Nr. 6966. Gross My Lord, Yesterday a deputation of Mussulmans called on me, enbritannien. treating me to use some influence to alleviate their position. Their houses 29. Oct. 1878. are being destroyed by the Russians; soldiers and Bulgarian zaptiehs enter their homes to violate their wives before their faces; and they themselves, whatever their position, are forced away to the corvée, which is inflicted on no one else. || Not having time myself to inspect the quarter where the houses are being destroyed, I requested Mr. Cartwright to go there this morning, and I beg to inclose his very clear Report on the subject. || A Turkish woman called on me to-day with a most painful story. Her husband had been murdered. She had been violated, and when she endeavoured to complain to the police she was beaten away. She told Mr. Simmons, our Interpreter, that she had been beaten by order of a tall man with a fair beard, who, from the description, would appear to be the Head of the Russian Police. The stories daily and hourly reported are too appalling, and I intend to talk the matter over privately with some of my colleagues, and see if something can be done. I have, &c. H. Drummond Wolff. Beilage. By Sir H. D. Wolff's desire, I this morning visited the Turkish parts of Philippopolis to ascertain the truth of the complaints brought to his notice by the Turkish deputation which called here yesterday. Mr. Calvert and Mr. Palgrave were with me, and we were accompanied by the Porter of the ViceConsulate, a Mussulman, who himself is a sufferer from the destruction of property which is taking place. We found, that a good many houses had been pulled down for the sake of improvements; but a very much larger number have been, and are still, being demolished with no better excuse than the supply of timber and fuel for the houses occupied by the Russians. || As regards the improvements, it is remarkable, that the houses removed are almost exclusively Turkish, the only compensation being 5 piastres a pic (or about 1 franc per 2 ft. 6 in.) for the ground, upon which they stood, whereas for the two or three buildings which belonged to Bulgarians much larger sums have been given. The streets have been widened here and there, and a few big houses have been built. The only other improvement is the conversion of Nr. 6966. Gross a Turkish graveyard into a public garden, in the centre of which is a large platform for the military band, erected by Turkish labour. But a whole britannien. quarter of the town has been destroyed since the Russians came. At first it 29. Oct. 1878. was the Bulgarians who burnt and pillaged the houses; but now the work is carried on by Russian soldiers. The case of Mr. Calvert's porter is a fair instance: the man was living with Mr. Calvert, his family having left the place; a few days ago their home was entered by Russian soldiers, who said they were acting under orders from the police; and the house is now in a pitiable state, the doors and ground floor have disappeared, and the house has been rendered uninhabitable by holes made in the upper floor and the roof. Up till yesterday the soldiers were at work; but, whether owing to the remonstrance of the owner, or to the fact that the house had been sufficiently spoilt already, there was no one at work to-day. || It must not be supposed, that the houses are all old and badly built; this one, on the contrary, seemed to have been very respectable, and the wood-work was certainly in a good state of preservation. There was one other house in course of demolition which looked particularly new and cleanly; but the great majority of the buildings are so effectually pulled down, that one cannot conjecture what they may have been originally. || Whatever they were they would surely be acceptable to the starving refugees who crowd round the Governor's konak. Philippopolis, October 29, 1878. W. C. Cartwright. Nr. 6967. GROSSBRITANNIEN. Botschafter in Paris an den kgl. Min. d. Ausw. M. Waddington über die Anerkennung der Unabhängig keit Rumäniens. Paris, October 30, 1878. Gross My Lord, - In obedience to your Lordship's instructions, I spoke to Nr. 6967. M. Waddington this afternoon about the question of formally recognizing the britannien. independence of Roumania. || I said, that it appeared to Her Majesty's Govern- 30. Oct. 1878. ment that, regard being had to the general interests of Europe, it might be inexpedient to defer the recognition for a long time. || I added, that your Lordship gathered from the communication made by the Roumanian Agent, that the existing Legislature at Bucharest had formally pledged itself to the acceptance of the conditions laid down in the Treaty of Berlin; although, on account of the peculiarities of the Roumanian Constitution, the actual establishment by law of religious equality could not be effected for a considerable time. I said, in conclusion, that your Lordship supposed, that the pledge Gross Nr. 6967. already given by the Legislature might be confirmed by a diplomatic assurance britannien. in the same sense, and that you were anxious to learn M. Waddington's opinion 30. Oct. 1878. on the question. || M. Waddington answered, that, although he had not committed himself to any irrevocable assertion on the subject, he had hitherto, in the language he had held to the Roumanian Government, adhered, without any variation, to the declaration, that the independence of Roumania should not be formally recognized until the Constituent Assembly had at least passed the first reading of a bill establishing religious equality. He added, that, according to the information he had received, such a bill might be read a first time in the month of January next. || M. Waddington proceeded to observe, that he was not aware of any special circumstance at the present moment which he could assign as a reason for changing this decision, but that he would not decline to reconsider the matter if your Lordship particularly wished him to do so. || He added, however, that he had reason to suppose, that the Government of Germany was strongly disposed to require, that the actual and complete establishment of religious equality should precede the recognition of the independence of Roumania; and he said, that he thought it extremely important, that France, England and Germany should pursue the same course with regard to this question. || I have, &c. Nr. 6968. Gross 2. Nov. 1878. My Lord, I have the honour to report, that the Imperial Russian britannien. Commissioner, Prince Dondoukoff-Korsakoff, arrived here from Sofia the day before yesterday. || Yesterday morning, at his invitation, the Consuls paid him a visit, during which he made an extraordinary statement. || As he spoke the whole time to the French Consul, M. Schefer (who, with M. Gubernatis, the Italian, were the only members of the Commission for Bulgaria present), I could not catch the whole of the Prince's words; but my colleague tells me, that they were as follows: Speaking of the Commission, he said that it would have very little to do, as he had already arranged almost all that was necessary, with the exception, perhaps, of some financial matters. He said, that, as he had found the Turkish vilayet laws to be good, and, with some modifications, well adapted to Bulgaria, he had had them promulgated; || That all the Tribunals had been established by him, and that they were carrying out the above laws; || That the army, with the exception of the cavalry (for which more horses were required), was already formed. "In short," he added, "there Nr. 6968. Gross will be very little for you Consular Commissioners to do; but if I am arranging some street, and interfere with any property belonging to a foreigner, and his britannien. Consul addressed himself to me, I may, perhaps, be inclined to hear him." || 2. Nov. 1878. This, I am told, he said in a way to lead the Consuls to look upon this as a favour on his part. || He finished up by advising the Consuls to keep away from Sofia as long as possible, as it was a disagreeable place, where it was very difficult to find houses. This speech, as your Lordship may imagine, has confused the two Commissioners here, who do not know what to make of it. Some think, that the Prince's object is to prepare them for submission to his dictation, and that this was one of the principal objects of this coming here. || The Prince has left for Shumla and Varna, and is expected back to-morrow on his return to Sofia. || I deem it proper also to inform your Lordship, that, on the arrival of Prince Dondoukoff, circulars announcing his arrival, and stating when he would receive the Consuls, were sent round to all the corps (including the Belgian), but with the exception of the Greek, who consequently did not visit the Prince. I have, &c. R. Reade. - Nr. 6969. GROSSBRITANNIEN. Botschafter in Konstantinopel an den kgl. Türkei. Therapia, November 4, 1878. My Lord, Gross I called upon Safvet - Pasha this morning, principally to Nr. 6969. urge upon him the importance of executing, with as little delay as possible, britannien. all the stipulations of the Treaty of Berlin that yet remained to be carried 4. Nov. 1878. out by Turkey, and to talk the matter generally over with him. | It would appear, that the only engagements which the Porte has not yet fulfilled are the surrender of Podgoritza and Spuz, the evacuation of Kotour and its territory, and the appointment of the Special Commissions for settling the details of the new Organic Laws for the Provinces of Turkey in Europe, for which provision has not been made in the Treaty. || As regards the first point, SafvetPasha informed me, that the Porte had taken measures, which he hoped would soon have a successful result, to induce the inhabitants of Podgoritza and Spuz to surrender those places. The Sultan had offered to give them other lands in Southern Albania belonging to him, upon which they might settle if they were resolved not to live under Montenegrin rule. As they could sell their property, and would obtain their new lands without paying for them, they would gain by the exchange, and his Highness trusted, that they would willingly Gross Nr. 6969. accept the proposal that had been made to them. The last time that I had britannien. the honour of seeing the Sultan he told me, that this plan had suggested itself 4. Nov. 1878. to him. I succeeded, I think, in persuading Safvet - Pasha, that it would be advisable to give over at once the town of Kotour to Persia, in accordance with the Lth Article of the Treaty, in order to remove all risk of misunderstanding with that Power. || His Highness had apparently misread the Article, as he was disposed to believe, that before delivering up the town as well as territory of Kotour it was necessary to ascertain what frontiers had been fixed by the Anglo-Russian Commission for the delimitation of the boundaries of Turkey and Persia. I pointed out to his Highness, that this referred to the territory of Kotour, and not to the town. His Highness then agreed to surrender the latter at once, and to give up the former as soon as he had learnt the decision of the Commission, for which he had requested me to apply to your Lordship. With reference to the Special Commissions for settling the Organic Laws for the Provinces of Turkey, not provided for in the Treaty, his Highness said he had decided upon appointing a Commission to sit at Constantinople to frame these laws, taking for their groundwork the constitutions about to be given to Crete and Eastern Roumelia. They would subsequently be submitted to the Special Commissions, as required by the XXIIIrd Article of the Treaty. || His Highness consulted me as to the members of the Commission. The selection that his Highness ended by making appears to me a very good one, as it includes several Christians who have special knowledge of the provinces for which they are to legislate, such as Alexander Carathéodory-Pasha, who will probably be President, Vassa Effendi, an Albanian, Constant-Pasha and others. His Highness said, that as soon as the European Commission for Eastern Roumelia had completed the Organic Law for that province the laws for the other parts of Turkey in Europe would be settled. || Safvet-Pasha expressed his hope, that the Porte was thus showing its sincere desire to execute all its engagements under the Treaty of Berlin, and that Her Majesty's Government would be satisfied with its conduct in the matter. I replied, that I should have much pleasure in informing your Lordship of its good intentions in this respect, and I added, that I trusted, that I might at the same time give assurances to Her Majesty's Government that his Highness was equally desirous of putting into execution, as soon as possible, the reforms which the Sultan had agreed to introduce into his Asiatic dominions. || His Highness answered, that I might do so with confidence. It was his firm intention to carry out at once those reforms, as far as the means at the disposal of the Porte would allow. The Council of Ministers, his Highness went on to say, was about to occupy itself at once with the examination of the regulations for the new gendarmerie, and he hoped, that they would soon be settled and put into execution. || I am bound to say, that I found every disposition on the part of Safvet - Pasha to meet the views and wishes of Her Majesty's Government on all the subjects which I brought to his notice. His Highness, however, |