Rumania

First Balkan War, 1912.

This situation arose in Oct. 1912, when the Balkan League went to war with Turkey. Rumania's sympathies were at first uncertain; indeed, the secret Serbo Bulgar military convention of March 13, 1912 had provided against a possible attack from Rumania. At first the Rumanian Government expressed itself disinterested in the course of the war; but the rapid success of the Bulgarians caused Rumania to intimate to Bulgaria that she would, in the event of a partition of European Turkey and in the interests of the balance of power in the Balkans, require a frontier rectification in the Dobruja. Danev, then president of the Bulgarian house of deputies, ap pealed to Austria, and then proceeded himself to Bucharest in Nov. 1912, where he offered to renounce for ever Bulgaria's claims to Dobruja and to modify the existing frontier in Ru mania's favour. No agreement could be reached either in Bucharest or in London, although Austria-Hungary made de termined efforts to reconcile and secure the friendship of both countries. The case was finally submitted for arbitration to the Conference of St. Petersburg (May 17), which assigned Silistra to Rumania. (H. TR. X.) Second Balkan War, 1913.—This arrangement failed to satisfy the country, and on the outbreak of the Second Balkan War, the Rumanian army, 500,000 strong and commanded by the crown prince crossed the frontier (July 10, 1913), occupying Southern Dobruja as far as Kavarna, and advancing upon Sofia. Negotiations were immediately begun at Bucharest, where an Armistice was signed on July 31, 1913, between Rumania, Serbia, Greece and Bulgaria. The Treaty of Bucharest was concluded on Aug. 1o; Rumania obtained the territory which she had already occupied in the Dobruja.

Her position was now more uncertain than ever. Although the king had again renewed the secret Triple Alliance in 1914, and Austria made great efforts to win Rumania's friendship, the re sentment felt by the younger generation at Magyar oppression of the Rumanians in Transylvania, and at Austria's diplomatic support of Bulgaria, increased steadily, particularly when Austria Hungary made a diplomatic intervention in favour of Bulgaria at Bucharest in the hope of having the treaty modified. Rumania became therefore more and more convinced of the necessity of a national policy in the interests of the entire Rumanian nation, whether in the kingdom or under Austro-Hungarian or Russian rule. She hoped that Russia would enable her to realize her ambitions ; but the visit of the Rumanian heir to the throne to St. Petersburg (March 27, 1914) and of the tsar to Constanta (June 14, 1914) did not bring about a definite change of policy. Rumania During the World War.—When the World War broke out, I. Bratianu, head of the Liberal party, was in office and endeavouring to introduce a number of reforms—foremost among them being an agrarian law based on the expropriation of the large landowners, and an electoral law establishing universal suffrage except for illiterates. At first it was decided to maintain

armed neutrality, but of ter the battle of the Marne, Take Jonescu passed from the first idea of "loyal neutrality" to that of inter vention on the side of the Allies. In this he was especially sup ported by Filipescu, who, with other Conservatives joined hands with Take Jonescu against Marghiloman's group, which still favoured the Central Powers. Meanwhile, Austria-Hungary and Germany concluded conventions by which Rumania was exploited to feed the population of the Central Powers. There were popular demonstrations against this policy, and Filipescu vehemently de manded rupture with Austria-Hungary. One great obstacle to this was removed by the death of King Charles on Oct. io, The Bratianu Government continued to negotiate with the Central Powers, but in 1916 the Western Powers overcame Rus sia's objections, and Great Britain, France, Russia and Italy signed a treaty on Aug. 17, 1916, by which they guaranteed Rumania the Banat, Transylvania, the Hungarian plain as far as the Tisza, and the Bukovina as far as the Prut, in return for an immediate declaration of war. Rumania declared war on Austria-Hungary Aug. 27, 1916. (See also EUROPE : History.) The Rumanian troops at once crossed the passes into Transyl vania, but were expelled by mid-November. Bucharest was occu pied by the armies of the Central Powers on Dec. 6, 1916. The army retired into Moldavia to reorganize there, sheltered by the Russian troops; the King, his Ministers and Parliament, had already retired to Jassy. A counter offensive had begun in July 1917, when the Russian collapse left Mackensen free to throw all his forces against: the Rumanian army, which was rendered incapable of further resistance after the prolonged and glorious struggle of Maiaresti in Aug. 1917. The Russian army disinte grated into pillaging bands; hostilities were suspended; and eventually an armistice followed (Dec. 6, 1917).

Agrarian and Electoral

Reforms.—Parliament met at Jassy in Dec. 1916, determined to prosecute the war to a finish, and Bratianu formed a coalition with Take Jonescu and his section of the Conservative party. In April 1917 the agrarian question once more became urgent, largely owing to the effect on the public mind of the social revolution in Russia. In May direct and uni versal suffrage was introduced, raising the number of voters from 180,000 to over 1,200,000. Influenced by the Crown, the Con servatives in May 1917 at last accepted the radical policy of ex propriation, to be applied to an area fixed at 2,000,000 hectares. A law was passed by a large majority on July 14, which left the original proprietors with a maximum of 500 hectares per estate (absentees being completely expropriated), and assigned them a compensation in State bonds, the amount not to exceed twenty times the value of the annual return from the property. A scheme for the communal holding of village associations of the land thus obtained was rejected in favour of traditional individual tenure.