722 



TURKEY. 



1. Active standing army (Nizam) 150,000 



2. Reserves, first clasd 60,000 



3. Reserves, second class (Rcdif) 192,000 



4. Troops for the defence of the empire, 



and for service in fortresses 800,000 



Total 702,000 



It is proposed to reduce the time of service 

 in the active standing army from five to four 

 years, in which case the annual contingent of 

 the army would be 37,500 men. The fleet, in 

 1870, consisted of 13 iron-clads, of 216 guns; 27 

 screw steamers, of 645 guns ; 9 corvettes and 

 13 avisos, of 820 guns ; 12 gunboats, of 28 guns ; 

 and 35 transports, of 52 guns. Total, 109 

 steamers, of 1,761 guns. Besides, there were 

 53 sailing-vessels, of different construction and 

 armament. 



The vessels which entered the port of Con- 

 stantinople, in 1868, numbered 22,141, of 

 5,037,448 tons; the number of clearances 

 was 22,542 vessels, of 5,064,571 tons. 



The introduction of railroads and telegraph- 

 lines, to which the Government was formerly 

 opposed, is likely to invite foreign capital, in- 

 dustry, and immigration. The length of rail- 

 roads in operation in Turkey in Europe, in 

 1869, was limited to 182 miles, comprising the 

 two lines from Varna to Rustchuk, and from 

 Rustendje 1 to Tchernavoda. Concessions were 

 made, however, for the construction of several 

 lines, of an aggregate length of 1,260 miles, all 

 of which are now being, pushed forward ener- 

 getically. In Asia Minor there have been, since 

 1867, about 145 miles of railroad in operation, 

 running from Smyrna to various points in the 

 vicinity. The length of telegraph-lines, in 1866, 

 was 8,647 miles; length of wire, 17,679 miles. 



Toward the latter part of July, 1870, the 

 increasing uncertainty as to the ultimate result 

 of the struggle between France and Prussia 

 made gold more scarce every day, people be- 

 came cautious, and credit was daily diminish- 

 ing. Many failures in commercial circles were 

 the immediate consequence. At the same 

 time, Russian intrigues became rife in Servia, 

 in favor of a panslavist movement, and the 

 Government of the Sultan was compelled to 

 prepare for future difficulties, in case of com- 

 plications in those parts. Great activity was 

 soon perceptible at the arsenal and at the Gov- 

 ernment works. 



At the close of the year 1869 the relations 

 between the Sultan and the Khedive, which 

 had been greatly disturbed, became of a more 

 pacific character. Ismael Pacha, after hesi- 

 tating for some time to yield to the demands 

 made in the Turkish note of November, 1869 

 (see AMERICAN ANNUAL CYCLOPEDIA), at last 

 resolved to submit. He declared his readiness 

 to yield his financial administration to the 

 superintendence of the Porte, to reduce his 

 military power, and to relinquish all direct 

 negotiations with foreign powers. On Decem- 

 ber 9th, the Turkish firman, containing the 

 demands of the Porte, was published at Cairo. 

 In February, 1870, the three iron-clad frigates 

 were given up to the Turkish Government, 



which indemnified the Khedive for all his ex- 

 penses. Nubar Pacha went to Constantinople, 

 in order to negotiate with the Porte concerning 

 the execution of the judicial reform which the 

 Government of Egypt and the representatives 

 of the foreign powers had agreed upon. Ali 

 Pacha demanded some modifications, reducing 

 the concessions by which the plan of the judicial 

 reform had been yielded to the European pow- 

 ers. When these modifications were conceded 

 by the representative of Egypt, the Porte 

 sanctioned the reform, and authorized Kubar 

 Pacha to confer with the European powers con- 

 cerning its execution. Soon the Khedive gave 

 new offence to the Porte, as he again appeared 

 in the money-markets of Europe, endeavoring 

 to negotiate some $24,000,000 of additional 

 obligations. To justify his breach of promise, 

 the Khedive explained that he only intended 

 to make a loan on his private property ; but it 

 was known in Constantinople that but little 

 distinction was made in Cairo between the 

 public exchequer and the private property of 

 the Khedive. The Porte did not expressly 

 forbid the loan, but endeavored to destroy the 

 credit of the Khedive by publicly declaring 

 (May, 1870) in London and Paris that the loan 

 had no claim whatever to a legal recognition. 

 England strongly supported the views of the 

 Sultan, and prevailed upon the Khedive to pay 

 a visit to the Sultan, at Constantinople, for 

 the purpose of adjusting all the differences. 

 The Khedive arrived at Constantinople on July 

 7th, and gave satisfactory explanations, and a 

 complete reconciliation was reached. 



In the latter part of the year a new compli- 

 cation arose between Turkey and Russia, as 

 the Czar demanded a modification of the Paris 

 Treaty of 1856. For a time a war was re- 

 garded as imminent, and extensive warlike 

 preparations were made. Along the Danube, 

 an army of observation was formed, and placed 

 under the command of Omar Pacha, while a 

 smaller corps of 20,000 men received orders to 

 move toward the Greek frontiers. These na- 

 val and military preparations told heavily on 

 the resources of the Treasury, and the Minister 

 of Finance, Sadik Pacha, was compelled to 

 enter the money-market to borrow various 

 sums at 15 percent, against deposit of Govern- 

 ment securities. The Viceroy of Egypt offered 

 20,000 breech-loaders to the Sultan, and also 

 a corps of 30,000 Egyptian troops for the camp 

 of Rustchuk. (See EASTEBN QUESTION.) 



On January 21st, a law was promulgated, 

 ordering the introduction of a uniform deci- 

 mal system of weights and measures for the 

 Ottoman Empire. On the 13th of May, a fir- 

 man was published, decreeing the liberty of 

 passage for all vessels through the Dardanelles 

 and Bosporus at all hours. This law did not, 

 however, give general -satisfaction, as a very 

 heavy extra fee was charged for the permission. 



The project of inviting "Western emigration 

 to Turkey was actively taken up, and the 

 Turkish ambassadors in London and Paris re- 



