that the accounts from the Balkans are producing excitement in Russia, for the Press there has been advised to be cautious in its remarks on Turkish affairs, and especially to respect the personality of the Sultan.
