UNITARIANS. 



745 



Mohammedans to regard the Turkish Sultan 

 as the head of the Mohammedan world, sev- 

 eral foreign Mohammedan princes, as the Sul- 

 tan of the Panthay rebels in Southwestern 

 China, the Khan of East Toorkistan, and the 

 Sultan of Acheen, sent, in the course of the 

 years 1872 and 1873, ambassadors to Constan- 

 tinople, to recognize the sovereignty of the 

 Sultan, and to ask for his patronage and pro- 

 tection. The Turkish Governmeut showed, 

 however, a due consideration of the diplomatic 

 difficulties in which an inconsiderate action in 

 this matter might have involved it ; and a 

 Turkish paper of Constantinople which had 

 boastingly announced that the Sultan of Tur- 

 key would send to the ruler of Acheen eight 

 men-of-war to aid him against the Dutch, was 

 promptly suppressed. 



A circular to the diplomatic Turkish agents 

 abroad, of* September 24th, complained of 

 the Government of Ronmania for having en- 

 croached upon the right, belonging to the 

 sovereign Sultan of Turkey, of concluding 

 treaties with foreign powers. The circular 

 declares that thig, in future, will not be toler- 

 ated by Turkey, and that the Porte will not 

 regard any such treaty as valid. 



The Chambers of Ronmania were opened by 

 Prince Charles in person, on November 27th. 

 In his speech from the throne, the prince states 

 that the relations with all the foreign powers 

 were friendly ; that he had met, during the 

 visit he had made in the summer months, to 

 the court of Vienna, with a favorable recep- 

 tion; and that the products of Roumania at 

 the exhibition of Vienna, had attracted a great 

 deal of attention. The reform introduced 

 into the army by a law of May 24, 1872, were 

 represented as a success. The Chamber of 

 Deputies reflected its former president, Deme- 

 tri (ihika. To the note of the Turkish Govern- 

 ment of September 24th, the Government of 

 Ronmania replied that the right to conclude 

 treaties with foreign powers belonged to Rou- 

 mnnia, not only de facto but also de jure. 

 To this note, Turkey replied, that the right 

 claimed by Ronmania to make treaties of a 

 political character was not disputed ; that Tur- 

 key demanded the recognition, on the part 

 of Roumania, of all treaties concluded by the 

 Ottoman Porte. In December, Roumania ap- 

 pointed the former minister, Cretzuelesco, as 



ambassador to Berlin, although the Porte de- 

 nied the right of the Government of Roumania 

 to appoint foreign ambassadors. 



The Skuptchina of Servia was also opened on 

 November 27th. The young prince referred 

 with satisfaction to the friendly reception he 

 had met with in Vienna and Paris, during 

 his visit to the Governments of Austria and 

 France. One of the first resolutions of the 

 Skuptchina was in favor of the coinage of na- 

 tional silver coins. Servia, thus far, has only 

 had national copper coins, and used the silver 

 coins of the neighboring states. Turkey does 

 not recognize the right claimed by its depend- 

 encies, to have national coins, but Servia is 

 determined to disregard the Turkish protest, 

 as has previously been done by Ronmania. 

 For the present, the Servian silver coins will 

 be made at the Hungarian mint of Krenmitz. 



A decree of the Sultan which had long been 

 expected, ordered the abolition of the talovf, or 

 property of the mosques. It is of two kinds, 

 Vakout-el-ZaraiandVakouf-el-Karamam. The 

 object of both is to provide for the religion of 

 the state and the education of the people, by 

 the erection of mosques and schools, besides 

 eleemosynary institutions. The Vakouf-el- 

 Zarai is land or other immovable property, 

 originally obtained by grants from the crown, 

 and entailed in the same form as the law of 

 succession to the throne; that is, not on the 

 holder's natural heir, but on the eldest surviv- 

 ing member of the family. The grant is gen- 

 erally conceded in perpetuity. The Vakouf- 

 el-Karamain is property bequeathed by private 

 individuals, mostly to promote the convenience 

 of pilgrims by the erection of caravanseries, 

 fountains, wells, and other accommodations. 

 It is inalienable, and descends from father to 

 son ; but it frequently passes into other hands 

 by being let for such a length of time as to be 

 tantamount to a sale. As the exemption of 

 all kinds of vakouf from taxation causes a 

 serious loss to the imperial treasury, Sultan 

 Mahmoud II. meditated the reconversion of 

 the vakouf property into crown-lands, intend- 

 ing to provide for the religious institutions out 

 of the general revenue. From religious scru- 

 ples or considerations of state, this plan was 

 not brought into execution at that time. The 

 present Sultan, however, has again taken hold 

 of it, and intends to carry it through. 



u 



UNITARIANS. The Tenr-PooTc of the 

 I~,,;r, i. ;.>,!, Congregational Churches for 1874 

 gives lists of three hundred and fifty-eight 

 Unitarian societies and three hundred and 

 ninety-eight Unitarian ministers in the United 

 The national organizations of the 

 T'nitnriana are the National Conference of 

 Unitarian and other Chrittian Churches, and 

 the American Unitarian Atsociation. The 



object of the National Conference is defined in 

 its constitution to be that of energizing and 

 stimulating the denomination to the largest 

 exertions in the cause of Christian faith and 

 work. It is composed of delegates from indi- 

 vidual churches, from the American Unitarian 

 Association, from the Western Conference of 

 Unitarians, and from such other theological, 

 academic, or humane organizations in the 



