A report is being diligently circulated upon the Continent that
the German Government has proposed to compromise the Greek question, by asking the Porte to surrender the whole of Thessaly and the island of Crete, while retaining Epirus.. The object is, of course, to content the Greeks, without adding greatly to their force as against any State possessed of a marine, and without interfering with Austrian hopes and projects on the shore of the Adriatic. The Greeks are not likely to accept this proposal, unless forced upon them by irresistible pressure. They want to rescue their northern border from brigand incursions, to obtain the aid of the warlike population of Epirus, to free Jannina .(the centre of Greek cultivation), and to place themselves in a posi- tion to make an enduring league with the Albanians, Christian and Mahommedan. All the islands of the Archipelago would not compensate them for Epirus. Of course, if they will not fight, they must put up with what they can get; but as yet, they adhere to Jannina as their sine qua: non. This project, which indicates that Austria wants the whole eastern side of the Adriatic, is the origin of the strange rumour that the Sultan has ceded Crete to Germany upon the terms on which Cyprus was ceded to England. If that rumour were true, it would, we hope, open even Jingo eyes to Lord Beaconsfield's failure. The German Fleet planted right across the British route to India, would be the first consequence of his policy. Fortunately, France exists.
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