TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES.

Sir,—From the news I read in your paper to-day, some people seem to think that Austria-Hungary is going to raise the question of Bosnia and Herzegovina. I may be very sceptical, but the story seems to me quite incredible, unless, of course, some one has taken leave of his wits. It is only the act of а madman to wake up a sleeping dog. Better let him lie. The question of Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of those dogs which ought not to be waked up by anybody, least of all by Austria-Hungary. This appears to have been the opinion of the representatives of all the Powers who were assembled at The Hague Conference last year, who refused to say one word upon this question, although it was brought before them by a pathetic petition signed by the representatives of the Servians of the two pacified provinces. Of course, the Conference had a good excuse. The subject was not within the scope of their instructions; but, even if it had been, a sound instinct would have led them, being a Peace Conference, to let that sleeping dog lie.

Despite my scepticism, a friend of mine assured me so positively that the Austro-Hungarian Government itself means to take advantage of the present situation that I ask myself, for the sake of argument, supposing it were true, what would be the right thing to do under these circumstances? To which I reply instantly, the position of Austria-Hungary in Bosnia and Herzegovina is strictly defined and limited by the Treaty of Berlin. If Austria-Hungary wishes to modify that position in any particular, she must appeal to the signatories of the Berlin Treaty for their consent. The question will therefore go before the European Areopagus, which, before coming to a decision, must, in common justice, hear the complaints which the inhabitants of these unhappy provinces have to bring against their pacifiers. What are these complaints? The Governments of Europe are already in possession of the pathetic petition which the representatives of the Bosnian-Herzegovinese addressed to the plenipotentiaries at the Conference at The Hague. But, although that is the case, I may perhaps be permitted to reproduce briefly the contents of the petition in question.

The memorial addressed to the Conference at The Hague was drawn up in the name of emigrants who had fled from the Austrian oppression which had been established in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This memorial was drawn up in the name of the Servian people, and was addressed to the Conference as the most authoritative representative of the idea of peace and justice. The signatories of this historical impeachment of Austrian misrule in Bosnia and Herzegovina declared that “the Austrian domination is a thousand times more insupportable than that of the Turks.” This, no doubt, is a rhetorical exaggeration, but no one can complain that it is not an adequate expression of the intense exasperation produced in the minds of the Servian people at the way in which their beautiful country has been exploited and oppressed by those whose mandate was limited at Berlin to the pacification of the country. The chief point, and one with which every Greek Orthodox must sympathize intensely, is their assertion that the Austrian authorities habitually treat the Greek Orthodox, who form the great majority of the people, with scandalous injustice. They interfere with their religious rites, they seize every opportunity of favouring Roman Catholics, who are thought to be more in sympathy with the authorities. The memorial complains that the Mahomedans are treated with equal injustice, the Greek Orthodox and Mahomedans being united in a brotherhood of suffering at the hands of a persecuting and unjust Government. The Greek Orthodox are kept under constant surveillance by the police, while the Roman Catholics are favoured by every means at the disposal of a Jesuitical Government. The richer Moslems have been compelled to flee the country, and on their deserted estates German and Jewish colonies are established. There is no guarantee for personal liberty. The Administration is carried on in absolute defiance of modern conceptions of justice. The police make domiciliary visits without any judicial warrant at any hour of the day or night, and never hesitate to shoot the unfortunate peasants who object to the infliction of the worst outrage upon their wives and daughters. Espionage is erected into a Governmental system. Bogus conspiracies are artificially got up in order to get rid of any one whom the Government dislikes. Natives of the country are forbidden to go from one arrondissement to another without police authorization. In towns a state of siege is proclaimed, and the ill-treatment of the citizens in the streets is quite a normal thing.

The severest punishments are meted out to any who correspond with Servians in Servia or Montenegro. The whole provinces are overrun with Jesuits and Jews, and the Austro-Hungarian Government does not hesitate to employ even more disreputable means to demoralize the character and ruin the physique of the unfortunate population committed to their care. The whole administration of Bosnia and Herzegovina is in the hands, not of the natives of the country, but of foreigners. According to the last official statistics there were 1,841 functionaries in Bosnia and Herzegovina; of these only 189, little more than 10 per cent., were orthodox Servians, 106 were Musulmans; of the others, 1,546 were foreigners. This locust horde of functionaries are as corrupt as they are inefficient. Hence the bitter discontent and lack of progress on the part of the population as compared with that of the other provinces freed from the Turkish yoke as the result of the war of 1877. The memorial concluded by a demand in the name of peace and justice that the two provinces should be delivered from the Austrian domination. They demanded in the name of universal justice the appointment of a European Commission to inquire into the accuracy of their accusations, which, if justified, they maintain ought to lead to the prompt termination of Austro-Hungarian rule in the provinces, which 30 years ago were handed to them to be pacified. The pacification being as complete as the discontent is universal, they claim that the time has come for the termination of the mandate of Austria-Hungary.

Concerning some of the details of this impeachment I cannot speak, but it has long been known to all Slavs and to all Orthodox that the Austro-Hungarian occupation has been from the first worked with the single aim of crushing Greek Orthodoxy and of destroying the Slav spirit in the occupied provinces. If any change whatever is made in the status quo, the Slavonic world would expect that, before the European Powers comply with the request of Austria-Hungary, they will take efficient guarantees against the oppression of the Slavs and the persecution of the Orthodox.

OLGA NOVIKOFF

4, Brunswick-place, Regent’s-park, Oct. 5.