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THE ISLAND OF MYTILENE
Mytilene figured somewhat prominently in
ancient history as the Island of Lesbos, and
was celebrated as the birthplace of Anon,
Terpander, and other celebrated men of
intiqmty It has been in possession of the
lurkv since 1460, and its history hat been a
chequered one It has been captured and
recaptured in war, it has been devastated
by earthquake, it has suffered from conflicts
between the Selene and Mussulman popula
tion, and under Turkish misrule it
h« not thriven as it might have done, but it
hs a fertile soil, a salubrious climate, and it
spo«ses!cd of two good harbors. In area it
tnot very large, Us extent being only some
800 square miles, but it is capable of sup
pling a much larger population than it
low possesses. Before the Greek War of
Independence it is said to have contained
¥,OOO inhabitants, but the people then
swindled sway until they scarcely num
bed more than half what they had
done For commercial enterprise it
U exceptionally well situated, as it corn
mods an extensive line of coast, and lies
ffldway between the Gulf of Smyrna and
fo Dardanelles, in the direct course of
framers to and from Constantinople. The
ibitf town, Mytilene or Castro, bmlt on the
■de of the ancient city of Mytilene, stands
the east coast of the island, and has a
Population of 20,000, of whom 14 000 are
weeks and the rest Mussulmans. The city
*ti almost completely destroyed by an
Btthqnake in 1667.
A high military authority in Victoria, in
iiurerestion with a representative of the
Tdtgmph, took up the position that
tbelsnding at Mytilene was simply effected
0 Practise the marines and bluejackets in
He of our men-of war cruising in the
“Unity —,
11 You see,” he said, “ to land a body of
wops on the territory of a friendly power,
r ’h as Turkey is, means a declaration of
’ll But there is not much likelihood that
Ji advanced a position would have been
“ben without the military authorities in the
cclontea having been apprised of the sitna
®'l ° -At the same time lam bound to ad
®>t that the place is just such a one as the
•“penal authorities would secure in the
i“nt of an outbreak of hostilities. My
•tided opinion of the matter is that the
wees have been landed for practise, and the
“ipedoes have been laid about the island to
ffore what the men could do in case of
®trgenov If this is the case, the permis
j°o of the inhabitants has been sought—
it can be relied on—as nonaval captain
lung under the British Admiralty would
t; f6 on himself the responsibilities of
“'Potion put to us ”
„ -there may be," continued our informant,
’iieral other explanations. It is quite
P’-iible that the British Cabinet has re
j 1, 8“ information that Mytilene has
£ to Russia, and desirous of keeping
‘Muscovite as far as possible from the
•oen Horn, the Home Office has forestalled
This action is quite pos
ft o£ the distinct breach of faith
Russia’ has committed infortify
s Batoum, when it was distinctly laid
ll* 1 blerlin Conference of 1876 that
«n*° rt s * 10u * ( b he occupied by Russia on
1., 00 that it was kept unprotected and
fit. °P en as a trading port for all the
of the world ”
bn i, i! re I9 ’ however, one other aspect that
bbe borne in mind Europe is in a state
neutrality. Wars and rumors of
ill the air, and the surest guarantee of
lilt' H * P re P ar edoesß for war. In showing
hn» 3nt Dav y 18 equal to any posssible con
(tj,j , c y ’ we show the powers of the earth
ca 11 ** rat * ,er to their adv antage to keep
«... * bnendly terms with the nation
letdoi. l * le ,ea * While thq refusal of
Henri * B ' )Urv to eVROUat e Egypt may have
i, n “ * om e irritation in Constantinople, it
h- r a * probable that the Sultan would
hje Wr to B ,vo to the Czar an advan
to hi ‘°" owe( b up, would certainly lead
flukey f nnl ' ll * at,on an( b the subdivision
oBr informant went on, “ If
bon f " M Belre< b Mytilene it is a deelara
k„ ' 7 ar a ?amst Turkey, and it has not
l eu , laen , w, thnut the cognisance of at
»H ,'*° of the Powers of Europe. Under
tbit h Clrcums t»nees it is safe to presume
•Wmt P rn F nB, tion I first put, viz , that a
the , e e , W was landed—with the consent of
drill h P e ~ to P raotl,e gun and torpedo
the orl Binated a sensation that only
Word. P . 1 ? U^ eSB o£ the Great Power, to
each other m any way justified.”
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