TURKEY. 



689 



was drained from the provinces to fill the 

 ranks of the army, and greatly diminished the 

 number of agriculturists of the interior. The 

 objection of the Christians has been the dis- 

 respect shown them by the Mussulmans, and 

 even by the Government, and their treatment 

 as an inferior people. Now, that some of the 

 Sultan's ministers of state and other superior 

 functionaries are Christians, the latter feel that 

 full justice will be done to them, and that they 

 may also serve as defenders of their country, 

 as well as the Mussulmans. Military law, and 

 what is called esprit de corps among the new 

 soldiers, will be of great service to the Sultan's 

 Government in a political point of view, inas- 

 much as it will check any future attempt by 

 the Russian Government to create dissensions 

 among the Sultan's Christian subjects. In no 

 country, is there a more loyal and patriotic 

 people than the Greeks and Armenians of 

 Turkey, if let alone, and treated by their own 

 Government with justice and ordinary respect. 

 A new epoch is now opening before them, 

 which, if persisted in, cannot but have the 

 happiest results. 



The prejudices which heretofore prevented 

 the Ottoman Government from welcoming 

 foreign capital, industry, and immigration, are 

 also giving way before the new system on 

 which it has entered. This "prejudice," how- 

 ever, has had a basis or cause which must be 

 removed by foreign governments. Formerly 

 certain " capitulations" gave to all foreigners in 

 Turkey almost a perfect exteritoriality, which 

 means a position of independence of the laws 

 of the country in which they reside. All con- 

 cessions made by the Ottoman Government to 

 foreigners placed the latter in a position of an- 

 tagonism to the government which conceded it, 

 and involved it in continual conflicts with the 

 governments of the countries to which the said 

 foreigners belonged. The result was, that the 

 Government could rarely be induced to al- 

 low any enterprises, however useful, on the 

 part of such as were its own subjects. To 

 grant the exploration of a mine to a French- 

 man, or a French company, was sure to render 

 the mine a part of France, and, sooner or 

 later, to involve the Porte in a series of suits 

 for losses and damages of an unpleasant char- 

 acter. Diplomacy was brought to bear, with 

 fearful threats upon the government which 

 made the concession, and the result was that 

 very many advantageous enterprises remained 

 unexplored, solely because the Porte feared 

 such complications as soured its relations with 

 foreign powers. Laws and codes have now 

 been made based mostly upon those of Europe 

 which will define the rights of foreign ex- 

 plorers of enterprises in Turkey, and, if the 

 obselete and now senseless " ancient capitula- 

 tions " be revised, a wide field of public and 

 private industry will be opened in Turkey to 

 the people of all other nations. 



Owing to the combined efforts of the British, 

 French, and Austrian ministers, there is now 

 VOL. ix. 44. A 



a prospect of securing the free navigation of 

 the Dardanelles for the merchant marine of 

 all nations. 



The Asiatic provinces of Turkey, as well as 

 the European, would offer a great field for set- 

 tlements, if necessary protection could be af- 

 forded to the immigrants. Since the Christian 

 Lebanon stands under the protection of Eng- 

 land and France, it has become a garden, this 

 little tract of land producing in 1868 a silk 

 crop to the value of some twenty million francs. 



Roumania. The most important event with 

 regard to industry was the opening of the 

 railroad from Bucharest to Giurgevo on Oc- 

 tober 31st. On November 24th, Prince Charles 

 and his spouse solemnly entered the capital. 

 Triumphal arches had been erected; all the 

 houses were adorned with flags, and the streets 

 filled with an enthusiastic people. The mayor 

 performed the civil act of marrying the princely 

 couple, to whom forty simultaneously married 

 Roumanian couples were introduced. The 

 prince pardoned on this occasion seventy-two 

 criminals. 



The prince opened the Chamber on Novem- 

 ber 27th. His speech alluded to the satisfactory 

 relations to other countries, the almost settled 

 frontier question, and the improvement of navi- 

 gation ; promised the regulation of common 

 interests by international treaties, laws for reg- 

 ulating the floating debt, organizing the army, 

 improving instruction, and a speedy completion 

 of the projected railroad lines. 



Servia. Servia has, up to this time, derived 

 hardly any benefit from her position on the 

 banks of her great thoroughfares, the Danube 

 and the Save. One of the chief national re- 

 sources of Servia is its forests ; but, from want 

 of means of transport, little is yielded but fire- 

 wood and charcoal ; the pine-wood used for 

 building at Belgrade is brought by water-car- 

 riage from Styria and Bosnia. Such is the 

 waste of this natural wealth, that whole forests 

 of fir are cut down to procure small quantities 

 of pitch, resin, and potash ; and custom has 

 assigned a full-grown oak to every peasant for 

 his coffin. A law has been proposed against 

 this last abuse. Coal, of an inferior descrip- 

 tion, is to be found in many parts, and it is 

 highly probable that a scientific exploration 

 would bring to light coal of a superior quality. 

 The mining resources of the country in copper, 

 iron, and graphite, have also yet to be properly 

 dealt with. Some zinc-mines are being worked 

 at a profit. There are also said to be, but 

 hitherto imperfectly explored, gold washings 

 at Zachar, on the Bulgarian frontier ; fire-clay 

 and lithographic stone at Valjevo ; and mag- 

 netic stone, lead, silver, and copper, in the 

 Copanic ranges of mountains, on the frontier 

 of Northern Albania. The comparative state 

 of agriculture in any part of the Ottoman em- 

 pire may be pretty accurately determined by 

 the proportion which the cultivation of maize 

 holds to that of corn in general ; and in Servia 

 maize is the chief corn- food of the people, pre- 



