The situation in Greece, which we have also described elsewhere
in full, is as we write on Thursday afternoon still extremely obscure. There is no likelihood of the Greek people joining Germany, nor, we believe, of the Greek King playing the sordid and dangerous part played by King Ferdinand. It is to be feared, however, that his action in turning M. Venezelos out of office, though that Minister has the confidence of a large majority in the Chamber, may have the effect of sterilizing the action of the Greeks, and will thus lose them the opportunity which has come in their way of playing a great part in the affairs of the Near East. If Greece drifts into a policy of vacillation and inaction, she will not do the Quadruple Entente any very great harm—she does not desire to prevent our securing-free communication between Salonika and the Serbian frontier—but she may do herself serious injury.
Altogether, the Balkan situation is a very strange one. At the base of all the trouble and confusion is the fact that the supposed interests, or rather personal predilections,. of the foreign dynasts who rule the States diverge from the interests and predilections of the peoples. We are glad to think, however, that the King of Roumania has always frankly declared that, though he is by birth a Hohenzollern, lie is determined to abide by the will of his people and not to force his private opinions upon his Government. That is the line of safety as well as of good faith. There has been, of course, a good deal of anxiety and pessimism in London in regard to the new Balkan developments, but those who give way to their fears forget the great part which sea power is certain to play in the peninsula which extends from Montenegro to the months of the Danube. The Allies' command of the sea is complete, not only in the Aegean, but also in the Black Sea. It will be an ill day for any Power which peovokes us to use it.
