„… THE OUTBREAK IN BULGARIA.
MACEDONIANS SEIZE A TOWN.
(from oxjb correspondent.)
SOFIA, Dec. 5.
Kustendil [a town some forty-five miles south-east of Sofia] was occupied on Sunday by some thousands of peasants led by Macedonian Autonomist leomi-tadjis. A number of murders have recently been committed in Kustendil and they have been attributed to agents of the Government ; hence the action of the bands.
On entering Kustendil the rebels turned out the Government officials, and seized the men accused of murder. Rumours gained credence here that the rebels were marching on the capital. Thereupon a state of siege was proclaimed in the departments of Sofia and Kustendil, while troops whose fidelity could be relied upon were summoned to Sofia. A number of deputies of the Agrarian Party were sent into the provinces to organize defence measures.
Later on, however, it appeared that the rebels were not inarching on Sofia, but that they had sent a delegation of four persons to put conditions before the Government. A meeting between the delegates and officials was held half-way between Kustendil and Sofia. The rebels demanded the removal of the Government officials at Kustendil, the cessation of the persecution of Macedonians, and the surrender of all implicated in the murder of Macedonians at Kustendil.
The Government is now convinced that the movement has not the political character at first attributed to it, and has countermanded all repressive measures. An official eommu-niqué says that the groups of Agrarians who had set out from the provinces for the defence of the capital have received orders to return home. Calm prevails here, and no excesses are reported.
V The occupation of Kustendil was announced in the latest editions of The Times yesterday. A Reuter telegram reports the unopposed reoccupation of Kustendil by a detachment of troops led personally by the Minister of War. The Bulgarian Government attributes the occurrence to the rivalry of the Macedonian group under Todov Alexan-droff, called Autonomists, and their adversaries.
…“
