cited, and with a view to getting the order counter-
manded, made the fairest promises.
But England was not the only Power aroused. On
June II, 1880, an Identical Note of the Great
Powers demanded the execution of the clauses of
76
TJlc Outcoiuc of the Treaty of Berlin. ']']
the Treaty of Berlin which had remained in suspense.
In the conckision of the Identical Note a clear
recognition is made of the fact that the interest of
Europe, as zvell astJiat oftJie Ottoman Evipire, requires
tJie execution of the Sixty-first A rtiele oftJie Treaty of
Berlin, and that the joint and incessant action of the
Pozvers can alone bring about this result.
On July 5th, the Turkish Foreign Minister sent a
Note in reply to the representatives of the Powers.
"It is of great length and small real value, except as
combining in a remarkable degree the distinguish-
ing characteristics of modern Ottoman diplomac}',
namcl}-, first, great facility in assimilating the ad-
ministrative and constitutional jargon of civilized
countries ; second, consummate cunning in conceal-
ing under deceptive appearances the barbarous reality
of deeds and intentions ; third, cool audacity in
making promises which there is neither the power
nor desire to make good ; and, finally, a paternal and
oily tone, intended to create the impression that the
Turkish Government is the victim of unjust preju-
dices and odious calumnies."
As soon as the reply of the Porte was received,
Earl Granville sent copies to the British Consuls in
Asia Minor, inviting observations thereon. Might
detailed replies to this request are published in the
Bluc-Book.' They concur in a crushing condemna-
tion of the Ottoman Government.
These conclusions, moderately and verj' diffusely
expressed in diplomatic j)hraseology, arc reflected in
' Blue-Book, Turkey, No. 6, iS8t, reports of Wilson, Bennett,
Chermside, Trotter, Stewart, Clayton, Everett, and Bilotti.
78 The C^'isis in Titrkey.
the Collective Note which was sent on Sept. 1 1, i88o,
to the Sublime Porte by the Ambassadors of the
Great Powers. On October 3d, without making the
slightest references to censures which had been
addressed to it, and even appearing completely to
ignore the Collective Note, the Porte, assuming a
haughty tone, merely notified the Powers of what it
intended to do.
In a Circular of the 12th of January, 1881, Earl
Granville tried again to induce the other five Powers
to join in further representations to the Sublime
Porte on the subject. But the other Powers seem
to have thought that the diplomatic comedy had
gone far enough, and sent evasive answers. Prince
Bismarck expressed the opinion that there would be
" serious inconvenience " in raising the Armenian
question, and France hid behind Germany. Such
action by the powers had been anticipated by the
British Ambassador at Constantinople, Mr. Goschen,
who had already written to Earl Granville : " If they
[the Powers] refuse, or give only lukewarm support,
the responsibility will not lie with Her Majesty's
Government." The whole correspondence was sim-
ply a matter of form.' I have condensed this outline
of events since the Treaty of Berlin from Armenia,
tJie Armenians, and tJie Treaties^ following as far as
possible the words of the writer, M. G. Rolin-Jae-
quemyns, a high authority on International Law.
From 1 88 1 to the present time, almost with-
out exception, England, on her part, has allowed
' Blue-Book, Turkey, 1881, p. 242.
^ Published by John Heywood, London, 1891, pp. 82-89.
The Outcome of the Treaty of Berlin. 79
no mention in her Blue-Books of the manner in
which \\Q.x protege's and those of Europe have been
treated. Her energies have seemed to be devoted
to stifling the ever-increasing cry of despair from
Armenia, instead of attempting her rescue or rehef.
The other Powers are only less guilty, in proportion
as they have done less to perpetuate Ottoman mis-
rule, and have made less pretence of sympathy and
help for the oppressed. Freeman says of England,
" By waging a war on behalf of the Turk, by sign-
ing a treaty which left the nations of South-eastern
Europe [and Asia Minor] at the mercy of the Turk, by
propping up the wicked power of the Turk in many
ways, we have done a great wrong to the nations
which are under his yoke ; and that wrong which we
have ourselves done it is our duty to undo." '
It is thus clearly seen that both the Sixty-first
Article of the Berlin Treaty, and the Cyprus Con-
vention as well, have been of positively no value in
securing for the Armenians any of the reforms which
were therein recognized as imperatively called for
and guaranteed. It is also clear that the condition
of Armenia, and of Turkey as a whole, is even vastly
worse and more hopeless than it was twenty years ago.
This condition, I further maintain, is in large
measure directly attributable to those treaties them-
selves and to the attitude subsequently assumed by
the Powers which signed them. It is said that the
Armenians have brouglit trouble on themselves, by
stirring up the Turks. I ask what stirred the Ar-
menians up? It was primarily the Sixty-first Article
' Freeman, The Turks in Europe.
8o
TJic Crisis in Ttirkey,
of the Treaty of Berlin. Many a time has that
precious paragraph been quoted to me in the wilds
of Kurdistan bv common Armenian artisans and
PROFESSOR MINAS TCHERAZ.
Present at the Berlin Congress.
ignorant villagers. They had welcomed it as a
second evangel, and believed the word of England
as they did the gospels. // zvas that Article wJiicJi,
The Outcome of the Treaty of Berlin. 8 1
roused them from the torpor of centuries. They saw
Bulgaria rise from her blood and shame and enter
on a career of honor and prosperity under the Kgis
of European protection. Is it surprising that hopes
and aspirations have been born anew in the heart of
the Armenian race — a people not inferior to the
Bulgarians and in many respects more talented ?
I have rarely found it difficult to persuade intelli-
gent Armenians that an autonomous Armenia is
impracticable. But I have never been able to con-
vince one of them that the course of England and
the other powers has been anything but one of sel-
fishness, jealousy, and dishonor as far as fulfilment
of their treaty obligations is concerned.
During a residence of four years in Eastern Tur-
key I noticed a marked and rapid alienation of Arme-
nian sentiment from England in favor of Russia, who
now seems to them the only source of succor. TJiey
sec in England only a dog in the manger.
There is another sequel to the Berlin Treaty and
to the attitude of the powers, namely, its effect on
the Turks themselves. The natural enmity and con-
tempt of the Moslem rulers and population gener-
ally for the Christian subjects has been greatly
increased by reason of the pressure which foreign
Powers have occasionally brought to bear on the
Turks in order to procure relief for the Christian.
To be sure the only hope of such relief is from with-
out. But the pressure should not be of a petty,
nagging and galling nature. This is worse than
nothing. WJiat is needed is prompt, decisive, ami final
action.
6
82 The Crisis in Tiirkcy.
And things have now arrived at such a pass that
in such action lies the only hope of preventing a ter-
rible catastrophe, which will eclipse even the massa-
cres of Sassoun. The wheels of progress will not go
backward except as they are broken. The Chris-
tians of Armenia can be exterminated, but it is too
late for them to accept slavery or Islam. They may
be slaughtered like sheep, but they will not all die
like dogs. The revolutionary movement, as it is
called, is thus far nothing but a blind turning of the
worm. It is ill considered, without resources, reck-
less, and foreign to the real spirit, objects, and meth-
ods of the Armenians on Turkish soil. It is not
denied that there are a few Armenians in Europe
who, in despair and for lack of better teaching, have
imbibed Nihilistic views and are trying, in a very
bungling way, to apply them. They are hated by the
vast majority of Armenians in Turkey. They are
related to the question at issue in the same way and
degree as train wreckers and box-car burners were to
the industrial problem during the riots of Chicago
in July last, and deserve the same treatment. The
Turks take great pains to thrust them into public
notice, as a cloak for themselves, and with good suc-
cess. The Turkish Government and its partisans, in
order to conceal the real character of the massacre
in Sassoun, have made persistent, extensive, and dis-
honorable use of a letter by the first President of
Robert College, Constantinople, Dr. Cyrus Hamlin,
written December 23, 1894. Dr. Hamlin's vigorous
and indignant protest may be found in Appendix C.
The idea of Armenian revolution is a new thing
The Outcome of tJie Treaty of Berlin. 8;
in the history of that peaceable race, which has
quietly submitted for centuries to the yoke of the
Turk. But it is the natural outcome of the horrible
situation in Armenia since the Treaty of Berlin, and
the disease is bound
to grow more viru-
lent and contagious
until the European
doctors apply vigor-
ous and radical treat-
ment to the " Sick
Man." It is difficult
to sec how anything
but a surgical opera-
tion can be helpful.
The knife has fre-
quently been used in
the case of this incur-
able patient during
the present century,
and always with ex-
cellent results, as for
instance in the case
of Greece, Lebanon,
Bulgaria, B o z n i a-
Herzcgovina, a n d
Egypt.
A situation in many
respects parallel to that in Armenia existed until
lately in Bosnia and Herzegovina. How quickly
and completely that difficult problem has been
solved, is narrated by M. de Blowitz in the October,
ZEUiKK, 1 I Kklr-it »■.iLll-.R,
" n<REGULAR."
84 TJic Crisis in Turkey.
1894, issue of The NinetcoitJi Century, from which
I condense in his own words.
" Tlie orders, given after the taking over of the
country, to surrender all arms or to destroy them, was
given a sweeping application. Yet, before the victo-
rious entry of the Austro-Hungarians, each Bosnian
each Herzegovinian, was a walking arsenal.
" To-day weapons and ambuscades are things of
the romantic past. Twelve years have sufficed, un-
der M. de Kallay's administration, not only to re-
move all traces of the wild, inhospitable, inaccessible
Bosnia of which I have been speaking, but indeed
and especially to banish even the memory of those
dark days of strenuous battle, and to wipe away
from the hearts of both invader and invaded all
traces of the hate which then animated them. In
the year 1882, the superior administration of the two
provinces (Bosnia and Herzegovina) passed into the
hands of the Minister of Finance of the Austro-
Hungarian Empire, who was then, and who is still,
M. de Kallay. From this moment all is changed.
The powers given to the new administration are
almost unlimited. The civil element has been sub-
stituted for the military element, and pacification has
succeeded conquest. The greatest effort is made to
reassure all minds. Not a single minaret has disap-
peared, not a imieazin is deprived of his resources."
A recent writer wisely says that " the Armenian
question, if it ever be settled at all, must be taken
out of the Turk's hands, whether he like it or not.
. And we have an opportunity now, which
may never come our way again, of settling a diffi-
The Outcome of the Treaty of Berlin. 85
culty which, if allowed to develop much longer,
will prove more fruitful of mischief than any with
which we have been confronted for a generation or
more." '
C. B. Norman, special corre-
spondent of TJie London Times,
in his Armenia and the Cam-
paign of iSyj " wrote words
which are even truer to-day.
I condense :
" Naturally, since I have been
here I have had many, very
many, opportunities of convers-
ing with Turkish officers and
men on the so-called Eastern
Question ; and the consequence
is that, arriving in the countr}'
a strong philo-Turk, deeply
imi)ressed with the necessity of
preserving the ' integrity of the
Empire ' in order to uphold
' British interests,' I now fain
would cry with Mr. Freeman :
' Perish, British interests, perish
our dominion in India, rather
than that we should strike a blow
on behalf of the wrong against the right ! ' '
" There is no finer race in the world than the Turk
TURKISH SOLDIER,
" REGULAR."
' " Diplomatist," " Tlie Armenian (Question " in The New Re7>ieu>,
January, 1895.
' Pp. 158-9. London: Cassell, Petter, i\; Galpin.
* Speech in St. James's Hall, December, 1876.
86 The Crisis in Tiii^kcy.
proper. Brave, honest, industrious, truthful, frugal,
kind-hearted, and hospitable, all who knoiv the
Osmanli speak well of him. He is as much oppressed
by the curse of misgovernment as his Christian fellow-
subject ; and had the members of the Eastern Ques-
tion Association as keen a sense of justice as they
have love of writing, they would long ago have oblit-
erated the word ' Christian ' from their lengthy docu-
ments, and striven to ameliorate the condition of the
lower orders of the subjects of the Porte, down-
trodden as they are by -an effete section of the
Mohammedan race, who have degenerated in mind,
body, and estate, since coming in contact with
Western civilization.
" I do not for one moment mean to deny that there
are honest, energetic Turks, capable of exercising
their talents for their country's good ; but these men
are powerless. The vital powers of the nation are
so sapped by centuries of misrule, the minds of the
majority are so imbued with the belief that all ideas
not born of Moslem brains and sanctified by Moslem
usage are false, and to be scorned, that were any
honest-minded gentleman to rise to power, and en-
deavor to check the present system of misgovern-
ment, he would not remain in office one week.
Captain Gambler's able article on the ' Life of
Midhat Pasha' ' bears me out in this idea."
' The N^inetcenih Century, January, 1878.
CHAPTER VI.
THE SULTAN AND THE SUBLIME PORTE.
CHURCH and State are one and inseparable in
Turkey. The Sultan of the empire is also
Calif of the Mohammedan religious world.
He cannot abdicate either office, if he would, without
vacating the other by the same act. In fact, herein
lies the secret of the present Sultan's polic}', which
seems suicidal on general principles of government.
He has, on the one hand, been lavish in the building
and repairing of mosques, and in establishing Moslem
schools throughout his dominions. On the other
hand, he has infringed and ignored the ancient rights
and privileges of the Christian Patriarchates which
were guaranteed by Mohammed 1 1., and have hitherto
been regarded as sacred. He has blocked the erec-
tion of new Christian schools and churches, and even
the repairing of such as are falling into deca\-.
There were formerly thousands of non-Moslems in
civil positions, faithfully serving the government ;
under the new regime, however, they have been
systematically removed and excluded. And why
has all this been done? Because the Sultan is a
good conscientious Mohammedan, it is only fair to
believe. Even if he were not a sincere believer, he
87
88 The Crisis in Turkey.
would still feel compelled to adopt the same course,
as a matter of internal political necessity. The
Moslem population look to him as the Defender of
the Faith, girded with the sword of the Prophet.
He feels it imperative at all hazards to regain lost
prestige over his fanatical subjects, especially in the
south, where rumblings of discontent and disloyalty
are ominous. '
Let us be reasonable and practical. Why longer
exact or accept from the Sultan promises which he
cannot make without doing violence to his own
conscience and to his office, and which he cannot
execute without imperilling his throne ? You might
as well ask the Pope to abandon the doctrines of
temporal sovereignty and of infallibility, which to
him are fundamental. If the situation in Turkey de-
mands that anything be done, and if the rest of
humanity and civilization have any responsibility in
the matter, let practical statesmen proceed to busi-
ness. All hope of reform from within depends on
' From a descendant of Dahir Billah, the thirty-fifth caliph of
Bagdad, Sultan Selim I. "procured the cession of his claims, and ob-
tained the right to deem himself the shadow of God upon earth.
Since then the Ottoman padishah has been held to inherit the rights
of Omar and Haroun, and to be the legitimate commander of the
faithful, and, as such, possessed of plenary temporal and spiritual
authority over the followers of MoKammed." ^ The Persians and
Moors, however, reject this claim, and at tlie close of the Russian War
not a few of the Arab muftis declared that the caliphate had been for-
feited by the inglorious defeat of the Turks, and should now return
to the Arab family of Koreish.
" Freeman, The Saracens, p. 158. Quoted by Jessup, The ATo-
harninedan Missionary Problem, p. 21. Philadelphia : Presbyterian
Board of Publication, 1879.
The Siillaii and the Stiblime Porte. 89
the distrustful, distracted, hoodwinked Sultan, who
is clearly, in the circumstances, a helpless and pitiable
object. But he should no more be allowed to stand
in the way of the emancipation of Turkey, than the
Pope was allowed to impede the making of Italy.
"The Prisoner of the Vatican " has still abundant
scope for his great and beneficent spiritual projects;
and the Captive at Yildiz Palace — for such he has for
years constituted himself — -may also be allowed a
sphere in which his personal virtues and ability shall
shine forth, unobscured by the clouds and darkness
that surround him now. He certainly would be bet-
ter off, and his subjects also — Moslem no less than
Christian.
The shrieks of ten thousand slaughtered Arme-
nians pierce for the moment above the groans of
others. But it should not be forgotten that all the
races in Turkey arc under the same curse, and that
the present is a chance to help them as well as the
Armenians.
According to the Koran, which is the basis and
ultimate authority of Mohammedan law — -Code
Napoleon, treaty stipulations, and Imperial Iradcs
notwithstanding, — the whole non-Moslem population
f)f Turkey are outlaws. The millions of ancient,
hereditary inhabitants, whether Greek, Armenian,
Nestorian, Jacobite, Jew, or Syrian, are considered
aliens. Their legal status is that of prisoners of war,
with corresponding rights and responsibilities.' Not
one of them is expected or even allowed to serve in
the army. Non-Moslems, whose services arc indis-
' Hughes, Notes on Muhammadanism , jip. 209, 210.
go The Crisis in Turkey.
pensable to the government, are, in rare cases, put in
civil offices, especially financial, for which no Moham-
medan of sufficient integrity or ability can be found.
It cannot be denied that the above is true in
theory, and it is equally true that the theory is car-
ried out so far as fear of intervention by Christian
nations permits.
But in this hour, when our hearts are stirred by the
lot of our co-religionists under the Crescent, let us not
forget that the Moslem population almost equally is
cursed and impoverished by Turkish misrule, venal-
ity, and taxation. They drink the cup of woe, all
but the more bitter dregs of religious persecution,
which is reserved for Christian lips. Their be-
numbed condition, natural stolidity, and unquestion-
ing obedience to Islam, a creed whose cardinal prin-
ciple is submission,' accounts for the fact that they
do not appear as a factor of the problem. Yet even
Mohammedans often secretly come pleading that
Europe take some interest in their case too. In the
name of humanity, yes, of Christianity, let them not
be forgotten.
"An Eastern Resident," writing fiom Constantino-
ple, in an article entitled " Sultan Abd-ul-Hamid,"
in The Contemporary Reviezv, January, 1895, gives an
able analysis of the Sultan's position and policy,
showing at the same time great appreciation of His
Majesty as a man. His position and relations to the
Sublime Porte are not well understood by the pub-
lic, and could hardly be better stated than in these
extracts :
' Hughes, Notes on Muhammadanism, p. 10.
The Stiltan and the Sublime Porte. 91
" So far as we can judge, the Sultan is a sincere
and honest Mohammedan, an-d regards himself as a
H. I. M. ABD-UL-HAMIIJ KHAN, 1 HE bULlAN OF XUKl-LEV.
true Caliph^a successor of the Prophet — the chief
defender of the faith, under God the absolute arbi-
ter of its destinies. He has undoubtedly done his
92 The Crisis in Ttirkey.
best to reconcile the interests of the Caliphate with
those of the Empire.
" In one particular it [the policy of the Sultan] is
condemned by most enlightened Mohammedans as
strongly as by Christians. His attempt to concen-
trate the whole administration of the Empire in his
own hands has led to the establishment of a dual
government — that of the Palace and the Porte. The
whole machinery of a government exists at the Porte.
There are Ministers and fully organized departments.
There is a Council of Ministers and a Council of
State. All business is supposed to pass through
their hands, and the whole administration is sup-
posed to be subordinate to them. All is, of course,
subject to the supreme will of the Sultan, but his
official advisers and his official agents are at the
Porte.
" In fact, however, there is another government at
the Palace of Yildiz, more powerful than the official
government, made up of chamberlains, mollahs,
eunuchs, astrologers, and nondescripts, and supported
by the secret police, which spares no one from the
Grand Vizier down. The general policy of the Empire
is determined by this government, and the most im-
portant questions of state are often treated and
decided, while the highest officials of the Porte are
left in absolute ignorance of what is going on. It is
needless to add that the Porte and the Palace are at
sword's-point, and block each other's movements as
far as they can. . . .
" The Sultan evidently believes that he is equally
independent of both these governments, and decides
TJie Sultan and /he Snblinic Parte. 93
all questions, great and small, for himself. In form
he does so, but no man can act independently of all
his sources of information, and of the personal influ-
ence of his entoiLrage. Under the present system he
makes himself responsible for every blunder and
every iniquity committed in the Empire, but he has
disgraced three distinguished Grand Viziers for tell-
ing him so, and seems to have no idea of the causes
of the intense dissatisfaction with his government
which prevails among his Mohammedan subjects.
The Turks, as well as the Christians, also condemn
the laws restricting personal freedom, which have
increased in severity every year. In many ways
these laws are more galling to the Turks than the
Christians.
"There is another evil connected with this s\-stem
which may lead to serious difficulties with foreign
Powers. All foreign relations are supposed to be
managed through the Minister of Foreign Affairs or
the Grand Vizier, but these officials have no power
and but little influence. They can promise nothing
and do nothing. Rut in all delicate diplomatic ques-
tions it is essential to treat with responsible agents,
and to discuss them with such agents in a way in
which it is impossible to treat with the Sovereign
himself. The present system has been a serious injury
to Turkey. It has roused the hostility of all the
Embassies and led them to feel and report to their
governments, that there is no use in trying to do any-
thing to save this Empire ; that it is hopelessly cor-
rupt, and the sooner it comes to an end the better
for the world. There is no lontjer anv concerted
94 TJie Crisis in Tiirkey.
action of Europe at Constantinople for the improve-
ment of the condition of the people.
" If Sultan Abd-ul-Hamid would come out of his
palace, restore to the Porte its full responsibility,
disband its secret police, trust his Mohammedan sub-
jects, and do simple justice to the Christians, his life
would be far more secure than it is to-day, with all
precautions ; his people and all the world would
recognize the great and noble qualities which they
now ignore, and welcome him as the wisest and best
of all the Sultans. . . .
" The sad pity of it is that he will never do it. It