The Bulgarian matter had hardly been settled when Austria discovered a new means of checking Turkey.
The Turkish officials in Asia Minor ill-treated an Austrian subject. He was the agent of the Austrian Lloyd's Steamship Company at Mersina, and had been summarily expelled from the city by order of the officials.
The Austrian consul at once interfered, and was grossly insulted by the Mutessarif, who is a sort of mayor, and also by the Vali, or governor, of Adana, in which province Mersina is situated. Adana is one of the Turkish provinces on the Mediterranean Sea, and Mersina is one of its chief seaport towns.
The incident being exactly what Austria had been wishing for, a great deal was made of it. The Austrian ambassador at Constantinople sent word that his flag had been insulted, and demanded that Turkey should formally salute the Austrian flag, that both of the offending officials must be immediately dismissed, and the agent given money damages.
The ambassador informed the Sultan that, in case of refusal, he should leave Constantinople, and sever all diplomatic relations with Turkey, and that warships should proceed to Mersina and bombard it.
The Sultan did not like to be treated in this way, and took time to decide what he should do.
The ambassador sent a second letter, when he had waited as long as he thought right for an answer to his first, with the added demand that Turkey should also pay the claims of the Oriental Railroad Company, and that the matter should be decided inside of eight days.
The claim of this railroad company was for carrying troops during the war, and the bill for this service had not been paid.
Now the Oriental Railroad Company is not owned by Austria, but by Austrian citizens, and it was an unheard-of thing for a government to seek to collect the private debts of her citizens at the cannon's mouth. Europe has, however, been doing remarkable things to Turkey for many years past.
The Sultan dared not refuse Austria, any more than Bulgaria, until the peace with Greece was signed, and so was forced to agree to all of Austria's demands.