LIST OF PAPERS. No. 1. Consul Sandwith to the Earl of Derby 2. Consul Sandwith to the Earl of Derby One Inclosure. 3. Consul Sandwith to the Earl of Derby 4. Consul Sandwith to the Earl of Derby 5. Consul Sandwith to the Earl of Derby One Inclosure. 6. Consul Sandwith to the Earl of Derby 7. Consul Sandwith to the Earl of Derby 8. Consul Sandwith to the Earl of Derby 9. Mr. Layard to the Marquis of Salisbury 10. Consul Sandwith to the Earl of Derby 11. Consul Sandwith to the Earl of Derby 12. Consul Sandwith to the Earl of Derby 13. The Marquis of Salisbury to Mr. Layard 14. Consul Sandwith to the Marquis of Salisbury 15. Consul Sandwith to the Marquis of Salisbury One Inclosure. 16. Consul Sandwith to the Marquis of Salisbury 23. Consul Sandwith to the Marquis of Salisbury One Inclosure. 25. Consul Sandwith to the Marquis of Salisbury 26. Consul Sandwith to the Marquis of Salisbury One Inclosure. 27. Consul Sandwith to the Marquis of Salisbury Four Inclosures. 28. Mr. Layard to the Marquis of Salisbury 29. Mr. Cross to Sir A. H. Layard 30. Mr. Cross to Consul Sandwith 31. Consul Sandwith to the Marquis of Salisbury 32. Consul Sandwith to the Marquis of Salisbury Four Inclosures. 33. Sir A. H. Layard to the Marquis of Salisbury 34. Mr. Wyndham to the Marquis of Salisbury 35. Sir A. H. Layard to the Marquis of Salisbury 36. Consul Sandwith to the Marquis of Salisbury 37. Consul Sandwith to the Marquis of Salisbury 38. Consul Sandwith to the Marquis of Salisbury Two Inclosures. 39. Consul Sandwith to the Marquis of Salisbury 40. Mr. Cross to Sir A. H. Layard and the Marquis of Salisbury 41. Sir A. H. Layard to the Marquis of Salisbury 42. Mr. Cross to Consul Sandwith 43. Consul Sandwith to the Marquis of Salisbury Four Inclosures. 44. Consul Sandwith to the Marquis of Salisbury Two Inclosures. 45. Sir A. H. Layard to the Marquis of Salisbury 51. Consul Sandwith to the Marquis of Salisbury Further Correspondence respecting the Affairs of Crete. My Lord, No. 1. Consul Sandwith to the Earl of Derby.-(Received April 11.) Canea, Crete, March 31, 1878. I HAD yesterday the honour to receive your Lordship's telegram of the previous day inquiring into the truth of the rumour that hostilities had again broken out in Crete. I answered the question the same day in these words :- "Fighting occurred again on Wednesday, but ceased the same day." Your Lordship is aware that cyphered telegrams are not accepted at the telegraph stations in Crete, and as the skirmish referred to took place on Wednesday the 27th, the day after the departure of the weekly steamer, there was no opportunity of transmitting the news in cypher from Syra till the departure of the next mail, which leaves on the 2nd proximo. I have, &c. My Lord, No. 2. Consul Sandwith to the Earl of Derby.-(Received April 11.) Canea, Crete, April 1, 1878. I HAVE the honour to transmit, for your Lordship's information, a translation of a letter addressed to me, in common with my colleagues, by the General Assembly of Cretan Christians gathered at Fré in Apokorona, by which they inform me that they have decreed to appoint a provisional Government, consisting of seven members, for the purpose of maintaining public order in the country. They have proceeded, they say, to take this step, because the Turkish authorities have been withdrawn from the country districts, which are thus left without a Government. They declare that they continue to adhere to the policy laid down in the Memorial, of which a translation was annexed to my despatch of the 20th February,* viz., to avoid all conflict with the Turkish army, while prepared to repulse any attack until the Great Powers decide on their future lot. Letter addressed by the Cretan General Assembly to the Consuls, stating that they have appointed a Provisional Government. (Traduction.) M. le Consul, Fré d'Apocorona, le 15 Mars, 1878. VOUS trouverez ci-inclus le Décret de l'Assemblée Générale, en vertu duquel elle a constitué une Administration provisoire. L'Assemblée Générale, en procédant à cette mesure, exécute une nécessité absolue qui était considérée depuis longtemps * See "Turkey, No. 28 (1878)," No. 34. comme inévitable. Vous connaissez, M. le Consul, qu'ayant retiré ses autorités et ses troupes de toutes les provinces de l'île, et les ayant limité dans les forteresses et dans ses environs, le Gouvernement Turc a laissé notre pays sans Gouvernement, et depuis cette époque l'Assemblée Générale, qui a été légitimement élue par toutes les provinces de l'île et reconnue officiellement par le Gouvernement Ottoman, a eu encore la tâche, conformément à son mémoire du Février, de maintenir l'ordre et la tranquillité dans le pays. 15 Ainsi que vous le connaissez, M. le Consul, ce devoir a été rempli par l'Assemblée Générale, qui a usé de tous les moyens moraux et matériels pour maintenir l'ordre mieux que par le passé, ordre pour lequel elle se croyait responsable envers le pays et envers l'Europe. Mais ses différents travaux ne lui permettant pas de concentrer toute son attention sur la partie administrative, l'ont obligé de former sous sa surveillance directe, du sein même de l'Assemblée, un corps qui avait quatre Commissions plus spéciales et des Tribunaux dans les quatres parties de l'île, lequel entreprendra à l'avenir l'administration de l'île jusqu'à son rétablissement définitif. Nous ne croyons pas inutile de vous rappeler, M. le Consul, que l'Assemblée Générale persistera, fermement à son Décret du Février, ainsi qu'à son mémoire du même date, en attendant la décision des Grandes Puissances, et en évitant tout motif de conflit contre l'armée Turque, comme elle l'a fait jusqu'à présent, à l'exception de ce qui est arrivé le 12 Février par suite des abus des Turcs; mais elle se défendra d'ailleurs, les armes à la main, si toutefois elle venait à étre provoquée. Convaincue, M. le Consul, que vous défendrez nos droits auprès du Gouvernement que vous représentez dignement dans ce pays, l'Assemblée Générale vous prie de transmettre à qui de droit la présente, avec le Décret ci-inclus, et d'agréer, &c. Considérant l'état anormal du pays, et désirant contribuer à l'amélioration de cet état de choses, Décrète à l'unanimité 1. Une Administration provisoire formée de sept membres à l'effet de maintenir la sûreté et l'ordre public. 2. Cette Administration provisoire agira au nom du peuple Crétois et conformément au Décret de l'Assemblée Générale en date du Février dernier. 3 15 3. La susdite Administration sera responsable de ses actes devant l'Assemblée Générale. My Lord, Consul Sandwith to the Earl of Derby.-(Received April 11.) Canea, Crete, April 1, 1878. IN my despatch of the 26th ultimo* I had the honour to state that three battalions of troops had been marched into the district of Alikianu. I have since learned that they were halted on its borders, and had pitched their tents round a block See "Turkey, No. 28 (1878)," No. 50. house overlooking the road leading into the district in question. Finding this position was commanded by a hill about 1,000 feet higher, where a party of insurgents had established themselves, it was determined to dislodge them, as at any moment they might cause the troops considerable annoyance. Accordingly this was done on the morning of the 27th ultimo; but the little skirmish consequent on the movement cost the Turks nine killed and twenty wounded, and of the latter four have since died; while the Christians lost but five killed and nine wounded. The day after the encounter I rode to the spot, and learnt that the insurgents were gathered in great force on the opposite side of the broad river-bed which here separates the combatants. Large quantities of ammunition were being forwarded to the Turkish camp, and the Snider rifles, with which a part of the troops were armed, were being exchanged for the PeabodyMartini. By this attack the Turks are guilty of breaking the truce which had been agreed upon by the desire of the authorities themselves scarcely a month before. The pretext by which they excuse their action is the invitation which they allege the inhabitants of the district of Alikianu to have given them to occupy their villages. In my despatch of the 26th ultimo* I expressed my belief that this invitation was a sincere one; but so many who know the district assert that the signatures attached to it were those of persons of no consideration that I cannot but doubt if it fairly represented the wishes of the inhabitants. However this may be, it is certain that when the inhabitants in question learnt from the lips of the fugitives from Stalos the desolation wrought in that village by the hands of the Bashi-Bazouks, they would quickly repent having asked the protection of troops who looked on without concern at these doings, and would join their own chiefs in resisting their advance. On the occasion of the engagement related at the beginning of this despatch, Osman Nouri Pasha, at the request of the Vali, refused the services of the BashiBazouks, except a mere handful; but when, towards 10 o'clock, tidings reached Canea that the troops had received a check, the public crier went round the town calling on the volunteers to hasten to the scene of the conflict, and I saw them towards noon hurrying thither. It now appears that the Vali had never authorized their being summoned to the fight, and was in ignorance of their having gone, which shows how his authority is set at naught. His Excellency has lately become the object of extreme dislike on the part of the Mahometan population, because he is doing what he can to restrain their fanaticism, and they begin to bestow on him the opprobrious epithet of "Ghiaour." His character of Christian, indeed, is the weak element in his position, as his moderation and conciliatory disposition are freely attributed to the desire to favour his own religious community at the expense of the Moslems. There is the more reason, therefore, that his Excellency should be well seconded by the military commander, and it is abundantly evident that such is not the case. Indeed, had it not been for Osman Pasha, the state of truce would not have been interrupted, as the Vali has all along been in favour of temporizing with the insurgents, but was overborne by the General, backed by the weight of the local Moslems. It was hoped that further collisions between the two sides might be avoided, but on the 31st ultimo, after despatching my telegram to your Lordship, firing was again heard on the hills opposite this town, as well as towards Alikianu. That evening four wounded Bashi-Bazouks, one of whom has since died, were brought into town from the scene of the former conflict, and a soldier was killed and another wounded in the latter fray. One or both of these skirmishes seem to have arisen from some petty quarrel about sheep which had strayed in the enemy's lines, but apart from the immediate causes of dispute, these frequent collisions inflame the passions and render future reconciliation more difficult. Referring to these encounters, I had the honour this morning to send ship a second telegram in these words : 66 your Lord Fighting occurred again on Saturday, and is liable to recur again at any moment." The roads which had been open during the truce, thus allowing the Christians to resort to Canea to buy food, are now deserted, and great are the privations endured by the suffering peasantry from want of proper nourishment. I have, &c. (Signed) THOMAS B. SANDWITH. See "Turkey, No. 28 (1878)," No. 50. My Lord, No. 4. Consul Sandwith to the Earl of Derby.-(Received April 11.) Canea, Crete, April 1, 1878. I HAVE the honour to report to your Lordship the arrival in Suda Bay, on the 24th ultimo, of the Turkish steam-transport "Babel," which brought 600 soldiers destined to fill up battalions already here, 200 artillerymen, and 6 mountain guns. I have, &c. My Lord, No. 5. Consul Sandwith to the Earl of Derby.-(Received April 11.) Canea, Crete, April 2, 1878. I HAVE the honour to inclose a translation of a Petition addressed by the General Assembly of the Cretans to the several Consuls residing at Canea, in which they entreat the Great Powers to intervene in the present struggle in order to stop the further effusion of blood. They declare that they have successfully resisted the advance of the Turks, and that it is their firm intention in the future to resist every endeavour to encroach on the territory they now hold, as they have before their eyes the ruin and desolation which befel their country in similar circumstances in 1866, and more recently the countries of Bulgaria, Bosnia, Epirus, and Thessaly. The Provisional Government, the Petition continues, is in consternation at the misfortunes which seem about to fall upon the inhabitants, both Christian and Turkish, and which they are powerless to prevent now that the Porte seems resolved to push matters to extremities. In transmitting this Petition for your Lordship's consideration, I venture to observe that the Cretans have been precipitated into the present struggle against the will of the majority, who are fairly represented by the General Assembly, and which, in its memorial transmitted in my despatch of the 20th February,* called on the Great Powers to decide on the fate of their country in the Congress, which was then expected shortly to meet. The thoughtless action of certain chiefs come over from Greece plunged the Christians into hostilities which the means at their disposal did not admit of their carrying to a successful issue, and these very chiefs are themselves convinced of the error they committed now that they witness the result of their action in the famine-stricken people around them. The present situation is, indeed, a hopeless one, for the Turks are not in sufficient force to occupy the interior, and the insurgents can only hope to prolong the struggle at the cost of infinite suffering to the weak and helpless. P.S. April 3.-I send by this mail, which is two days behind its time, a telegram through Syra, acquainting your Lordship with the request made by the Provisional Government for the intervention of the Great Powers. Further fighting took place yesterday in the direction of Alikianu. T. B. S. Inclosure in No. 5. Petition addressed by the Provisional Government of Cretans to Consuls. Au nom du Peuple Crétois.-Administration Provisoire de Crète. M. le Consul, DEPUIS le jour où l'Assemblée Générale des Crétois a cessé toute négociation avec la Sublime Porte et a remis à la philanthropie et à la justice des Grandes Puis * See "Turkey, No. 28 (1878)," No. 34. |