BULGARIA.

In the early part of the year Bulgaria passed through a stormy period in consequence of the seditious activities of the "common front" formed by the Communists and the Left wing of the Agrarians. These, trading on their long immunity, threw aside all restraint, and embarked on a career of lawlessness which resulted in the murder of several prominent politicians, and in various acts of organised brigandage. The Government retaliated by declaring the Communist Party outlawed (March 19), and passing an Act for the "defence of the realm." These measures proved ineffective to check the violence of the common front," which soon after culminated in the unsuccessful attempt against King Boris, on April 14, and in the blowing up, two days later, of the cathedral "Sveta Nedelia" in Sofia. About 120 persons, including generals, high officials, women, and children. perished in the explosion.

This dastardly outrage, which aroused horror and indignation, not only in Bulgaria but throughout the civilised world, had the effect of rallying all the political parties to the support of the Government in its efforts to root out this nest of dangerous outlaws. Thousands were arrested in all parts of the country, and many even perished in the confusion which followed the explosion. A state of siege, with all its accessories, was proclaimed, and the Courts were occupied throughout the year in trying persons suspected of complicity. Thanks to the severe measures, the public tension was greatly relieved, and in a relatively short time the social and economic life of the country resumed its normal course.

Another grave problem with which the Government had to deal throughout the year was that of the refugees, who continued to arrive daily from Thrace and Macedonia, principally from the regions under the rule of the Greeks. The Government, with its limited resources, did what little it could for them by giving them land and money to build houses and buy agricultural implements. The political organisations and charity societies also came actively to their help, but all these humane efforts were inadequate to meet the urgent needs of these wretched people. There was a danger, too, that if not relieved in time these refugees might fall under the influence of subversive elements, and so constitute a social and political peril for the Balkans.

While the loyal execution of the treaties and the maintenance of correct relations with all Powers was the policy of the Government, certain incidents occurred which prevented the growth of a more friendly feeling between Bulgaria and her immediate neighbours. One of these incidents, which caused considerable embarrassment to the Government, was the refusal, during a certain period, of the Belgrade Government to give visas to Bulgarians. The reason of this vexatious measure was that a Yugoslav

subject who had been arrested in connexion with the explosion in the Sofia Cathedral had afterwards disappeared. The situation was embittered by the complaints made by Belgrade of the crossing of the frontier by bands of "komitadjis." The measure was kept in force for more than a month, but was cancelled in view of the satisfactory reply given by the Bulgarian Government in regard to the man in question, and the measures taken in the frontier districts against suspicious persons. Since then, the beginning of August, the relations between the two Slav countries have been perfectly correct, and goodwill has prevailed on both sides.

A frontier incident at Demir Kapou, on October 19, took an unexpectedly serious turn owing to the action of M. Pangalos, the Greek Premier, who instead of accepting the proposal of Sofia to submit to a mixed commission the question of responsibility for the incident, gave orders to the troops at Salonica to march into Bulgarian territory. The Bulgarian Government gave instructions to the small available military forces at the frontier not to resist the Greek advance, and at the same time submitted the case to the League of Nations. The Council of the League immediately enjoined both Governments to cease all military operations, and appointed an international commission, under the presidency of Sir Horace Rumbold, the British Ambassador at Madrid, to make an inquiry on the spot. The report presented by the commission, and approved unanimously by the Council of the League on December 14, was unfavourable to the Greek contention, and directed that Greece should pay to Bulgaria 30 million leva as indemnity for the violation of Bulgarian territory committed by the Greek troops.

With Rumania Bulgaria's relations were better than with any other of her neighbours, though the question of the sequestration of the properties of Bulgarian subjects in Rumania still awaits settlement.

On October 18 a Treaty of friendship between Turkey and Bulgaria was signed at Angora, along with other conventions referring principally to the situation of the Bulgarian refugees who left Thrace as a result of the Balkan wars in 1912 and 1913. The signing of these arrangements was received at first with satisfaction in the hope that this meant the beginning of more friendly relations between the two countries. But as by these conventions the Turks will not allow the refugees to regain their homes, and will not give them proper compensation for their abandoned properties, the refugees commenced a campaign against the Treaty, and it has not yet been submitted to the approval of Parliament.

The economic and financial situation of Bulgaria did not change greatly during the year. The corn crops were good, but as prices were comparatively low not much could be exported, while

Bulgarian tobacco had to meet keen competition from the Greek and Turkish tobaccos. The poor sales of these two most important articles of consumption led to an adverse trade balance and an insufficient supply of foreign currency in the country, and the Government was obliged to take special measures to encourage the export of these two products. One was to reduce the export taxes to the barest minimum, while expenditure was reduced and all kind of economies effected. A new departure in the economic life of Bulgaria was a reform in the control of the State enterprises, by which the State coal mine of Pernik was put on autonomous basis and commercially reorganised in order to increase production and to lower working expenses.

As the five years' period of commercial restriction imposed by the Treaty of Neuilly expired in August, Bulgaria regained her complete tariff autonomy, and concluded with some of the Powers provisional conventions on the basis of reciprocity and of most-favoured-nation treatment.

The year closed with a Cabinet crisis and the introduction into Parliament of an Amnesty Bill to cover almost all political crimes of the last two years except seditious activity—such as the revolt of September, 1923, the explosion in the Cathedral, etc. A much better feeling prevailed in political circles at the end of the year, and the danger of seditious risings seemed to be past.

CHAPTER VI.

LESSER STATES OF WESTERN AND NORTHERN EUROPE: BELGIUMNETHERLANDS

SWITZERLAND-SPAIN-PORTUGAL-DENMARK

SWEDEN-NORWAY-FINLAND.

BELGIUM.

AT the opening of the year, Parliament was approaching the end of its term, and members' minds were preoccupied with the coming elections. The election was followed by a prolonged Cabinet crisis, during which Parliament was more or less passive. The year as a whole, was, consequently, not fruitful in legislative activity.

The most important piece of legislation carried through before the election was an extension of the workmen's pensions with compulsory insurance law to commercial and industrial employés, and members of the liberal professions. The pension is formed by withdrawals from the salary of the employé, along with a contribution from the employer and another from the State. The law of equalisation increasing the salaries of civil servants was extended to magistrates, ministers of religion, and teachers in primary schools. The Rent Act of 1924 was prolonged for a year.

The opposition offered to some of these Bills, as also to the

new taxes and the proposals on the language question caused no small embarrassment to the Government. But the most critical question was that of women's votes in the provinces, which the Catholics wished to introduce (vide ANNUAL REGISTER, 1924, p. 224). In spite of the help of some twenty Socialists, they had not succeeded in carrying this through at the time of the revision of the Constitution in 1920, but they had flattered themselves that they would gain their point before the election of 1925. In the preceding year, the Catholics had made a truce with the Liberals to avoid raising thorny questions, but they now disregarded this in the prosecution of their design. The Liberals, on their side, threatened to withdraw their collaboration from the Government, if the Chambers passed such a Bill. Finding his position thus rendered untenable, M. Theunis completed the Government business with all despatch, and obtained a Royal decree dissolving the Chambers on March 7. The elections were fixed for April 5, a month before the constitutional date. The electoral campaign was all the more strenuous for being shortened. The public, however, remained indifferent. The Labour Party made strong efforts to rally to its side the "brain workers," and by the moderation of its language studiously avoided hurting the religious feelings of the Christian Democrats.

The result of the election was to shift the political centre of gravity further to the Left. The Liberals were reduced from 33 to 23 in a House of 187. Thanks to the support of a large number of shopkeepers, small farmers, and intellectuals, the Socialists gained 10 seats. The Communists made their entry into Parliament with 2 deputies. The Catholic Right lost 2 seats-a serious set-back in view of the high hopes it was cherishing. The Flemish Separatists gained 2 seats, thus bringing their numbers up to 6.

The task of forming a Government which should obtain a majority in such a House proved extraordinarily difficult. The King first called on the Socialist leader, M. Vandervelde. This statesman endeavoured to form a Coalition representing all sections of the democratic majority, with the Labour Party as its basis, but the attempt fell through. On the one side the Liberals were determined to remain in opposition; on the other side, the Christian Democrats could not entertain his offer, having pledged themselves to maintain the unity of the Right. M. de Broqueville, one of the leaders of the Right, was then entrusted with the task of forming a Government, but he could not succeed in rallying the Liberals to his standard. M. Van de Vyvere, a former Catholic Minister, came before Parliament with a Ministry composed to a large extent of Right-wing members of the Theunis Cabinet. His programme, as laid down in his opening address, was sufficiently vague not to offend anyone and to give hopes to all. In the name of the Liberal Party, M. Max, the Mayor of Brussels, made a strong attack on the purely Catholic character of the

Government's combination and on the ambiguous terms of its declaration of policy.

The Socialist leader, M. Vandervelde, was equally firm in refusing the confidence of his party to the Van de Vyvere Cabinet, but adroitly gave it to be understood that certain of the Ministers might join a new Cabinet. The Government fell, and it was then M. Max's turn to try. He endeavoured to fill up vacancies from outside Parliament, but without success. The leader of the Catholic Flemish extremists, M. Poullet, thereupon managed to form a democratic Cabinet. But a revolt of the Right, supported by the Press, destroyed the majority which should have supported the Ministry, and M. Poullet was deserted by three of his colleagues. Nevertheless he persevered, and, retaining the majority of his colleagues, at length brought the crisis to an end, after it had lasted two and a half months. The fact that the country could without any ill effects be so long without a Government speaks excellently for the sound sense of the people and the smooth functioning of the administrative machine. The Vice-Presidency of the Council and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs passed to M. Vandervelde, but that of the Interior was taken from the Socialists and, along with National Defence, was given to a non-Parliamentarian of no political complexion. M. Van de Vyvere himself took the portfolio of Agriculture, so that Catholics and Socialists each held five posts. On July 2 the Chamber passed a vote of confidence in the Poullet Ministry with a majority of 86. Towards the end of the same month the old Catholic Right made a final attempt to upset the Government by reminding certain Socialists of their promise of support in the matter of women's votes in the provinces. On July 23 M. Vandervelde replied to them that the Bill which he and his friends had signed had been presented to them for payment after it had lapsed, but he was confident that political equality would come into force at the provincial elections of 1929. A Bill for maintaining the existing system provisionally was then passed with a majority of 84, and the provincial elections in November also resulted in great Socialist gains.

In September, the Catholic episcopate addressed to its followers a pastoral letter condemning Socialism. It was at pains to excuse the compromise involved in forming a joint CatholicSocialist Government, but, in fact, the letter forced on the Christian Democrats the alternative of either abandoning the Labour Party or breaking definitely with the Catholic Party.

The Catholic Minister of Finance, M. Janssen, launched a plan for stabilising the franc by means of a gold covering of 150 million dollars, of which a third should be borrowed in England and the rest in America. In order to discuss the participation of Great Britain in this scheme, he crossed over to London at the beginning of October, accompanied by the Minister of Agriculture, M. Van de Vyvere, and two of the leading Belgian financiers.