No. 4.

THE
ANGLO-HELLENIC LEAGUE.

THE INAUGURAL MEETING of the Anglo-
Hellenic League was held in the Rooms of the
Royal Asiatic Society at 5 p.m., on Monday,
December 15, 1913.
The Hon. W. Pember Reeves presided over a large
attendance. The Chairman read a telegram describing the
ceremony of the union of Crete with Greece. It was
a good omen that such news should come on the day of the
constitution of their League. This was a business meeting,
and he would not dwell therefore upon aims and hopes.
They would be asked to declare the League formally in
existence, to elect officers, and to set up a framework
and machinery. The General Council of the League —
a nucleus of which they would be asked to elect — would
deal with details in due course. He sketched the history
of the founding of the League. After a few weeks of
preliminary work in organising and canvassing, the position
was this, viz. : that though they had not been able to go
half over the ground, even in the roughest way, and were
doubtless guilty of a thousand omissions, they had encourag
ing and material results to show. The Provisional Committee,
whose existence would that day come to an end, would
present the League with a name and temporary offices, with
a muster roll of 274 members of excellent quality and with
a sum of money sufficient for present needs. Amid the
hurry of the preliminary work they had nevertheless been
able to do something in the way of printing leaflets, obtaining
introductions for travellers in Greece, and securing the
sympathetic approval of the Hellenic Government. They
had issued a sketch of their aims and objects, which had
met with a very good reception. For himself, he had so far
not met with a single refusal from any person whom he
-s L13937A 30-12-13.

had asked to join. As regards the machinery of the League
there would be a large general Council to control its policy
and a small executive to do the active work. There would
be a ladies' committee. There would also be sub-committees
to attend to literary work, lectures, and an information bureau,
and for the development of travel in Greece, and so forth.
Full information would be sent to every member of what
was going on, and every member would be asked to communi
cate to the Executive Committee his views on all matters
having relation to the League's work. The General Council
would frame the constitution and the rules and regulations.
The ordinary subscription of 5s. would be unchangeable,
and no member would be asked to pay more.
Any donations must be spontaneous.
He had to thank Mrs. Stephen Ralli and Mrs. Vlasto for
their handsome gifts of ;^100 and ;/r50 respectively.
Anyone who cared to help the League financially could
become a life member.
The ordinary members could work for it.
He hoped all would consider themselves missionaries.
It would be necessary to have a paid secretary who
would be outside the Executive Committee, because of course,
no member of the executive could accept payment for
anything done by him. He hoped shortly to be taking a
holiday in Greece and to confer with friends ready to co
operate with them at that end.
The following resolutions were carried unanimously : —
1. Proposed by Sir John Sandys, the Cambridge Public
Orator, and seconded by Mr. Zochonis.
(a) That the Anglo- Hellenic League is hereby
declared to be duly constituted.
(b) That the preliminary steps taken and all things
done by the Provisional Committee for founding
the League are hereby ratified, and in particular
(c) That the persons accepted by the Provisional
Committee as members of the League are
hereby declared duly elected members thereof.
(2)

Proposed by the Count de Zogheb and seconded bv
bu George Greenhill.
(«) That the following gentlemen shall form the
Councd : — Sir Edward Boyle, Mr. T. A.
Buriumi, Prof. Ernest Gardner, Col. Haywood
Mr. Maurice Hewlett, Dr. George Macmillani
Dr. A. Manuel, Mr. L. Messinesi, Mr. Z.
Michalinos, Mr. A. Pallis, Sir Frederick
Pollock, Mr. E. Rodocanachi, Mr. A. G.
Symonds, Sir John Sandys, Mr. Teofani, Mr.
Zochonis and the members of the Executive
Committee, with power to add to their number.
Proposed by Mr. Alexander Ralli and seconded by
Dr. R. M. Burrows.
That the Hon. W. Pember Reeves be elected Chair
man of the General and Executive Committees.

4. Proposed by Mr. Eumorfopoulos and seconded by
Mr. E. Foord.
That the following Officers be also elected : — Mr.
A. C. lonides, Hon. Treasurer, and Mr. D. J.
Cassavetti and Mr. R. A. H. Bickford- Smith,
Hon. Secretaries.

5. Proposed by Mr. Arthur Symonds and seconded by
Mr. Buriumi.
That the Chairman, Hon. Treasurer, Hon. Secre
taries and the following gentlemen — Dr. R. M.
Burrows, Prof. Gilbert Murray, Mr. J, N.
Mavrogordato, and Mr. Alexander Ralli — shall
form the Executive Committee of the League.
6. Proposed by Mr. J. N. Mavrogordato and seconded
by Mr. R. A. H Bickford-Smith.
That the Annual Subscription for ordinary members
for the year ending 31st December, 1914, and
for subsequent years, shall be 5s., and that the
subscription for life members be ;^10.
(3)

Proposed by Mr. A. C. lonides and seconded by
Admiral Tufnell.
That the following Ladies shall form the Ladies'
Committee :— Miss Craies, Mrs. Crosfield, Lady
Meiklejohn, Miss Pallis, Mrs. Reeves, Mrs.
Sachs, Miss Helena SchiHzzi and Mrs. Helen
Vlasto.
Proposed by The Hon. W. Pember Reeves and
seconded by Mr. D. J. Cassavetti.
That a general meeting, to be called by the Execu
tive Committee, shall be held at some date not
later than the 31st March, 1914, for the
purpose of considering the constitution, rules
and regulations of the League, to be drawn up
by the Council.
A vote of thanks to the Chairman was proposed by
Sir E. Boyle and seconded by Mr. Chryssanthopoulos
and was carried with enthusiasm.

The League, through its Chairman, has published the
following letter in the Daily Chronicle : —
THE AEGEAN ISLANDS AND EPIRUS.

A PRACTICAL SUGGESTION.

To the Editor, Daily Chronicle,
Sir, — It is not yet certain that the Powers of the Triple Alliance will
accept Sir Edward Grey's proposals as to the disposal of the .lEgean
Islands and North Epirus. As they are unfavourable to Greece, the
proposals may please Austria. They cannot well please Italy. Should,
however, they be agreed to, they will advance the Balkan settlement
another stage, for they will permit the incorporation of most of the .<Egean
Islands with their mother-country — Greece. Otherwise they will not
lead to a settlement, but merely perpetuate difficulties. For if Rhodes
and the Twelve Islands remain under the Turkish flag, neither will the
islands be contented nor will the Greek race rest.
True, if the Italian evacuation should be a reality ; if Italy in the
future should really leave the islands alone ; and if the self-government
given to them should be genuine, their inhabitants might exist in some
material comfort. But as they are educated Greeks they would no more
accept the position as final than have the Samiotes and the Cretans in
the past accepted similar positions. Geographically their separation
from Greece would be absurd, because some of them, such as the people
of Carpathos and Astropalia, would be nearer the kingdom of Greece and
(4)

further away from Asia than many islands which would be freed from
Turkey. Moreover, their autonomy would not be safe a moment longer
than the Powers insisted upon it. The people of the Twelve Islands
enjoyed great local privileges under the old Turkish regime until first
Abdul Hamid and then the Young Turks took these away in the face of
solemn treaties, while the Powers looked on— or did not even look.
What has been done once might be done again.
The Boundary Commission.
In Epirus the outlook is very much worse. The burlesque of an
International Boundary Commission has retreated from the country
without having even gone through the form of inspecting most of the
disputed territory. It has retired to Florence to write its report. But
even a report written in the inspiring air of Italy has not seemed to the
Concert of Europe worth waiting for, and the Powers are now asked to
settle the question without even pretending to have learned anything
about it. The Greeks, after occupying and administering North Epirus
with signal success for the last nine months, are to be ordered at a few
weeks' notice to vacate three-fourths of it. About 150,000 people are to
be handed over to an Albanian Government which does not yet exist !
They are to be condemned to a union with barbarians whom they fear
and loathe. They are in the position of an escaped slave who is to be
handed back to slavery though under another master.
It is estimated that about 70 per cent, of the northern Epirotes so
earnestly desire union with Greece that they are ready to fight and die
for it. About 20 per cent, are quite prepared to acquiesce contentedly in
Greek rule. Not more than 10 per cent, wish to join Albania — probably
not so many. On the whole it is likely that quite three-fourths of the
males in the country are ready to appear in the field if the Albanians make
an attempt to occupy the country by force. These people are armed to
a man with good rifles, have plenty of ammunition, and some money.
They have even bought a few pieces of artillery. Their country is
mountainous and badly roaded, and would be extremely difficult for an
invader marching without complete local knowledge.
If the Great Powers order M. Venezelos to withdraw his troops and
officials he may conceivably submit to the inevitable. He might even
promise to do nothing to incite the Epirotes to further resistance. More
he could not do. He could not dragoon them into submission to the
Powers, because his own army would not obey him if he set it to such a
task. Nor could the Prince of Wied and his Dutch-drilled Albanians do
anything. The Great Powers could, of course, crush the Epirotes by
sending a strong international army. But they would only crush them
after a shameful struggle amid the blood and misery of a brave and
patriotic people. Some of them at least would wish to avoid that cruel
and revolting business, and there is oneway, I imagine, by which it might
be avoided. Autonomy for the Epirotes.
The Epirotes are a civilised, highly intelligent people, for the most
part educated. Many of them have lived in Greece, the United States, and
other more or less free countries. They are now well organised, and
perfectly capable of managing their own affairs. In the names of
mercy and commonsense I suggest that they should at least be allowed to
do that. The Great Powers might call them a suzerainty of Albania, but if
they allowed them complete local autonomy and forbade the wild
Albanians to meddle with them peace might be obtained. The Powers
would be entitled to stipulate that the local autonomy should be forfeited
in the event of failure to give the Mussulman Epirotes absolutely fair and
(5)

equal treatment. Subject to that proviso the autonomy would ha\-e to be
real. It should give the Epirotes the right of levying and spending their
own taxes, of controlling their own schools and postal arrangements, of
retaining their own communal possessions, of appointing their own police,
and, in particular, of making customs arrangements with Greece.
This last point is of special importance. The entire trade and
business of North Epirus is carried on, not with Albania, but with Greek
Macedonia, Greek Epirus and Corfu. If they are cut off from Salonika,
Janina and Corfu by customs barriers their trade will be seriously
hampered and some of them, at least, will be ruined. Albania
offers them no outlet, for they have no good communication with
it by road, and if they had, Albania has no trade. One of
the two or three reasons why Austria and Italy wish to force them
into Albania is because they are taxable, which most of the Albanians
are not. The Epirotes are peaceable, industrious people. They are
producers and traders who have a certain amount of money, and
who, if they were given a chance, would soon have more. Their
ideals are not plunder and clan warfare, but peace, industry and educa
tion. But they are not rich enough to pay their own way, and at the
same time provide revenue to compensate the Prince of Wied for his
inability to tax his barbarians further north.
Should the Powers grant the Epirotes full provincial independence
we shall soon see whether Mr. Aubrey Herbert and his friends are
right in asserting that the Epirotes are Albanian at heart. If so, they
will at once use their independence to join with Albania proper. If
however, as I believe, an overwhelming majority of them are intensely
opposed to anything of the kind, they may continue peaceably and
successfully to govern themselves. The Young Turks could not interfere
with them, and their autonomy therefore might be more secure than any
given to iEgean Islands.
W. P. REEVES,
Chairman of the Anglo-Hellenic League,
December 18, 1913.

THE LEAGUE NUMBERED OVER 350 ON DEC. 31st, 1913.

^emenlspess

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