The methods of conscription in Turkey differ from those of other military countries. Although military service is obligatory in the Turkish empire, conscription is not universal; that is to say, the privileged natives of Constantinople, the inhabitants of all frontier districts, such as the Albanians and Kurdish clans and Arab tribes, are not forced to serve in the army. Moreover, the Armenians, Greeks, and non-Mussulman natives of the country are completely exempted from military service, and instead of serving as soldiers, each male member of these peoples pays a yearly exemption tax, the amount of which, if I am not mistaken, is about five or six shillings. Many of these native Christians exercise an incredible amount of ingenuity to get out of paying the tax, and they all grumble incessantly at its tremendous heaviness. They always complain to their European sympathisers about this, and as a matter of fact some kind British politicians take this grievance of the 'oppressed Christian' in hand every now and then, and style it one of the numerous injustices committed against them by the Turks, and defend their cause vigorously in the press or on the platform, in the name of humanity and Christianity. Sometimes you will hear the native Christians of Turkey complain that they are not equally treated, because they are not admitted into the army. But it is easy to see that this half-hearted complaint is merely made for the sake of grumbling, as they are only too thankful for their exemption, knowing what hardships, misery, and material losses are caused by being away for years from home on active service, and they are not unaware that a community liable to stringent conscription is likely to have its numbers thinned. I am not one of those so-called enlightened people styled 'advanced' Turks, who advocate the admission of these Eastern Christians into the Turkish army. I may be called a fanatic; but so far as the interests of my nation are concerned, I do not mind being so called. What would become of the loyalty, supreme obedience to command, self-sacrificing devotion, and undaunted fighting capacity which distinguish our army, if the Eastern Christians were admitted into it?4 The Turkish army has always inspired fear in the ambitious and aspiring enemies of our territories, and if it were not for the Turkish army the remainder of the empire would have been divided up long ago. It has beaten a nation which had eighty thousand trained men in the field, and which received moral and material support from all parts of Europe, in a month. It has made, by its heroic action in the field, an astonished German veteran jump up and exclaim enthusiastically—"What a brilliant army!" and a well known English war correspondent say—"If Alexander came out of his grave he would conquer the world with the Turkish army." This army performed so brilliant a feat as the defence of Plevna; fought, without allies, the greatest conquering nation of our time for nearly a year; and if it were not for the most calamitous mismanagement of the present Sultan, it could probably have pushed back the Russian invaders across the Danube twenty-five years ago. The apprehension of what would happen if Greeks, Armenians, and non-Moslem Syrians were admitted into the army is also justified by the fact that they could not be trusted in the event of a great struggle with, say, Russia. Of course, the Russian army has in it a large number of Mussulman soldiers, and these men fought desperately against us during the last Russo-Turkish War. But while Russia would punish severely any treason committed by them, Turkey could not punish these Eastern Christians for the same offence. Europe would call that punishment persecution, and at once interfere on their behalf. We know the true feelings of these people well, and whatever concession is granted them, it is impossible to inspire in them any feeling of patriotism for the Ottoman empire in general. Those who advocate their inclusion in the army, moreover, say that it would increase the numerical strength of our fighting forces. But the Ottoman army would exceed a million men nowadays in the case of necessity, and for purposes of defence this would be fully a match for any enemy. Another plea for the admission of Christian subjects of Turkey into the army is that, as they are free from conscription, their men stay at home, work without hindrance, and look after the prosperity and welfare of their families uninterruptedly, and their number is on the increase as a consequence. It is quite true that compulsory military service is telling upon the Turkish nation alarmingly. A man is liable to fight from his twentieth year to his fortieth whenever he may be called upon to do so, and he is, of course, always liable to be killed. When he is called to arms, his business is paralysed and his poor family left without assistance. But these difficulties can be remedied if the general maladministration is improved, and I hope it will be improved as soon as the present regime is changed.
The anomalous position of foreigners in Turkey—Capitulation privileges—The Porte has no jurisdiction over foreign criminals—Attempts to modify the anomaly—Reason for their failure to be found in the Sultan's misrule—The independence of Turkey a mere fiction—The native Christians—Their separatist aspirations—Their treasonable acts—Their English apologists—Tolerant policy of the Turks—Dangers of this tolerance —The Armenians—Their ancient privileges—The massacres— Their present position.
In the preceding chapter I gave a summarised account of the jurisdiction of Turkey, and also made an allusion to the admission of the Armenians and other non-Mussulman natives of Turkey to the judicial institutions. Here I will say something on the position held by foreign subjects in regard to the law of the country, as well as on the disposition of the non-Mussulman population towards the Ottoman empire.
As a matter of fact, foreigners enjoy a most extraordinarily privileged position in Turkey, and their privileges are known as 'capitulations.'
Every foreign colony forms a distinct imperium in imperio more markedly in Constantinople than in any other city of the Ottoman empire. Every individual foreigner enjoys extra-territorial privileges, such as in other countries could only be afforded to the diplomatic representatives of Foreign Powers. Whatever crime a foreign subject may commit, he is not amenable to the authority of the Ottoman Government The capitulation privileges of the foreign subjects granted in bygone centuries by the Ottoman rulers to European visitors, who were then few in number, were in reality acts of hospitality. But they have been abused in later times by those in whose favour they were granted. I cannot here enter into the details of the capitulation privileges which5 fetter the hands of the Ottoman statesman, which create insurmountable difficulties for the thorough enforcement of the laws, and which seriously impede the adoption of progress and reforms. There was at one time a real possibility of the Porte getting rid, at least partially, of these capitulation privileges, which are really not justified by international law, and some friendly Powers, notably Great Britain, appeared well disposed to discuss the advisability of making some modification in them. In fact, certain concessions were made to the Porte in the carrying out of the sentences passed by it on foreign criminals. These modifications could still be successfully brought about if Turkey could earnestly set to work to reorganise the administration of the country, and to introduce such practical reforms as are necessitated by the actual requirements of the case, and then appeal to the justice and equity of the Great Powers not to insist upon exercising fully the capitulation privileges of their subjects. It was some thirty years ago that the statesmen of the Sublime Porte seriously meant to accomplish this great task. But with the beginning of Abd-ul-Hamid's disastrous reign all the previous schemes of the Porte were brought to naught This capricious Sultan began to rule over an important empire, which required the most delicate handling, in a manner which has never before been seen in the history of any civilised or semi-civilised State, and which can only be paralleled by the mode of governing of some wild tribal chieftain. He proceeded, with a tyrant's zest, to crush the influence of Ottoman statesmen of capability and integrity, and handed over the most important offices of the State to ignorant fanatics and to cosmopolitan upstarts, whose one claim to notice was their dishonourable behaviour. One of the results of the present rule has been that foreign residents in Turkey have naturally clung more firmly to their extra-territorial privileges, and the old capitulation privileges have given rise to new privileges which are by no means based upon the stipulations of the ancient treaties. So one can now see in Constantinople the most amazing anomaly of many centres of Government, all distinct from one another, and all of them utterly unaffected by the sovereignty of the Porte. Thus the independence of Turkey is quite fictitious nowadays, and Abd-ul-Hamid can only satisfy his lust of tyranny by oppressing the section of his subjects who can expect no outside protection or sympathy.
Throughout these pages I have consistently condemned the misrule of the present Sultan. My feeling against his ways is the stronger because I am sure that, in spite of the ascendancy gained by foreigners in Turkey, she might yet assert and maintain an honest and sound administration, in place of the miserable tyranny which oppresses her now. But as it is, the Foreign Powers, taking advantage of the existing misrule, not only fetter the hands of Turkish statesmen by persistently demanding fresh extra-territorial privileges for their subjects, but also take up, some of them, the cause of those Eastern Christians who are under Ottoman rule, alleging that they are acting in the name of 'humanity.'
Their real motive, however, is that they may use them as a point d'appui for their political schemes and designs. Thus these subject populations of Turkey, whose true racial characteristics have often been made clear by Englishmen who have travelled in the Levant, form a great internal danger to the integrity of the Ottoman empire. The subject populations of Turkey are of course of various distinct nationalities, such as Greeks, Armenians, Bulgarians, non-Mohammedan Syrians, and so forth. Each of these large communities has its own quarter, churches and denominational schools, national aspirations and separatist ideas. Each community speaks its own language, each native Christian community entertains, nowadays more or less without disguise, sentiments of animosity towards the Osmanlis, and even sympathises with the enemies of the Turkish empire in time of international trouble or war. These sentiments of the Eastern Christians are known to many politicians in this country, and they excuse these treasonable sentiments of their 'Christian brethren' by maintaining that they are the natural outcome of long years of oppression and persecution. This apologetic contention is not based upon an intimate knowledge of the real state of things in the nearer East, nor is it at all justifiable. Of course, the Ottoman empire has long been suffering from intolerable oppression, but its Christian inhabitants have not been the only sufferers; on the other hand, many of them have allowed themselves to be the cause of oppression, and have even acted as the right-hand men of the oppressors. If there had ever been a serious persecution particularly directed against the native Christians, there would not now be many Armenians or Greeks left alive in Turkey. In past ages they were entirely at the mercy of the Ottomans; there was no European Power, and no Concert of Powers, strong enough to stop the conversion or extermination of the non-Mussulman population of the Ottoman empire. There could be no better proof of the tolerant policy of the Osmanlis towards their subject populations than the actual existence at the present day in that country of so many millions of native Christians of all denominations. Moreover, not only have native Christians had their existence assured to them, but also their freedom of conscience, which is amply proved by the fact that their ecclesiastical constitutions, their languages, and their national customs have been respected by the Turks. But this liberal treatment has been abused by the subject populations of Turkey. They have never done anything to show their gratitude, and have never displayed any patriotism towards the Ottoman empire. If they were to do so it might perhaps save Turkey from internal dissensions, and from consequent strife, anarchy, and the ruin which stares it in the face. The history of Turkey must have taught the Russians wisdom, for they are careful to insist upon the Russification of their conquered subject populations, and never risk grafting on to their stem a shoot which may turn out to have thorns. The fact is that tolerance towards subject populations of alien race and faith, as shown by Mussulmans, excellent as it may appear to sentimental humanitarians, is a sure way of imperilling the future independence of a nation.
Of all her non-Mussulman subjects Turkey has the greatest reason to be anxious about the Armenians and their separatist movement. The ambition of Armenian agitators is to form an independent State in an important portion of Asia Minor, the backbone of the Ottoman empire. I therefore wish to make a few remarks here on Armenian matters, in particular as, though Armenian affairs may seem to be in the background at present, political mischief makers will take up this plaything of theirs again sooner or later.
As I pointed out in the last chapter, among forty-five students of the faculty of law, thirteen were Armenians. Thirteen out of forty-five is proportionately a large number, considering the small number of Armenians relatively to other nationalities of the Ottoman empire. The Armenians are admittedly very industrious people. They won good marks in the entrance examination, and the authorities at the Ministry of Public Instruction would not affix a limit of number, but admitted as many as successfully passed the examination. I doubt, however, after those agitations, if such impartiality has been shown towards the members of that race in all Ottoman institutions. And if not it would not be a matter for surprise when one considers how the Armenians have conducted themselves towards the Empire and their Mussulman compatriots for some time past.
Yes, people in this country heard much about the massacres. Doubtless they were abominable, and doubtless many innocent persons were slaughtered. But it is only common justice that one should try to find out what were the reasons for attacking Armenians before one judges and condemns those who did so. It is a fact that there was never such an outburst of enmity to the Armenians before; if there had been, there would not be over two millions living in the Ottoman empire now. The Armenians are an adventurous race; they can go anywhere, settle anywhere, and become subject to any State. Some years before the troubles, many of the foreign subject Armenians came over to Turkey, styling themselves Frenchmen, Englishmen and Americans, sometimes in the shape of missionaries, sometimes as teachers. These adventurers, together with the revolutionary Russian subject Armenians, who came mostly from the Caucasus, began to stir up the people of their own race all over Asiatic Turkey in favour of a national independence. The younger generation of the Armenian people, becoming intoxicated with great ideas and dreams of a national kingdom, overlooked the impossibility of establishing any such thing in any particular part of the Ottoman dominions, and did not realise that their people formed a miserable minority everywhere. It has been maintained by their political sympathisers in England that their agitations were for the purpose of being better governed, and in no way a separatist movement; but this is absurd, and was merely an after-thought. As a matter of fact the Armenians gave loud expression to their new aspirations of having an independent kingdom in Eastern Asia Minor. We heard everywhere from them that the Christian Powers—above all, Great Britain were going to hand over that portion of the 'decaying' Ottoman empire to them, as they had handed over Ottoman territories before to other Christian races of the East They were simply awaiting the prophesied moment of the partition of Turkey to establish their independence on their share of the divided territory. I myself heard Armenians talking about who were to be the future rulers among their own people. The Turks began to ask themselves such questions as, "Why do these people revolt against us when we suffer from misrule much more than they do, and when, moreover, the official misdeeds are partly due to Armenian jacks-in-office?"[6] The agitation among the Armenians grew worse and worse every day; the agitators resorted to the same old method, namely, they tried to provoke the Turkish populace to retaliate on its offenders, hoping that this would be represented in Europe as an outburst of Mussulman fanaticism, and would induce the Powers to intervene, and so hasten the partition. The Turks, or, more widely speaking, the Mussulman population of Asiatic Turkey, were gravely discussing what could be done to check this overbearing and mischievous behaviour. Turkish women and children were exposed to ill-treatment and insult throughout Asia Minor. The Turk's patience is almost inexhaustible, but when you attack his women and children his anger is roused, and nothing on earth can control it, and he saw that the Government of the Sultan was utterly powerless to punish the Armenian agitators and revolutionists of foreign nationality. Did the humanitarian British public know these things? No; it does not care to know anything which might be favourable to the Turks. Have the political journals of this country mentioned the facts. I have stated? Of course not, because—to speak plainly—they knew that in the Armenian pie there were the fingers of some of their own politicians. Shortly before the massacres, I heard many Turkish people, who had lived side by side with the Armenians for centuries, saying that it was a mistake to be angry with the Kurds for their treatment of the Armenians in Eastern Asia Minor, and that it was the right thing to crush these people. Then there came the dark days of those terrible massacres. The Armenian revolutionists, who ultimately managed to go abroad scot-free, gave great provocation by throwing dynamite bombs in many places and killing women and children of the Mussulman population. These people could no longer expect that the Government of the Sultan would do anything to settle the agitation and prevent further mischief, so at last they took the law into their own hands and put down the Armenian movement in the manner we all know. The Sultan, who was eating his heart out at his inability to punish the revolutionary Armenians of foreign extraction, simply connived at the doings of the enraged populace, if he did not actually instigate and encourage them; but, unfortunately, by his connivance, it was mostly innocent Armenians who perished at the hands of the mob, and only a very few of the guilty ringleaders suffered.
Although the Armenians are hard-working and energetic, they will never recover their former prosperity.
They have always had every opportunity of enriching themselves. They had a firm footing and influential positions in the royal establishments, which made them practically the trustees and paymasters of the revenues of the empire. Their opportunities began with the foundation of the Ottoman power in Asia Minor, which found them a scattered remnant of a race, with their political existence already stamped out by other conquerors, and which, though it did not restore their freedom politically, at least assured to them the advantages of individual prosperity, protection and toleration. As an instance of what the Turks have been willing to do for the Armenians, I may quote the religious difficulties early in the last century. It was at the beginning of the missionary movement in Europe, and both Protestant and Catholic missionaries poured into Turkey and set about proselytising the Armenians, with more zeal than discretion. The Armenian Patriarch appealed to the Turkish Government to expel these foreign missionaries who were causing trouble in his community, and in response to his appeal the Government at once put great restrictions upon the missionaries, and this in spite of the fact that by so doing it ran the risk of incurring European enmity. In mentioning this I do not say anything against mission work; I merely instance the circumstance to show the tolerance with which the Turks have always treated the Armenians and their religion, and how untrue is the accusation brought against them of systematic religious persecution.
However, I doubt if the Mussulman population will ever place the same confidence in the Armenians again. We do not see now so many of those flourishing Armenian Pashas in the high Government offices of Turkey as we did before, though they are regaining some of their old hold in Government circles. As a natural result of being out of favour, the race will not probably find it so easy a matter to gain admission to the educational institutions of the State.
I adopt European dress—The standard of civilisation—English clothes 'made in Austria'—European dress first adopted under Sultan Mahmud—My vain attempts to get an appointment—Requisite qualifications for Government employment, bribery and espionage—The only livelihood possible for educated men—I become a lawyer—I penetrate high official quarters.
When I had passed the final examination in the law college I began to attend the Courts to see and learn the actual working of the forms of the procedures. I now grew to dislike having to go to the Courts and Government offices in the Ulema costume, which I still wore. In fact, even in my class at the college there were only a few persons belonging to madrassehs, and they alone were attired in the semi-religious dress, and the contrast between our appearance and the rest in the class, who were attired in ordinary civilian dress, seemed to us to make us look old-fashioned. So, like most of my countrymen, I was seized with the ambition of appearing up-to-date, and of dressing in the more modern manner; that is to say, European costume in all but the fez. Before I could do this, however, and become, so to speak, an ordinary layman, I had to leave the life of the madrasseh altogether, for the people in those ancient institutions regard the discarding of the academical turban and long cloak, and the adoption of European clothes, as a renunciation of the profession. Anyone who ventures to do this forfeits his right to a lodging in the madrasseh. I did not know where to go after leaving my madrasseh, as Turkish families cannot take any stranger into their houses as a boarder, while to go into a Greek or Armenian family would not do for a young Mussulman, for many reasons. So I hired two rooms in an inn, which was as filthy as these inns always are. I went to the European quarter of Constantinople and bought a suit of clothes from one of the numerous clothiers, who are mostly Austrian Jews, and who bring the clothes ready-made from Austria. Their goods are ridiculously cheap, but the tailoring and the material are extremely bad. It is a proverb in Constantinople that when you buy a suit of clothes from these Austrian shops and put it on, it will be worn out before you can cross over the Golden Horn Bridge back to Stamboul. Curiously enough, some of these Austrians try to pass their goods off as of English manufacture, as the English-made goods have a better reputation than the Austrian even in Turkey.
But, bad though they were, I was well content with my new clothes, as this was a step forward in satisfaction of my craze to dress as the Europeans did. It is a fact that most people who adopt this form of dress in the nearer East look upon those who have not adopted it, or do not desire to adopt it, as incapable of acquiring 'civilised' habits. Snobbish as it is, no doubt, this idea is not without reason. A few years ago, when there was an anti-Turkish agitation in England, I observed in some of the Radical papers remarks to the effect that, while the Eastern Christians who had been liberated from the Turkish yoke had adopted civilised methods, the Turks themselves seemed to be incapable of progress or civilisation. In reality, these 'Europeanised' Eastern Christians are no more civilised than the turbaned villagers of Asia Minor; their imitation of civilised methods and habits is merely superficial; but they manage to make themselves look like Europeans; and the world passes its judgment on most matters by surface evidence. Not long ago I saw an article in the Spectator, dealing with the incapacity of dark races to adopt civilised manners, and, as one of the examples, it was cited that the late Midhat Pasha used to hate some aspects of European costume, especially evening dress. It was a revelation to me that Midhat and his nation were included in the category of the dark races, and it was also a surprise to me that the Spectator did not remember that many Englishmen of perfectly civilised habits and high culture hate some of the grotesque forms of European costume. It was, however, this sort of feeling among the majority of Europeans that made us wish to imitate them, at least outwardly, so that we might not be accused of being unfitted for civilised ways. If the Turkish Government would make the women of harems discard their 'barbarous' veils, and go about like European women, and urge all its subjects to put on European costumes, and also hats instead of the fez or turban, its action would doubtless be hailed in many quarters as the real beginning of the civilisation of Turkey.
Sultan Mahmud II., the exterminator of the Janissaries, was the first man who perceived this prejudiced feeling of Europe some eighty years ago. He knew that the undying hostility of the nations of Western Europe against his empire was simply because Turkey was not a Christian State.7 As he could not accept any form of the religions of Christendom, he thought he would lessen the old hostility of Europe which must be lessened if Turkey in Europe were to continue to exist—by imitating, at least outwardly, the other peoples of Europe. So he ordered all the officials of the State to adopt European attire, and himself was the first to give up the old head-dress or turban and the long robe, and to replace them by a modified kind of European uniform. The most conservative and religious section of the Turks raised a howl of protest against this measure, but they could not support their case by any valid canonical law. The tradition that "He who makes himself look like the infidels is one of them," which is attributed to the Prophet, was proved to be spurious. But, in spite of his innovations, Sultan Mahmud II. could not adopt the European hat, as his fanatical opponents discovered that the Prophet explicitly prohibited his followers from wearing the head-dress of unbelievers, which was at that time three-cornered in shape, the comers signifying the belief in the 'Trinity,' a belief which is repudiated by Unitarian Mohammedanism. The objectors, moreover, maintained that a man could not put his forehead on the ground in prostration during worship with any form of European hat. So the Sultan, instead of taking the European head-dress as well, adopted the fez, which was worn mostly by the Greeks of the Mediterranean Archipelago.
I do not say that Mahmud II. did unwisely in discarding his forefathers' turbaned crown and long, furred robe. But it was a great pity that he did not retain the ancient national costumes for special ceremonial occasions at least, if only for antiquarian interest. In looking at pictures and drawings illustrating the olden days, one cannot help admiring those gorgeous old Turkish dresses. Persons of every class and profession had their big turban of a particular shape, their long robe, wide trousers, and so forth, and in these costumes looked not only picturesque, but also imposing and dignified. Ever since the first change, people in Turkey have been adopting the European style of costume, and those who now retain the old attire are only the humbler class of people in the provinces, tradesmen, peasants, and the class of the Ulema.
Following my example, four other men among the students of the law college who came from madrassehs also changed their costume. Of course, they had also to leave their madrassehs on account of their conduct.
****
After I had secured my exemption from military service, and had got over the protracted final examination in the law college, I found that my real troubles in life were only just beginning, for the problem of making a position for myself lay before me. I was now entirely dependent upon my own labours to earn my bread. As I mentioned at the beginning of the book, we had no longer any hope of recovering our confiscated lands, and the little instalments advanced to me periodically out of the revenue of those lands during our lawsuit with the authorities, which lasted fifteen years, were now very irregularly paid. In fact, I was becoming thoroughly disgusted by the fact that we had to make the most humble entreaties to the arrogant officials of the Sultan in order to persuade them to advance the small sums they owed to us. I wished to obtain some appointment, either in the Courts or the Ministry of Justice, but there seemed little chance of my doing so. As I have been endeavouring to show throughout these chapters, the administration in the reign of Abd-ul-Hamid has been the most corrupt that our unfortunate country has ever known. No one, however highly qualified he may be, can get any employment in any Government department unless he is connected with some highly-placed creature of the Sultan, or unless he is able to bribe high officials, or is cunning enough to concoct some grave political charge against others and denounce them to the tyrant at Yildiz Kiosk. Those who do this last service are known as 'Palace spies.' I had no relation in the Sultan's palace who might have obtained a Government appointment for me; and had, of course, no money to lay out in bribery, and so purchase an appointment, while the trade of a spy was entirely repugnant to my feelings. I may be asked why, instead of striving to get official employment, I did not try to find other work. The fact is that official employment is nowadays the only way in Turkey in which persons of any education can earn a livelihood. In order to explain this I must give some account of the nature of officialdom under the Sultan's bureaucracy.
As the Sultan has never relaxed his determination to crush the power and the influence of the well-to-do families, an independent existence has now been made impossible for them. Therefore everyone of birth and education must depend upon a Government salary for his maintenance, and so be at the mercy of the Sultan, who has gradually and systematically obtained control of all the financial resources of Turkey. Strictly speaking, there is no such thing in Turkey as a distinct aristocracy. High titled officials of the State may impress foreign observers as being members of an aristocracy, but in reality those officials can be raised even from people of the lowest station in life. There have always been, nevertheless, good old families in the provinces, who, though they received the appreciation and respect of the masses, had no pretensions to any actual superiority over their dependants. The governing factions, who were appointed and promoted by the central Government, were quite distinct from either the rich or the poor populations of most Turkish provinces. This state of society existed up to the beginning of the present reign. When Abd-ul-Hamid began to establish his personal rule, and founded the present bureaucracy, he saw a danger in the independent manner of life of the old families, and in their democratic and friendly relations with the poorer classes.
At first he tried to demoralise those ancient families by conferring upon them official titles and decorations, hoping thus to impress them with an idea of rank, which would bring attendant jealousies, and make them strive hard to gain higher rank and decorations than the rest of their fellows. Besides this, the Sultan acquired large tracts of land in the fertile districts throughout the empire, and, as a step in his policy of wholesale acquisition, the lands and properties of the local magnates were gradually taken possession of on some pretext or other by the administrators of the Civil List. Thus it was that those who had once been independent landowners received official titles, and became part and parcel of the Palace official world. They now depend almost entirely for their living upon salaries paid out of the public treasury, which treasury is supplied for the most part by taxes extorted from the poorer provincials and peasant proprietors.
At present there are only two ways in which Turkish subjects can obtain a livelihood. Either they must be content to pocket their pride, and labour as workmen, small tradesmen, ordinary craftsmen, farm labourers, and so forth, or else they must somehow get a Government appointment A man of education must make a Government salary his ambition in life, and must direct all his energies to increasing it. It therefore follows that the number of unnecessary officials in Turkey is enormous, and consequently their salaries are small, and also constantly in arrears. Even the payment of a salary due to an official is a matter for an appeal to the Sultan's benevolence; any increase is naturally even more so. Only those who are able to show loyalty to the person of the Sultan get their salaries increased and their arrears paid. The best form of showing the required loyalty for an official is, as before stated, to spy upon others, and denounce them as intriguing against his sovereignty. Those who cannot or will not show their loyalty in this way are soon reduced to the point of starvation, if not exiled or imprisoned, or condemned to death. There is no other means of earning money for a Turk of education in his own country nowadays. No one can venture to carry on any commerce or any legitimate money-making enterprise independently, nor can he establish any business relations with the outside world. He would be instantly harassed by the lying and intriguing Palace spies, and denounced to the Sultan as carrying on some treasonable negotiations, under the guise of doing business. All kinds of industrial, commercial, and financial combinations are most stringently forbidden to Turks. Even two men cannot make an association for any innocent and reasonable business purpose, as such a proceeding would doubtless be reported as the promotion of a conspiracy. If a man is accused of doing such a thing, he has no chance of proving his innocence. The spies have a perfectly free hand, and nothing they may report is censured, however monstrous or improbable it may be; in fact, the more extraordinary and unlikely it is, the more the spy who brings it will be rewarded for his zeal.
There was therefore no way in which I could obtain official employment But my diploma from the law college qualified me to practise as a barrister, so to that profession I determined to devote my energies, although even in this liberal profession no independence is possible, on account of its being under the complete control of officialdom.
Among my fellow law students who received their diploma at the same time as myself only a few contemplated practising at the Bar; the remainder sought Government employment Those who wished to earn their living as lawyers had not the necessary private means for starting in that profession. I was, however, more fortunate than most. At this period of my career, when I enjoyed much leisure, I used to attend at the office of a well known Turkish publisher and littérateur, who has now been exiled to Konia, in Asiatic Turkey, whose office was called 'Imprimérie Ebuzzia,' after his own name. There I read and corrected proofs and contributed to his magazine. This was, of course, before the Sultan's great literary persecution, which resulted in the closing of several printing offices, the suppression of several journals, the burning of many books, and the banishment of many persons connected with the literary world. In this office I made the acquaintance of a European, who was an old resident in Constantinople, and was acting as correspondent to the Times. This gentleman and his European friends, who had some business in the matter of concessions to settle with the Turkish Government, occasionally entrusted me with the drawing up of their Turkish documents, and with interviewing officials on their behalf. The documentary work I received from them enabled me from time to time to have access not only to several high officials appointed by the Palace, but also to the Imperial Palace itself. I thus had many opportunities of observing closely the way in which the ruling clique in Constantinople performs its duties. I will now give some description of the real centre of authority in the Turkish empire, which, I fancy, has never been properly understood even by those English politicians who are interested in the eternal Eastern Question.
The Porte the old centre of authority—The Ministers' present degraded position—A conversational opening—Meaning of 'Yildiz Kiosk'—The Sultan's Armenian appearance—The reasons for his living at Yildiz—A fortified palace—Its gardens and forest—The 'Charitable Hotel-keeper'—The apartments of the palace— Governing bodies in it—A cosmopolitan crew— Expenses of the Household—The Sultan's Civil List managed by Armenians.
Before the reign of the present Sultan the centre of the ruling power in Turkey was the 'Sublime Porte' but since his accession, Yildiz Kiosk (his palace) has absorbed every scrap of authority in the country. Although, in diplomatic and journalistic language, the 'Porte' or 'Sublime Porte,' is still used as the name for the Government of Turkey, it can no longer be regarded as a correct one. Before describing Yildiz Kiosk, I should like to state what the 'Sublime Porte' means and represents. 'Sublime Porte' is the French translation of the Turkish term 'Babi Aali.' Bab means 'door,' and Aali 'superior.' Every Government seat is called the 'door' in Turkey, for the reason that the door of every office of the State is supposed to be always open to any who may wish to enter to seek justice and redress. The most important of all Government offices (that of the Grand Vizier and the three principal Ministers, who are the President of the Councils of State, the Foreign Minister, and the Minister of the Interior, with their respective departmental functionaries) is known as 'Sublime Porte'; whereas the offices of the other Ministers, such as Justice, Finance, Public Works, Public Instruction, War, etc., which are situated in separate localities, being considered comparatively less important, are only called the 'Door.'
The Council of the Ministers holds its meetings under the presidency of the Grand Vizier at the 'Sublime Porte.' Theoretically, the affairs of State are still superintended by the Ministers, but in reality nowadays they simply supervise such scraps of State business as may be handed over to them by the Palace. The present Cabinet Ministers of Turkey are either men whose principle and ability are not of the sort to inspire respect, or else weak nonentities, who are merely appointed to carry out without question the wishes of the Palace. They are all appointed and protected by some influential courtier of the Sultan. It is an open secret that beyond reading and talking over the papers sent to them by the Palace, the Cabinet Ministers dare not discuss or settle any matter affecting the vital interests of the country on their own account; and it is also a matter of common knowledge that the conversation of the Ministers in Council is chiefly about the weather and other safe, unexciting topics. The favourite conversational opening of the late Sheikh-ul-Islam in the Council, as is well known in Constantinople, was:-" Under the benevolent auspices of his Imperial Majesty, our august Master, the weather is fine to-day." None of the Ministers venture to make a statement or give an opinion on any political situation. Like their subordinates, the Ministers are in honour bound to spy on one another. In short, the Cabinet Ministers are now mere ciphers of the Court.
The 'Sublime Porte' was first recognised as the centre of the ruling power of the Ottoman empire when such statesmen were in power as Resheed Pasha (who was Grand Vizier during the Crimean campaign), Aali Pasha, Fuad Pasha (who accompanied the late Sultan Aziz when the latter visited this country), and Midhat Pasha, who compelled the Sultan to sanction a Representative Assembly, and who was afterwards done to death in his exile in Taif near Mecca. The reason why Abd-ul-Hamid preserved the 'Sublime Porte,' although he has deprived it of every vestige of authority, is that he found the Ministers useful as scapegoats at various periods of his reign, when he had to face important political crises. The Sultan has until quite recently succeeded in hoodwinking even the representatives of the European Powers, and making them believe that the authority which had to settle International disputes was the 'Sublime Porte.' Thus he has avoided the possibility of personal responsibility for his misrule being brought home to him, and causing diplomatic pressure to bear directly on himself. The buildings which contain the offices of the 'Sublime Porte' are situated in the Stamboul quarter of Constantinople, and are close to St Sophia
Having explained what the Sublime Porte once was and now is, and having also pointed out that it has ceased to be even in a figurative sense the Ottoman Government, I will now give an account of Yildiz Kiosk. Yildiz means 'star' in Turkish. The majestic hill which is situated on the European side of the Bosphorus near the Marmora end of the Strait is called the Yildiz. The word 'Kiosk,' or, as it is spelt in Turkish, 'Koshq,' means both castle and cottage. I believe it was Sultan Abd-ul-Mejid who built the castle on the summit of the hill and called it 'Yildiz Koshq.' The story runs that this castle was built as a residence for a favourite lady of that Sultan, to whose presence in the harem of the palace his wife and mother objected. Gossip also relates that she was an Armenian, and the present Sultan is said to be her son. Although the physiognomy of Abd-ul-Hamid is very similar to that of a typical Armenian, and his personal characteristics are more Armenian than Turkish, this story rests on a very slight foundation.
Twenty-six years ago the present Sultan transferred the royal seat to the house at Yildiz, which was then a mere cottage. Many reasons were adduced for his changing his dwelling so soon after his accession. The ostensible reason was that the air on the lofty Yildiz hill was much finer than that round the old palace, which lay on the damp shores of the Bosphorus. But the real reason was that Yildiz was impregnable, and that there his person would be safely protected against any attempt to overthrow him. During the last six-and-twenty years he has never relaxed his efforts to make his home at Yildiz safer and safer. The forest extending from the top of the Yildiz hill down to the shores of the Bosphorus is surrounded with high and massive walls. I have never had any opportunity of penetrating within the forest It is said to be perpetually guarded by numerous sentinels round the walls. Some years ago a whole battalion of sappers worked inside the forest of Yildiz Palace for months. According to what I gathered from the reports of the soldiers, the forest is mined in several directions, and there must be a thorough workable system of subterranean passages, for what purpose it is not difficult to surmise. I visited the outside of these walls at a time when it was occasionally possible for strangers to walk in the vicinity of the Yildiz Palace. There are many blocks of barracks, thirty or forty yards apart from one another, all along the line of the wall In these barracks are quartered troops of various nationalities—Arab, Albanian, and Turkish. There is little friendliness or intercourse between the men of the different battalions; but all these simple-minded privates of the guard have been so carefully and systematically inspired with unhesitating loyalty towards their 'father,' as they call the Sultan, that they would quite willingly sacrifice the last drop of their blood in the defence of his precious life. Beyond these barracks there are hills and valleys, which are also extensively guarded by blockhouses and sentinels. Some years ago, when the Turkish malcontents became restless, a young officer in the Sultan's guard drew a careful plan of the palace and its defences, in which he showed its vulnerable points. This plan was published some years ago by the Turkish agitators in Geneva, with the title "Instructions to be carried out in the assault on Yildiz Palace." It is said that the publication of this plan caused the Sultan to alter all the defences of Yildiz.
The harem apartments and various small but luxurious kiosks are situated in the interior of the forest, which is said to be laid out in beautiful flower-gardens, roads, lakes and canals. There are several detached pavilions in the palace gardens; one of the most splendid of them is said to be the one in which the Sultan entertains his princely foreign guests. The Emperor of Germany lodged in it during his two visits to Constantinople. The Sultan is always eager to accommodate his royal visitors within the establishment of Yildiz, so that he may not be compelled to leave the palace to call upon them. It is well known that he takes the utmost care to make them comfortable and to entertain them well. It is for this reason that he has obtained the nickname in certain discontented quarters of 'the Charitable Hotel-keeper.' The Sultan always enjoys his sport and takes his exercise in his palace forest One of his means of recreation is the Yildiz opera-house, in which he, with his children or with his foreign guests, patronises the drama, in which he takes a keen interest It is worthy of remark that, while a strict censorship and a rigorous police make the progress of dramatic art among his subjects almost impossible, the Sultan's own theatre is fitted with all the latest improvements.
The buildings in which the officials and officers of the court, and the army of household attendants (as we may call them) live, are situated at the highest part of the Yildiz forest, while at the opposite end, at the foot of the forest, almost on the shore, is the Tcharagan Palace, where ex-Sultan Murad, Abd-ul-Hamid's mysterious and strictly-guarded captive, is confined. No human being who is not attached to the guard of the captive can approach the latter palace. The bureaus of the officials and officers on the top of the hill are built just outside the walled garden. The passage between the official residences and offices and the Sultan's own quarters in the interior is called the 'Mabeyn,' an Arabic word, which means a space between two objects. It is for that reason that the seraglio of the Sultan is figuratively called the Mabeyn, so that it may be distinguished from those of other princely palaces. In front of these departmental offices there is another valley, which was formerly inhabited chiefly by Turkish and Armenian families. The houses of these people have all been appropriated by the Civil List, with the view of making the distance between the palace at Yildiz and the people's quarters as great as possible. Beyond this valley there is another high hill, which is covered with the private houses of the court dignitaries. The object of the Sultan in building these houses for his officials on his own account was that he might prevent the Europeans of Pera from coming into possession of land in the direction of Yildiz, and in this way extending their quarters into the vicinity of the palace.
With a few exceptions, the courtiers and principal secretaries of the Sultan receive any business connected with any branch of State affairs, and deal with it after submitting it to him. For instance, there is a military council in the palace consisting of highly-favoured staff officers, who decide on all important military matters, although there is still an over-staffed War Ministry, which, by the established statute of the Empire, has to look after the affairs of the army. In the palace a highly important espionage and police bureau is maintained, though the old Ministry of the Police, with its numerous officials, is still in existence. In the palace reside those advisers to the Sultan whose business it is to attend to matters connected with Mussulman affairs, and to see that the Sultan's position as Caliph in the Mohammedan world is maintained; yet the old office of the Sheikh-ul-Islam, which theoretically should be in charge of such religious matters, is still in existence, with its many officials. There is a political and translation department at Yildiz, which is entrusted with the examination of such of the contents of the political press and political literature of Europe as may deal with Turkish matters, and which makes suggestions on diplomatic affairs, though these things are supposed to be done by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the Sublime Porte. The postal and telegraphic office of Yildiz Palace is the greatest and busiest of all post-offices in Turkey. All governors, commanders, agents, ambassadors and emissaries communicate directly with the palace through this post-office.
The men who compose the Sultan's immediate circle, and who are ruling the country, are of many nationalities; some of them are Europeans. Anyone who knows the origin of these people would not hesitate to agree with me when I say that in the present reign the power and rule of Turkey is not in the hands of real Turks.
Hundreds of officials, officers, and retainers actually live on the premises of the palace. On one occasion I saw dinner being served out to the household of the palace. Numerous servants hurried about in all directions, carrying on their heads large wooden trays full of dishes. The number of the chefs and assistant cooks is known to be over two hundred. The working expenses of the palace are roughly estimated to be somewhere about £5000 a day. This enormous sum is, of course, paid out of the Sultan's Civil List. The revenues of the Civil List are very great, and they are drawn from many sources. Nearly all the estates and farms of high value, and most of the fertile districts in Anatolia and Syria, and more especially in the provinces of Baghdad and on the Persian Gulf, are now entirely at the disposal of the Sultan, and constitute the source of his private income. Moreover, as every vestige of power is nowadays in his hands, he can draw as much money as he requires from the State exchequer at the Finance Ministry.
The fixed income of the sovereign is supposed to be £50,000 a month. The Sublime Porte had at one time the courage to reduce it to £30,000, but, as I explained before, the Porte is now only nominally existent For the last twenty years or more, during which the revenues of the Civil List have increased enormously, the officials at the head of the department have, without exception, been of Armenian nationality. The first of these Armenian officials, a certain Aghob Pasha, was the man who suggested to the Sultan the idea of appropriating the property of the prominent Mussulmans in the province. The Civil List is never in need of money, as is the public exchequer of Turkey, yet many officials who serve solely for the palace, and do practically nothing for the public welfare, get their salaries from the public exchequer. The sum which the exchequer has to contribute to the fund of the Palace espionage system alone is estimated to be £90,000 a year. Besides the expenses of the Imperial household, only the salaries of the immediate officials of the court, and the cost of the Sultan's largess of money, presents, and gifts, are defrayed by the Civil List Even the allowances of the Princes and Princesses of the Royal House are paid by the public exchequer, and it is for this reason that the members of the Dynasty (who, by the way, live in separate minor palaces, in compulsory seclusion, and whose intercourse with the nation the Sultan's jealousy and suspicion has cut off), like the officials of the State, always find their salaries in arrears, to their great inconvenience.
The old right of appeal to the Sultan's person a thing of the past—He only leaves his palace once a week—The selamlik—Religious ceremonies and the sacred caravan—Its departure for Mecca—A military display— Abd-ul-Hamid's mosque—Its convenient proximity to the palace—A study in precaution—Dwarfs in the palace.
As the Sultan has concentrated all governing power in his own palace, it might be thought that the palace was the place to which all who seek for justice and the redress of wrongs would come. This is far from being the case With the exception of the spies, no one can enter any of the palace departments unless he can give a good account of himself and the nature of his business. The unfortunate subjects of the Sultan who are not connected with the palace officials some way or other must waste time and money in frequenting the old ministerial offices, which are nowadays only nominally existent, to seek justice and to find redress for their cases. There is no hope for these millions of unhappy subjects in their appeal. Until about ten years ago anyone who wanted redress for wrongs and injustice done to him had a chance, however slender, of appealing to the Sultan personally, and this he used to do by forcing his way through the crowd and presenting a petition to him while he was driving to the mosque on the occasion of the selamlik, the only time when Abd-ul-Hamid ventures out of his fortified palace. But there is now no possibility of presenting a petition to the Sultan, as the ceremony of selamlik is conducted differently.
From time to time the Turkish term 'selamlik' may be seen in the English papers, but only those who are fortunate enough to travel in foreign countries, or those whose position affords them exceptional opportunities of acquiring information on matters concerning other lands, know what this term signifies. The selamlik is a great military ceremony which takes place when the head of the Ottoman empire goes forth from his palace to a place of worship, with pomp and circumstance, every Friday afternoon. 'Selam' means 'salutation,' and the 'selamlik' is the name given to the military honour rendered to the sovereign on that occasion.
Besides the usual selamlik, there are five annual occasions when the same pageant takes place; on these occasions, however, the ceremony is on a grander scale, and the sovereign meets all civil, military, religious and legal functionaries of the State who may at the time be residing in the capital. Two of these selamliks are held on two great yearly festivals, the third on the fifteenth of the month of the fast, when the whole body of Government, from the monarch downwards, pays homage to the relics of the Prophet, and the fourth on the Prophet's birthday, when the high State dignitaries assemble in one of the great mosques to listen to the choral recitation of the poem on the Nativity. The fifth is on the day of the 'sacred caravan,' when a grand pageant takes place to celebrate its starting. Although the Sultan does not come out, he is supposed to salute this quaint procession from the window of his palace, and the people greatly enjoy watching and following it, as it has more religious colour than the other royal processions. This sacred caravan starts from the Sultan's capital every year, about the middle of the Mohammedan lunar month of Ramazan. The boxes in which are contained the presents and gifts for the holy cities of Mecca and Medina are carried by camels with gorgeously ornamented saddles through the streets of Constantinople, while about a dozen Arabs, who are supposed to go with the caravan to Mecca, display their skill in swordsmanship in every crowded centre, their drummer playing rapidly and violently the while. Thousands of spectators watch the procession. Before the start of the caravan, well-to-do people get ready and send alms, presents and bakhsheesh for the guides, and gifts for the religious trustees of their respective families in the cities of the Holy Land. The most conspicuous features in this procession are the sedan-chair-like seats, which are screened with beautifully embroidered silk stuff, for the protection of the persons seated therein from the heat of the sun; these seats are fixed on the saddles of the camels.
The cavalcade is escorted by mounted troops, and is followed by an immense crowd. It is a really picturesque sight when the long train mounts the hills of Yildiz to proceed to the palace; the road leading to the palace is lined by the magnificent Imperial Guards, and the wooded hills on both sides of the road are crowded with a great multitude of lady spectators, clad in cloaks, umbrellas, and veils of every colour imaginable. This is an entirely Mohammedan gathering, and a very orderly one too; quarrelling, or even disputing between individuals, is hardly ever to be seen; profound silence prevails among the crowd; only a murmur here and there of someone praying for the success of the year's pilgrimage is now and then to be heard. After offering a public prayer in front of the palace of the Caliphate, the cavalcade proceeds downward to the shore, whence, in a special boat, it crosses the Bosphorus to the Asiatic side of the city.
In bygone ages this cavalcade used to proceed by land all the way from Scutari to Hijaz, but it is now despatched to Beyrout by steamer, and the real sacred caravan is not formed till the gifts reach Damascus, whither they are brought under the superintendence of a court official who is styled the Sorra Emini, that is to say, the Intendant of the Offering. Thousands of pilgrims await the starting of the caravan from Damascus, and go to Hijaz along with it; for, as the caravan is escorted by troops, they are thus securely protected against the attacks of the Bedouin brigands, the only enemies of the harmless and God-fearing pilgrims. Still, notwithstanding this protection, there are cases on record when the sharp and dexterous Bedouin thief, by approaching quietly at night and hiding himself behind the long legs of the camels, has succeeded in robbing and murdering poor pilgrims, and then disappearing amid the waves of sand. There are many pilgrims who prefer the desert route to the sea journey via Jeddah, not on account of any material advantage, but simply that they may suffer greater hardships, hoping that they will be more highly rewarded by Providence, for they imagine that their recompense will be proportionate to the suffering they endure in fulfilling their religious duties. This is the same spirit which moves many Russian devotees, who, when going to Jerusalem, do not take the train from Jaffa, but prefer walking all the way to the Holy City, carrying their sacks and bags on their shoulders. Besides these annual processions and the progress of the sacred caravan procession, there is, as I have said, the usual ceremony, which takes place every Friday. This ceremony is better known to Europeans. The Sultan usually receives the diplomatic representatives of the Powers, and any foreign dignitaries who may happen to be in Constantinople on a visit, after this Friday selamlik.
The procession of the sovereign from the palace to one or other of the great mosques every Friday afternoon, attended with an imposing military display, is a strictly observed ancient usage. The Sultan must go to the mosque in public unless prevented by some urgent matter over which he has no control. For dynastic considerations, however, even such urgent matter must, if possible, be set aside, as some suspicion as to the Sultan's being no longer alive might spread among the population, and might bring about a public restlessness not unfraught with danger, and perhaps some revolutionary complications. The present Sultan is much more careful than any of his immediate predecessors in fulfilling this obligation of going to the mosque on Fridays. Whenever a rumour gets abroad concerning his being indisposed, he promptly orders his representatives in foreign countries to contradict the report, and that immediately, lest the news should find its way back to Turkey, and spread among its population. He professes to be always in the best of health. But he is no doubt subject to the ailments that more or less beset all humanity, and it is probably these that make him every now and then look dreadfully pale and broken-down during the Friday ceremony. Still, he comes out on these occasions most regularly.
The former Sultans used to go to different great mosques of the capital on Fridays on horseback, amidst the acclamations not only of the guards but also of the people. But Sultan Hamid has had a mosque built for himself just outside the great walls of his fortified palace. Shortly before the time of the selamlik the troops of the first and second divisions of the army of the capital flood the neighbourhood of that mosque. First come the battalions of the Albanian Zouaves, now the Arab Zouaves, now the marines, and now the battalions of the Anatolian infantry. They form several lines deep along the short road. Cavalry regiments take up their positions in two lines just behind the infantry. Gendarmes form another line at the back of the horsemen, and behind them policemen stand in groups of two at every few steps. Spies, who may be recognised by their treacherous and suspicious appearance, wander about in the immediate neighbourhood. The wretched public can nowadays see nothing but the arrival and the return of the troops. Woe to any educated-looking 'Young-Turk' who may be suspected by these dirty spies of attempting to approach the lines! Students of the military colleges are ordered not to go to the neighbourhood of the palace on that day. All the officers commanding these battalions are raised from the ranks, because such ignorant officers recognise no one so sacred after Allah as the Caliph, whereas an educated and intelligent officer might in all probability be a 'Young-Turk.'