For the sacrifice demanded of Greece in Epirus the Great Powers
permitted her by way of compensation to retain all the Aegean
Islands occupied by her during the war, except Imbros, Tenedos, and
the Rabbit Islands at the mouth of the Dardanelles. These islands,
however, Greece is never to fortify or convert into naval bases.
This allotment of the Asiatic Islands (which includes all but Rhodes
and the Dodecanese, temporarily held by Italy as a pledge of the
evacuation of Libya by the Turkish officers and troops) has given
great dissatisfaction in Turkey, where it is declared it would be
better to have a war with Greece than cede certain islands
especially Chios and Mitylene. The question of the disposition of
the islands had, however, been committed by Turkey to the Great
Powers in the Treaty of London. And Turkish unofficial condemnation
of the action of the Powers now creates a dangerous situation. Mr.
Venizelos declared not long ago, with the enthusiastic approval of
the chamber, that the security of Greece lay alone in the possession
of a strong navy. For Mr. Venizelos personally nothing in all these
great events can have been more gratifying than the achievement of
the union of Crete with Greece. This was consummated on December 14,
when the Greek flag was hoisted on Canea Fort in the presence of
King Constantine, the prime minister, and the consuls of the Great
Powers, and saluted with 101 guns by the Greek fleet.