THE FUTURE OF CYPRUS.
fTo THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR.")
Sta,—Please allow us to thank you in advance for the publication of this letter in your columns, in answer to what Mr. Percy White wrote in your issue of the 30th ult. on the Cypriote question.
Mr. Percy. White maintains that Cyprus ought not to be ceded to Greece because (1) Cyprus never was a Greek island; (2) the Cypriotes do, not wish union with Greece; (3) Greece is apparently in no position to assume fresh responsibilities. and he asks whether Greece "would be strong enough to hold the island against every Power which in the future might bs hostile to Great B;itain? " But an impartial examiner of the Cypriote question must, not, we think, overlook the cardinal point, viz. : whether Great Britain has any right to hold Cyprus. It is well known that the British occupation et Cyprus in 1878 was a temporary one. It was effected by virtue of the Anglo-Turkish Convention of 1878, by which Great Britain undertook certain obligations towards Turkey, one being that she was to defend Turkey against any Russian invasion of her districts in Armenia. This Convention was abrogated in 1914 by the outbreak. of war with Turkey, and the results of the last war entirely frustrated the carrying out of any of the obligations imposed on Great Britain be virtue of that Convention. This is the real aspect of the Cypriote question and the crux of the whole matter. Those who avoid facing it by dealing with side issues and insignificant details show but a-desire to tangle the situation. It is with regret that we remark that Mr. Percy White is not very accurate in many of the matters he deals with in his article. Indeed his assertions are equal to his inaccuracy that "Coeur de Lion, married Berengaria of Navarre in a little church at Larnaca," while the marriage took place at Limasol.
We do not quite follow the meaning of Mr. Percy White's phrase that Cyprus never was a Greek island. Does he mean that she never formed part ef the Greek State or that its inhabitants were not Greek ? In either case he is mistaken, and history proves his error. At the time when Greece was consisting of a number of City States, independent of each other, Cyprus was similarly constituted. She was then so Hellenic that, although nominally under Persia, she took part for the prevalence of Hellenic ideals in what is known as the great insurrection of Ionia. Whenever subsequently, either under Alexander or during the Byzantine period, a Greek State was formed,Cyprus constituted part of it, not as a possession but as a Greek district. -.No doubt the island, on account of her geographical position, has come under many conquerors, but the very fact that she has emerged from these barbarous yokes with her Hellenic character intact, tells volumes in her favour. Cyprus has participated in the martyrdoms, sorrows, and struggles for liberty of the Hellenic race, and she has retained throughout the great trials of the Greek nation her Hellenic nationality. The Cypriotes are not merely " Greek-speaking " people, as Mr. Percy White condescends to call them. They are Greeks in every respect. The Cypriote peasants do not demand union with Greece because they are pressed by moneylenders or agitators, as Mr. Percy White alleges. They want their national freedom because they are Greeks. But surely their wishes can be easily and impartially ascertained. Let the inhabitants declare them by a plebiscite under the supervision of the Cypriote Government. There can be nothing fairer than that. It will then be seen, if it is really doubted, that the aspirations of the Greek Cypriotes are entirely spontaneous and that they are not prompted by agitators or moneylenders. Indeed, those aspirations were clearly expressed from the very first day of the British occupation of Cyprus by the late Archbishop -Sophronius, who, in welcoming in 1878 Lord (then Sir Garnet) Wolseley, the first High Commissioner. declared in unmistakable language that " the Cypriotes will be devoted to their new Government, without forgetting their origin and aspirations." Again, in 1883, when the first Session of the Legislative Council took place, the elected members, including the Moslems, in their Reply to the Address of the High Commissioner, made a clear allusion to the national aspirations of the Cypriotes. There were than in the Legislative Council only two advocates. We are mentioning this as Mr. Percy White seems to be annoyed at the presence of a number of lawyers in Cyprus to-day who are politicians.
.We are, of course, well aware of the views of the Moslems in Cyprus. They prefer for sentimental reasons the present administration. But we have good grounds in asserting that if a plebiscite were taken a number of Moslems will be found to be in favour of the cession of the island to Greece. The Moslems are convinced at heart that under Greek administration they will enjoy full liberties and equal privileges with the Greeks. But after all their wishes are these of a minority, and is it fair or right that they should prevail over the wishes of the greatest majority of the native population?
Mr. Percy White pays a compliment to the docile submission of the Moslem elected membersof the Legislative Council to the Cypriote Government. One should have thought that sucha blind subordination to the commands of the Government is • far from being conducive to good administration. But Mr. Percy White apparently thinks differently. Not only that, but he reproaches, most unjustly, the Greek elected members of the Council for their attitude. Now, the position of all the elected members of the Cypriote Legislative Council is that of the opposition " in the British Parliament. Indeed it is' a fortiori so in a Council which, like that of Cyprus, has to deal not with an elected but an appointed Government. The Greek members thought it their duty to criticize, sometimes' strongly and sometimes mildly, but always in a fair-minded way, the actions of the Government. They have, on the other hand, co-operated with the Government in passing those measures which were for the benefit of the island. A glance at the Minutes of the various Sessions of the Legislative Council will persuade Mr. Percy White that the contribution of the Greek members in this respect is of no small importance. They have always carried out their functions in a manner not inconsistent with the duties they owe to the Government, to their electors, to the island at large.
As regards Mr. Percy White's bitter remarks on Greek administration, we should like him to bear in mind a few facts. The Greek Kingdom has not yet completed a century of free life. It has been established on ruins after a fierce and ex haustive War of Independence, waged after a hideous slavery of four centuries. Well, in spite of these disadvantages, the Greek Kingdom has inade,greatprogress in its internal administration, its mercantile marine, its industries, etc. Its position to-day is to be envied, and it cab certainly be compared most favourably with that of any other civilised nation. Greece may be weak--a weakness due to the fact that a small State had to come continuously to the help and support of those parts of Hellenism which were suffering under foreign yoke. Mr. Percy White fears lest on account of this weakness Greece would be unable to hold Cyprus against every Power which in the future might be hostile to Great Britain. This argument does not apply-only to thepractically liarbourless Cyprus, lying in a position in the Mediterranean where England has more important ports, such as Egypt and the Suez Canal. The argument applies equally well to all parts of Greece. And does not Mr. Percy White think that it is the duty of all friends of Greece to strengthen her hands in every possible way? Is he not of opinion that it is to the interest of Great Britain in particular -to help Greece to add to her kingdom all those parts of Hellenism which are hers by right? She has struggled for them -for quite a long time. Is -not Cyprus one-of them? No one can say that it is not. That being so. all that the Greek Cypriotes demand is that Great Britain should apply to their island the high principles for which she has fooght in common with Greeee, and if those principles are to be applied—as we feel confident they will—there is only one solution of the Cypriote question, viz.; the cession of the island to Greece.—We are, Sir, he., Ties CYPRUS DEPUTATION. 2 Lancaster ,Street, W.
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