730 



TUEKEY. 



127th article of the penal code which punishes 

 with death those who recruit armed bodies in 

 Greece without the sanction of the Govern- 

 ment, and also those who enlist for a foreign 

 expedition ; or the 136th article, which inflicts 

 imprisonment on those who enlist Hellenic 

 subjects for the service of a foreign power : 



The Hellenic Government has not declared war 

 against us, but all the Hellenes declare it, and the 

 Government says it is not responsible. Is that posi- 

 tion tenable ? Besides, it responds to our friendly 



representations by armaments. The last vote of the 

 Chamber relative to a loan is a sufficient proof, and 

 the object of these preparations is a mystery to no 



one For the future we must regulate our conduct 



according to that of the Hellenic Government. 



Two telegrams from Safvet Pacha, ad interim 

 Minister of .Foreign Affairs, dated July 27th 

 and August 1st, contradict the report of alleged 

 massacres of Christians in Crete, and state that 

 any such acts would be severely punished by 

 the Porte adding also, that vessels would 

 be provided to convey to other parts of the 

 empire families wishing to leave the island, but 

 that the Porte would not assent to their being 

 removed to Greece, " the country which is the 

 sole cause of the misfortunes which have been 

 inflicted on the island." Under date of the 

 18th of September is published the second am- 

 nesty offered to the insurgents, to expire on Oc- 

 tober 20th ; and on the 3d of the latter month, 

 Fuad Pacha announces the Grand Vizier's 

 departure on the previous day on his special 

 mission to Crete, and transmits also a copy of 

 the scheme of new administration which his 

 highness was charged to establish in the island. 

 Of this, Fuad Pacha says : 



It will be seen that the new reglement contains the 

 most solid guarantees of an administration adapted 

 to insure real prosperity to the island. These guar- 

 anteesj while they are a satisfaction accorded to the 

 Christian population of the island, the administration 

 of which will be shared between the Mussulmans and 

 the Christians, whose notables will be consulted at 

 need as to the details of the application of .the new 

 organization, have in some measure become necessary 

 in order to repair the injuries caused by late events. 

 This is what the Government has done, and this is all 



it was possible for it to do. 



On the 13th of October Fuad Pacha sent a 

 telegram to the Turkish ministers at the courts 

 of London, Paris, Vienna, Berlin, St. Peters- 

 burg, and Florence, strongly protesting against 

 the removal of Cretan families by the vessels 

 of foreign powers, a proceeding his highness 

 ascribed to feelings of humanity suggested by 

 the false reports of Turkish massacres and per- 

 secutions in Crete. 



On the 6th of November, the Foreign Min- 

 ister of the Porte transmits the Grand Vizier's 

 proclamation to the Cretans on the expiration 

 of the amnesty, the decree for the administra- 

 tive reorganization of the island, and very pre- 

 cise instructions to the civil commissioners and 

 military commanders of each district evi- 

 dences, Fuad Pacha remarks, of the spirit of 

 moderation and the anxiety for the welfare of 

 the Cretans which animate the Sultan's Gov- 



ernment. The instructions to the military com- 

 manders, which begin by repeating the declara- 

 tion made from time to time in successive dis- 

 patches, "the Cretan insurrection no longer 

 exists," enforce the necessity of treating the in- 

 habitants justly and kindly; of preserving the 

 strictest discipline among the troops ; of levy- 

 ing no requisitions, but purchasing all provis- 

 ions in the ordinary way ; of preventing any 

 injury to property or outrage to person ; and 

 of acting wholly on the defensive, except toward 

 "brigands." Each commander is enjoined to 

 promote the pacification of his district as far as 

 possible without the effusion of blood, by a 

 strategic disposition of his troops, and by con- 

 ciliatory behavior to the inhabitants. 



Fuad Pacha replies on the 18th of December 

 to a rejoinder made by Mr. Tricoupis, the Greek 

 minister, respecting the conduct of the Alba- 

 nian irregulars on the Greek frontier, and says 

 that if only a part of the long catalogue of al- 

 leged misdeeds of those troops enumerated by 

 Mr. Tricoupis can be proved, the Porte will 

 not lose the opportunity of proving its consist- 

 ency and sincerity. Fuad Pacha then reverts 

 to the complaints of the Thessalian petitioners, 

 which still remained unsatisfied. 



The volume also contains Fuad Pacha's long 

 and ably-written memorandum, dated May 15, 

 1867, on the execution of the Hatti-Humayoun 

 of 1856, and the full text of the reglement for 

 the reorganization of the government of Crete. 

 The latter, which fills thirty-five pages, is a 

 miriutely detailed elaboration, and is under- 

 stood to be the model of a reformed administra- 

 tive system for the other provinces of the em- 

 pire. 



While the Christian tribes of European Tur- 

 key are to a large extent endeavoring to eman- 

 cipate themselves from the rule of the Sultan, 

 among the Mussulmans a progressive party is 

 forming which recommends to the Sultan the 

 introduction of a liberal form of government as 

 the best means to save the integrity of the em- 

 pire and defeat the plans of Eussia. The most 

 important among the documents issued by this 

 party is a letter from Mustapha Fazil Pacha to 

 the Sultan, published in Turkish and French. 

 The writer, after reminding the Sultan of his 

 devotion to his Majesty, and of his former at- 

 tempts to expose the abuses of administration, 

 thus refers to the grievances of the Mussulman 

 reformers: 



Sire, the revolts which break out amons" the Chris- 

 tian populations of your empire are especially the work 

 of our enemies abroad ; but they are also a" symptom 

 of the general situation caused to your people of all 

 races and creeds by a system of government which, 

 after having had reasons for being employed in former 

 times, can no_w no longer produce aught'but tyranny, 

 ignorance, misery, and corruption. Europe imagines 

 that the Christians alone in Turkey are subjected to 

 the arbitrary action, the sufferings, and the degrada- 

 tion of all kinds which spring from oppression. But 

 this is not the case. The M'ussulmans ? precisely be- 

 cause no foreign power interests itself in their fate, 

 are perhaps more unworthily despoiled, more bowed 

 down under the yoke, than those who ignore the 



