The Gisborne Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 1912.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 3665, 29 October 1912, Page 4

The Gisborne Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 1912.

There is bound to be much speculation at the present juncture as to the outcome of hostilities which are raging in what is known as the “Near East.” Assuredly Turkey, harassed, as she happens to be, on- all sides, cannot long continue to put up anything like a decent fight in such an unequal struggle. To the north-east, the “Sick Man of Europe” is, it seems, being very sorely pressed by the Bulgarians; to the north-west, Montenegro and Setvia are having matters very much their own way; whilst to the south the army of Greece and to the west and also the south the Greek navy are not likely to meet a great deal of opposition. From the point of view of Turkey the forces of Bulgaria must be regarded as the most dangerous at the present stage of events. On their southern march to Adrlanople the troops of that (State have had really wonderful success. The position today is that Mustapha Pasha on the one hand has been taken and that a similar fate has befallen Kirk Killisse, which lies on the other hand. It i?; indeed difficult to see that anything can now prevent,the immediate downfall of Adrianople, which ranks after Constantinople and Salonika as the third city of European Turkey and lies only some 137 miles by rail from Constantinople. For their part, the Servians, together with the Montenegrins, it is now reported, have succeeded in' joining forces near 'Novi Bazar, which As regarded as a town of great strategic importance, seeing that it is on the direct route between Bosnia (Austria) and Salonika, and

What Will Be The Sequsl?

form/a wedge of Turkish territory bet/ecn Servia and Montenegro. G/ece ; for her part, has “acquired” gjfct e, which she is not likely to be leery willing to forego; whilst m addition her troops are endeavoring to make, head way in southern Turkey. As far as can be gathered nothing has yet actuallv transpired to lead to the supposition that the conflagration must still further spread. That the other Powers will, in concert, find it necessary to take a hand in bringing about a settlement of the various matters now in dispute may, however, be taken for granted. In this regard the consensus of opinion, it will now J>e seen, is that international intervention will take place after the first decisive battle, which will clearly he the pending fight with reference to the possession of Adrianople. Turkey, it will l>e agreed, has notliing to gam by the hostilities which are at present raging, and it seems to be merely a question as to how much she will be compelled to forego. By some authorities, it will have been noted, it has even been declared that if Europe were willing Turkey, as an Empire, would now soon disappear. Still, all that may happen to Turkey on this occasion may be, as on previous occasions, that one or more of her rival neigh-

bors will bo allowed to gain 'some ritorial advantage at her expense. Theposition, then, as wo have said, is that, so far, nothing has transpired which clearly points t-o the possibility of the spread of the war flame to othei countries not at present affected. But it is significant, nevertheless, that, at this particular juncture, military activity on an alarming scale should be reported from the various great European centres. Only the other morning, for example, there appeared in the “London Times,” according to a special cable message to the “Sydney Sun,” a report to the effect that “Europe is stealthily preparing for a possible Armageddon. Russia, Austria and Germany are secretly mobilising. . . France is getting her fleet on a war footing, and Britain is quietly arranging to rnobolise her army at a moment's notice. The Royal Fleet is already practically in a condition for active service. . . The Continental press adjures Europe not to get involved in the conflagration.” To a more or less extent 4 these reports have, it is true, been borne out by messages through the Press Association. Of reports from this source, the latest, for example, is that of this morning which indicates that steps are being taken to ensure the immediate full strength of one section of the British naval reserve forces. It may, of course, be that the European Powers are one and all merely taking what they may consider necessary precautions at such a juncture; but the fact :s that very little friction may occasion a tremendous conflagration. The outcome of the present trouble is, therefore, a matter of great moment.