Speech From the Throne
By Tsar Ferdinand I.
The following speech by Tsar Ferdinand I. of Bulgaria was read at the opening of the Bulgarian Parliament, called the Sobranje, on Oct. 15, (28,) 1914, by the Prime Minister, Mr. Radoslavoff.
WITH the ending last year of a long and exhausting struggle which we conducted with incomparable self-denial, the Bulgarian people and my Government directed again their efforts toward the healing of the wounds of the recent past and the remodeling of the national forces, and likewise toward creating new resources and prosperity for the country.
Our common peaceful activity was interrupted by the breaking out of the greatest and most terrible of all wars that history has up to this day recorded. In face of this mighty struggle of the European nations my Government has deemed it its duty before the nation, and the course imposed on it, to declare the neutrality of Bulgaria and to maintain this attitude sternly and honestly according to international obligations and the interests of the fatherland.
Thanks to this process, my Government maintains good and friendly relations with all the great powers; has succeeded in giving to our relations with our neighbors a color of greater confidence, so necessary after the crisis of the last year, and in the midst of the events that lie heavy today on the whole of Europe.
A supplemental statement of the royal position was made by the Bulgarian Premier, Mr. Radoslavoff, in the Sobranje at the sitting of Nov. 12, (25,) 1914, which follows:
With the proclamation of the state of siege, taken in accordance with the decision of Parliament, as a measure of further security, everything is moving along according to the laws and the Constitution of the country. And the Government is endeavoring that the internal administration may proceed in as orderly a way as possible.
You remember very well that on the 16th (29th) of July, when war was declared by Austria-Hungary, I came here and told you that the decision of the Government was to maintain strict neutrality.
One day before the closing of the extra session of Parliament I repeated the declarations of the Government, that no matter what kind of political combinations were formed around us the Government is resolved to maintain absolute neutrality to the end.
It was with pleasure that I heard at that time the assurances of all the party leaders that if I were to keep this attitude they would help me maintain the absolute neutrality of Bulgaria.
I do not know why after a few days there have been published various statements signed by the different party leaders.
Nothing in particular had been done on our side up to that time. There was nothing irregular, but, notwithstanding all this, complaints have been lodged against the Bulgarian Government that its neutrality was one-sided, that the Government was favoring one group of the powers while hostile to the other, that through Bulgaria arms and ammunition were sent from a belligerent country [Germany] to a non-belligerent, [Turkey,] and this moved the leaders of the parties to turn to the nation and denounce the sincerity of your Government.
The silence of the nation and the attitude of the powers gave us full justification for the fairness and loyalty with which we keep our neutrality.
Two months ago the nation had witnessed a manifesto, signed by all the party leaders with the exception of the narrow Socialists, which means that the opposition has not been united on this question, as it is said in the manifesto that all the opposition was united in a fear lest the Government abandon its neutrality. In the manifesto addressed to the Bulgarian nation the desire was expressed for the formation of a Ministry in which all the political parties were to be represented.
But the silence of the nation has given ample proof of its confidence in the present Ministry. The declaration of the Government on July 13 (26) holds today, as it held then. We are keeping the strict neutrality of Bulgaria. Those that were supposed to have grievances against us have no proofs to show our breach of neutrality. Every side was satisfied with our assurances.
Notwithstanding the difficulties with which the path of the Government is strewn today, I, supported by the majority of the Parliament, will follow the same policy. Bulgaria has remained neutral, and up to now she is in excellent relations with all neighboring countries.
Bulgaria is in most friendly relations with Rumania, Greece, and Servia, which is at war. Bulgaria keeps the most sincere relations with Turkey. Bulgaria remains neutral and loyal in her position. I make the declaration so that the entire nation may be informed that the present Government has assured the territorial integrity of Bulgaria.
Our policy meets with the approval of all the great powers without exception. If we ever are led by the force of circumstances to enter some arrangement whereby Bulgaria will obtain something more in the way of territory, this will come from the will of the entire Bulgarian concert, with which we desire to remain up to the end in good relations.
This is what I can and what I must say today in the National Parliament. [Cheers and applause.]
BULGARIAN PARLIAMENT REPLIES.
[As voted on Nov. 12, (25,) 1914.]
Your Majesty: The national representation considers it an agreeable duty to express its satisfaction for the statements addressed to it and to offer its collaboration to the Tsar and the Government for the safeguard of the dear interests of the fatherland.
Your Majesty!
The breaking out of the terrible war which today oppresses and exhausts the nations has stopped the peaceful activity in which the Bulgarian Nation and your Government were engaged for the regeneration of the national forces and the creation of new resources for the prosperity of the country and the healing of the wounds of the long and heroic war which the nation, with unflinching self-sacrifice, has waged in the past year.
Your Majesty!
In the face of the momentous and far-reaching events now taking place in Europe and around Bulgaria, the national representation has noted with delight that the Government, having at heart the future of the country when it declared the neutrality of Bulgaria, is maintaining this attitude strictly and loyally, as the international necessities and the most vital interests of the country demand.
Your Majesty!
The national representation has learned with joy that, thanks to this attitude, the Government of your Majesty has preserved good and friendly relations with all the great powers and has improved our relations with our neighbors, which good relations are so necessary for Bulgaria after the crisis of the last year, and during the events of which we are the witnesses.
Your Majesty!
The great events that are shaking Europe are apt to call for our attention, but, in spite of this, they will not stop us in the way of the peaceful development of our culture, to which Bulgaria after the war devoted her energies.
We will carefully examine and heartily approve of all the measures which the Government may take for the progress of the country and will give them our support.
Long live his Majesty the Tsar!
Long live her Majesty the Tsarina!
Long live his Royal Highness the Crown Prince!
Following is the allocution of Tsar Ferdinand I., on Dec. 2, (15,) 1914, to the Delegation of the Sobranje, which brought to him the Bulgarian Parliament's answer to the speech from the throne.
Gentlemen: It has always been agreeable to me to meet the representatives of the National Parliament and exchange with them ideas on the situation and the administration of the country. In the present year, however, during the development of the events around us this contact with the representatives of the people is not without some importance for the Chief of the State.
I desire to hear from you, gentlemen, what are the concerns of the nation and to partake of them with you. The thought that I am nourishing, and my hope is, that, thanks to the stability and the wisdom of the Bulgarians, the country will emerge from the new trials untouched and without being threatened in the future.
I am really proud in duly acknowledging the virtues of the Bulgarian people. When, in 1912, this people, moved by a single impulse, arose and crushed a strong opponent by a force and ardor unsurpassed till now, the whole world recognized its military virtues. But the Bulgarian Nation has also displayed unique virtues in its reverses by valiantly enduring the blows of misfortune.
This nation will warmly undertake its mission in order to achieve its destiny, when it will win more respect on the part of foreigners than it won by its victory; and the hearts of its sons, so devoted to the fatherland, will be warmed anew.
Today, when the whole of Europe is burning and the conflagration is approaching us, when all the nations around us are moving and making ready for action, the Bulgarian Nation, duly appreciating the situation, has established its attitude with an equanimity and a reserve which constitute the undeniable proofs of its wisdom and its political maturity.
The eyes of the Czar and of the people are turned toward you. In the advices that you are giving, in the opinions that you express, I observe your care for the national prosperity and your resolution to sacrifice everything on the altar of the fatherland and for the interests of the nation. This sets me at rest and inspires me with the hope that in the future also complete harmony will prevail between the nation and the Crown, and that from this harmony we shall draw the necessary strength for the assurance of the future of Bulgaria.
May God watch over the fortunes of our fatherland and may He crown with success our common efforts.
BULGARIA’S NEUTRALITY.
In the last sitting of the Bulgarian Sobranje, just before the Christmas holidays, the Premier, Mr. Radoslavoff, made the following statements as they appear in the semi-official organ, Narodni Prava, of Sofia:
Since last July Bulgaria has maintained strict neutrality. Whatever accusations have been addressed to her from abroad as to her alleged breaches of neutrality, on the part of one or other of the belligerent groups, are without any foundation whatever. It is recognized that such insinuations come from our enemies, who have every interest in our breaking neutrality.
The Government maintains and will maintain its neutral policy to the end, and in this case we declare that we will adhere to it, and, supported by the country, we will try to take as much advantage of it as is possible.
Whether we are going to have or not to have a Ministry in which all the political parties will be represented, this does not at all interest those from abroad, where the dignified attitude of our Government is recognized. Do not ask us to negotiate what the Triple Entente is willing to give us, or to say to the central powers—Austria and Germany—"You, what are you going to give us?"
Because in that case they would answer: "Why should we give you anything? For your inactivity? Because you keep tranquil, watching us shedding our blood? Is it for this that we must give you something?"
I, for myself, have repeated on another occasion that during these critical moments, when new States are being founded while others are falling to the ground, to safeguard and preserve the present frontiers of Bulgaria is the greatest service that can be rendered her. We know what we have asked and what was offered to us. But who guarantees that we shall have what was orally promised to us? We ourselves cannot guarantee it. I declare that we are on good terms with our neighbors so long as they respect the interests of Bulgaria. If I knew that we would receive Macedonia and Cavalla and Dobrudja, be sure that I, first among all, would advise the formation of a coalition Ministry.
Representative Tchandref (interrupting)—Go ahead and take them alone.
Radoslavoff—But now we may not, neither in Chataldja nor in Cavalla nor in Dobrudja. The Bulgarian Government is pursuing the absolute preservation of peace and is watching developments. The friends that we have, notwithstanding all evil machinations, have not deserted us. Bulgaria still has friends, but friends and enemies tell us, Keep quiet, Bulgarians! In this lies your safety!
A MILITARY ESTIMATE.
The subjoined statement by the Bulgarian General, Savoff, appeared in the Vienna Reichspost of Dec. 20, 1914:
Taking into account the military operations up to this date, it is easy to conclude that the two central monarchies are holding the advantage of the Allies. Germany has demonstrated to the world her enormous strength, while Austria-Hungary has shown herself to be really a great power. Austria-Hungary must be proud of her army and of the brilliant successes it has won against the colossal Russian military organization.
So far as the neutral States are concerned, Gen. Savoff said:
Bulgaria will keep neutral as long as she can. The responsible factors of the country will face every influence, and will act according to the best interests of the fatherland. We must insist on the correction of the mistakes made by the Treaty of Bucharest. We are resolved, in case this should prove necessary, to take back by force of arms the territories that belong to us and that have been snatched from us. The Bulgarian Army is ready and will do its duty up to the end when the interests of the country demand it.
OPPOSITION PARTY’S STATEMENT.
Following is an editorial article published Oct. 15, (28,) 1914, in the Mir, the organ of the Nationalists, and signed by A. Bouroff, ex-Minister and ex-Vice President of the Bulgarian Parliament, or Sobranje.
The Government knows that the Bulgarian people will never forgive it, should the Ministry let pass the present historical opportunity without securing important advantages for Bulgaria.
These advantages the Government is endeavoring to obtain by keeping a pro-Austro-German neutrality. In order not to disclose this policy, the Government avoids a discussion with Austria and Germany. In order to render service to Austria the Government is courting Turkey, provoking Russia through its action and its press, avoids the constitution of a council of State demanded by the opposition, and objects to the formation of a Ministry in which all the political parties were to be represented. Perhaps the Government would go even further, but it is prevented from doing so, on one hand by Rumania, who maintained a puzzling position, and the probable surprises that her "friendly" Turkey has in store, and on the other by the explicit and general unwillingness of the Bulgarian people to jeopardize its existence through adventurous actions that are so contrary to its national character and sentiments. The result of these contradictory inclinations and influences is shown in our present political weakness, which I am afraid will be fruitless in the end.
What is to be expected from this policy? In case of victory of the Triple Entente, Bulgaria can hope for nothing good. If the Dual Alliance is victorious we shall have certain compensations that to my deep conviction will be far from satisfying our national aspirations. The Austro-German alliance, first of all, will think of itself; that is to say, to realize the greatest ideals of pan-Germanism, the debouching of Austria in the Aegean Sea through Saloniki, which necessarily comprises the occupation by Austria of all Macedonia west of the Vardar. In the second place, Turkey will have to be compensated and strengthened, as in the future her army will be a more obedient organ in the hands of German diplomacy and more amenable than Slav Bulgaria, whose troops, in the opinion of the most prominent German papers, cannot fight the Russians, while Turkey at any time is ready to serve Germany. But Turkey can be compensated in Europe only at the expense of Bulgarian Thrace. To Bulgaria will be given, at most, Istip, Kotchana, Radovich, Serrés Drama, and Cavalla to make good the losses in Thrace.
To obtain such a meagre result, the Government of Bulgaria maintains a policy contrary to popular sentiment and to the racial bonds of the people, and a policy contrary to the further interests of Bulgaria, which are incompatible with the building up of a strong Turkey in the Balkans, a Turkey that would be the bulwark of Germany. The most essential part of it is that this policy is based on a most improbable hypothesis, that is to say, the final triumph of the Austro-German arms. If the Bulgarian Government had left prejudices to one side and looked clearly at the events, they would not have been slow to understand that from the moment England stepped into the war and Italy abandoned her allies, the Austro-German alliance politically lost the game. Each passing day diminishes more and more the hopes of success of the Dual Alliance, and permits England and Russia to expand their inexhaustible forces. It is not difficult to foresee from now the terms of peace that England and Russia will impose. Any policy which expects to profit from the defeat of these two powers is doomed to failure, and because such is the policy of the Bulgarian Government, we think that it is against the interests of the country.
This policy, among its other disadvantages, opens forever a gap between little Bulgaria and great Russia, which power, even if defeated, will never cease to play an active part in the Balkans. Against this policy, which is risking much to obtain little, we propose the policy of coming to an agreement with the Triple Entente, on the basis of a Bulgarian neutrality favorable to it, which surely and without sacrifices is expected to bring to us greatest results. The only thing that the powers of the Triple Entente are demanding from us is to open negotiations with them. This does not abolish our neutrality, because other States, too, such as Italy, Rumania, Greece, and Turkey, are negotiating at the present time.
BALKAN ALLIANCE OPPOSED.
An editorial article which appeared in the Bulgarian paper Volja of the Stamboulovist Party, on Dec. 20, 1914, appears below.
The question has been raised whether in reality negotiations are being conducted between the Balkan States, that is to say, Bulgaria and Servia, Greece and Bulgaria, Bulgaria and Rumania. How much of this is true?
Such negotiations are not being conducted, neither do we believe that it is possible for them to exist, because we do not know what our neighbors demand from us. The only true part of this story is that the powers of the Triple Entente are endeavoring to drag into the war Greece, Bulgaria, and Rumania, a thing that would be not only profitable to them, but even necessary for these same powers of the Triple Entente.
And as long as Bulgaria is not any longer inhabited by imbeciles, who will undertake once more a war for the promotion of the glory and the interests of those who by every means endeavored to ruin us, these powers are thinking today, being moved by some sentiment of humanity, that certain concessions must be made to Bulgaria, but on condition of military support.
And so far as concerns Servia, who only a few days ago was on the brink of the precipice, and who, in a little while from now, will find herself in a worse position, it is apparent that, without the assistance of Bulgaria, her ruin will be certain. This, however, does not prevent Servia as well as the Triple Entente from insisting on giving us as little as possible, and then only after the Serbs have taken Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Rumania and Greece desire an understanding for the sake of their tranquillity. And it was said that Rumania is giving Dobrudja, but Greece does not want even to hear of the cession of Cavalla Drama and Serrés, but, on the contrary, demands, in case Bulgaria gets Servian Macedonia, to obtain for her (Greece's) account Doïrani, Ghevgeli, and Monastir. Greece and Rumania agree on one point—themselves to stay out of the war, while inducing Bulgaria to fight.
But Bulgaria insists on getting compensation, not by war but by her neutrality. The aspirations therefore of the interested States are totally different, and, under such circumstances, no understanding is possible. The object of the Triple Entente is clear. But this is no concern of ours, nor of any of the other Balkan States, with the exception of Servia.
Therefore, to speak plainly, the understanding will be possible only when interests are taken into account. And on this basis some means to an understanding with our neighbors will be found, whether they want it or not.