TURKEY i! 49 



TURKEY l 



The population of the Turkish Empire was estimated in 1911 at 25,926,000. In 

 spite of the difficulties and the unrest following the revolution of 1908, considerable 

 progress was made up to 191 2 in the economic development of the country. The custom 

 house returns showed that Turkey was buying more all round, the railways showed 

 increased earnings, labour was in increased demand and at higher wages. Sir Adam 

 Block, the representative of the British and Dutch bondholders on the Council of the 

 Public Debt Administration, in his report for 1911 said: " What the future may bring 

 no one at this moment can venture to predict, but Turkey must be given the. credit of 

 having during the last three years made a serious and determined effort to remodel and 

 reorganize the finances on a sound, if still imperfect basis." 



In introducing before parliament in July 1912 the budget for 1912-13 the minister of 

 finance showed that, although the expenditure had increased, the revenue had also im- 

 proved. He also observed that the customs revenue had not been affected by the war 

 with Italy, which, at that time, had lasted for 10 months. He announced that he would 

 shortly introduce a bill for the regulation of the Floating Debt, and another for the 

 creation of a state monopoly on tobacco. As the chamber was dissolved soon after- 

 wards, these bills, as well as the projected monetary reform, remained in abeyance. 

 Other important bills before the chamber which had to be postponed were a new com- 

 mercial code, and an amended law on real property. 



Finance. Expenditure was estimated in 1910-11 at 28,945,000, and in 1911-12 at 

 31,784,000; revenue at 22,820,000 in 1910-11, and at 24,980,000 in 1911-12; the budget 

 showing deficits of 6,125,000 in 1910-11, and 6,804,000 in 1911-12. For 1910-11 the 

 revenue exceeded the estimate by about 1,800,000. For 191 1-12 an extraordinary expendi- 

 ture for the Army and for public works amounting to 2,365,000 had to be added to the 

 deficit. For 1911-12 the principal heads of expenditure were: Public Debt, 10,379,000; 

 War, 7,895,000; Gendarmerie, 1,525,000; Marine, 1,476,000; Interior, 1,189,000; 

 Finance, 2,505,000; and Public Works and Commerce, 1,363,000. The principal sources 

 of revenue were: Tithes, 6,040,000; Sheep Tax, 1,717,000; Customs Dues, 4,123,000; 

 Land Tax, 2,340,000; Salt Monopoly, 1,026,000; Annuity from Tobacco Regie, 910,000; 

 and Military Exemption Tax, 895,000. 



The outstanding debt on September 14, 1911, amounted to 111,655,674. There were 

 also authorized loans to the amount of 10,526,400, which had not been issued up to the end 

 of 1911. A reorganization of the Turkish custom-house was undertaken by Sir Richard 

 Crawford in January 1909. The customs receipts for 1911-12 had increased by 26 per cent 

 since 1908. The Turkish Government obtained the consent of the British Government for 

 a renewal of the loan of Sir Richard Crawford's services for a further term of two years 

 beginning January 1912, and created for him the post of financial and economical adviser of 

 the empire in addition to his post at the custom-house. 



Army. The reorganisation of the Turkish army during these years was actively carried 

 on, but the new recruiting law by which the obligation of military service was extended to 

 non-Mahommedans encountered many difficulties. Many of the non-Mahommedans 

 preferred to pay the exemption tax, while a great number of young men emigrated in order 

 to avoid the law altogether. The army consisted of the Nizam or active army, the ist and 

 2d class Redifs, and the Mustahfiz or Landsturm; service being in the Nizam for 3 years (20-22) 

 with the colours and 6 in the Irhtiat (reserve), then 9 years in the Redifand 2 in the Mustahfiz. 

 The Nizam was increased to 14 army corps and 6 independent divisions. With the exception 

 of 4 army corps with two divisions, all the others were organized in three divisions, a Turkish 

 division being composed of 7 battalions in peace and of 10 in war time. The empire was 

 divided into 7 military districts or "inspections" of unequal size and importance. The 

 headquarters of these districts and the number of army corps each district contains were as 

 follows: Constantinople I, Adrianople 3, Salonika 3, Erzingan 3, Damascus I, Bagdad 2, 

 and Sana I. The independent divisions were: one in Tripoli (Africa), one in the Hejaz, 

 and three in the district of Salonika. An addition to the cavalry was formed by the organisa- 

 tion of the light cavalry called the Hamidieh, recruited from the Kurds in Asia Minor. 

 The object of this addition was to utilise the valuable military material supplied by these 

 tribes. It was proposed to create 65 regiments of this light cavalry, each regiment composed 

 as far as possible of men of the same tribe. The command of each regiment was entrusted 

 to an officer of the regular army assisted by a thief of the tribe, and some of the other officers 

 were also natives. Up to October 1912 24 such regiments had been created. It was proposed 

 to form 22 companies of frontier guards, composed of 200 men each and formed from vol- 



1 See E. B. xxvii, 426 et seq. 



