88 



CANDIA. 



had only presumed to claim the privileges which the 

 Sultan had spontaneously promised us by the Tiatti- 

 Jiumayum. But the Governor-General has perverted 

 the sense of the humble request which we had pre- 

 sented pacifically, asking for fulfilment of sacred 

 promises. After having let us wait three months, 

 he has now at last obtained from the Sublime Porte 

 a negative and menacing reply, and presents himself 

 before us in arms to oppose force to right. 



In making the consuls of the Christian powers 

 witnesses of the above facts, we now take up arms 

 in our own defence, and render the authorities re- 

 sponsible, in the eyes of the civilized world, for the 

 consequences. 



(Signed by the representatives of the Christian 

 population of Candia.) 



On the following day, August 2d, the Gov- 

 ernor issued a counter-proclamation to the in- 

 habitants of the island, not referring at all to 

 the grievances 'of the Cretans, but simply an- 

 nouncing that the local authorities would dis- 

 perse by force of arms any assembly they might 

 encounter, and forbidding every villager to har- 

 bor or in any way assist or join the chiefs of 

 the revolt. The contest now assumed the char- 

 acter of a religious war. The Turkish popula- 

 tion committed the most outrageous cruelties 

 against the Christians, and even attacked seve- 

 ral foreign consulates, among others that of the 

 United States, when the consuls remonstrated 

 against the atrocities. Several foreign govern- 

 ments were induced by these events to order war- 

 vessels to Candia for the protection of the for- 

 eigners and native Christians. The insurgents 

 assembled in the mountains, especially in the 

 district of Sphakia, in the southern part of the 

 island, a force of about 20,000 men, and many 

 women and children from the plains were re- 

 moved there to protect them from the barbari- 

 ties of the Turks. In the same month the 

 Cretan Assembly made a direct appeal to the 

 President of the United States, asking the in- 

 tercession of the United States to obtain the in- 

 tervention of the great powers. On September 

 2d the representatives of the several eparchies 

 met in General Assembly at Sphakia, and pub- 

 lished a declaration of independence from 

 Turkey, and of annexation to Greece. This 

 document recites the part taken by Candia in 

 the struggle for Grecian independence in 1821- 

 '29; the fate awarded her by the great powers; 

 the violation by Turkey of the conditions pre- 

 scribed by those powers ; the several revolts of 

 1833, 1841, and 1858, when certain privileges 

 were wrested from their rulers, which have 

 never been carried into execution. It speaks of 

 the advantages of civilized government as con- 

 trasted with the retrograde influence of the rule 

 of the Koran. It refers to the recent respectful 

 petition for redress, and to the insulting man- 

 ner in which it had been refused. It declares 

 that the Christian population never under Turk- 

 ish rule enjoyed security for their lives, honor, 

 or property ; that they are now especially sub- 

 jected to acts of violence, barbarism, and sacri- 

 lege, and are driven to the mountains for refuge 

 or into exile. It then declares that " for all these 

 reasons, and in accordance with the oath taken 



in 1821, and with the general desire of the peo 

 pie for the union and independence of the whole 

 Greek race, the General Assembly of the Cretans 

 hereby sanctions and decrees : 1. The abolition, 

 forever, of Turkish rule over Candia and its 

 dependencies. 2. The annexation to Greece, 

 their mother country, under the sceptre of his 

 majesty the King of the Hellenes, George I. 

 3. The execution of the decree is confided to 

 the courage of the brave Cretan people, to the 

 aid of their noble compatriots, and all Philhel- 

 lenes, to the powerful intervention of the great 

 protecting and guaranteeing powers, and to the 

 puissance of the Most High." 



The Turkish Government, in the mean while, 

 had been pressing forward reinforcements, 

 which it drew partly from Egypt, the Viceroy 

 of which country was reported to have offered 

 to purchase the island from the Porte on terms 

 similar to those on which he had previously 

 obtained the Red Sea provinces of Souakim &nd 

 Massowah. The commander of the Egyptian 

 troops (Saim Pacha) represented himself as au- 

 thorized to treat with the insurgents. The 

 latter accordingly sent delegates, but soon found 

 out that the Porte was not willing to abide by 

 the stipulations Saim Pacha would make, and 

 they accordingly recalled their delegates. 



Fighting throughout the island began on Sep- 

 tember 9th. The reports of the progress of the 

 struggle widely differed as they came from 

 Turkish or Greek sources, but, during the first 

 weeks the Cretans appear to have gained im- 

 portant advantages. On the 14th of September 

 Kirith Mustapha Pacha, having arrived in the 

 character of imperial commissioner, issued a 

 proclamation promising concessions to the Chris- 

 tians, and granting five days during which 

 they could make their submission. lie also 

 ordered the burning of the villages and other 

 barbarities committed by his troops to be stop- 

 ped, but this order was not obeyed. On the 

 14th and 16th of September two regiments of 

 Egyptian troops, under Ismail Pacha, arrived. 

 On September 17th the Cretan Assembly pub- 

 lished a proclamation, in which the Cretans 

 were exhorted to reject the specious words by 

 which this imperial commissioner tried to lure 

 them, as they could have little to expect from 

 t; the man who, during thirty years, oppressed 

 our country, and hung upon trees so many gen- 

 erous martyrs of liberty." On the 19th the 

 Assembly issued another proclamation, enjoin- 

 ing upon the Cretans humane conduct toward 

 prisoners and unarmed people, in return for 

 Moslem barbarity. They should not be driven 

 to retaliation, but on their side conduct the 

 war on Christian principles, sparing the weak 

 and defenceless. On the 22d of September the 

 combined Turkish and Egyptian forces, number- 

 ing 20,000 men, assaulted the Cretan camp, ex- 

 tending from Malaxa to Keramia, and were 

 repulsed. The next day the insurgents, having 

 received 2,000 regnforcements, assumed the of- 

 fensive, and drove the Turks on board their 

 ships, with a loss of 3,000 prisoners. The Cretans 



