i, S o TURKEY 



unteers who had completed their military service. These guards were to be located along 

 the European frontiers of the empire. 



The artillery was reorganised, with 350 batteries of field artillery and 152 companies of 

 fortress artillery. The greater part of the infantry was armed with Mauser magazine 

 rifles, model 1890, and the artillery was provided with quick-firing Krupp guns. 



The war minister alone was made responsible in Turkey for the administration and 

 efficiency of the army. The master-general of the ordnance, who was responsible for war 

 material and who was formerly independent, was put under the war minister. A General 

 Staff department was created and a Military Council established. 



The approximate peace effective of the army in 1911-12 was about 230,000 men. The 

 Nizam war strength was reckoned at 600,000. With the addition of the Redifs and all other 

 reserves, it was reckoned that the number could be brought up to 1,400,000. 



A large force of gendarmerie was also employed, amounting to about 42,000 men, 16,000 

 mounted; 1 1,000 being stationed in European Turkey. The gendarmerie in the European. 

 provinces was provided with several foreign officers British, French, Italian, etc. whose 

 services were loaned to Turkey by the respective Governments. 



Navy. The reorganisation of the navy was supervised by two British admirals assisted 

 by a staff of British officers. In October 1912 it consisted of 7 battleships, 4 being small and 

 obsolete, and three of 10,000 tons displacement each (two of the latter were formerly German 

 battleships, launched in 1891 and bought by Turkey in 1910), together with 2 cruisers of 

 3,800 tons displacement each, 8 destroyers, 14 torpedo boats, 15 gunboats, and 2 submarines. 

 There were building 2 Dreadnoughts of 23,000 tons, equipped with the latest armament, one 

 cruiser, nine destroyers, and a number of submarines. The personnel of the navy was given 

 at about 30,000 men. Naval bases were projected at Salonica and Smyrna, and it was also 

 intended to build a naval harbour at Constantinople. 



Minerals. The Turkish Empire is rich in minerals, and since 1908 a great deal of pros- 

 pecting has taken place, many claims being filed with the ministry of mines, but little work 

 has actually been done. The value of the total production of the mines amounted in 1908 

 to 1,001,000, and the value of the salt extracted amounted to 1,229,000. 



Agriculture. Approximate yields in cwts. of cereals in 1911: Wheat 30-34,000,000; Bar- 

 ley 22-24,000,000; Maize 20-22, 000,000; Rye 10-12,000,000; Oats 9-11,000,000. In 1911 the 

 production of silk cocoons amounted to 3,431,000 Ibs., and that of opium to 2500 boxes. 

 Tobacco is an important crop, and 69,822,834 Ibs. were exported in 1910. 



Railways. The original concession granted to the Bagdad Railway Company in 1903 

 was modified by a series of agreements concluded with the Turkish government in March 



1911. In virtue of these agreements the company renounced its right to build beyond 

 Bagdad, on the condition that, if the railway were extended from Bagdad to the Persian 

 Gulf, the Bagdad Railway Company should have as large a share in the extension as that 

 held by any one non-Ottoman nationality. The company also renounced its lien on revenue 

 to be derived from an increase in the import duties as security for its kilometric guarantees. 

 In return for this cession of its original rights, the company obtained the right to build a 

 branch line from a point near Osmanich to Alexandretta, and a concession for the construc- 

 tion of a port at Alexandretta. It also obtained the right to build a wharf at Payas in con- 

 nection with the Osmanieh-Alexandretta line. This concession was valuable on account 

 of the extremely favourable position of Alexandretta. Work had already started in 1912 

 both on the harbour and on the railway. The value of the trade passing through Alexan- 

 dretta has been: imports, 2,226,395 (1909); 1,398,884(1910); 1,145,135 (1911); exports, 

 1,308,607 (1909); 1,301,025 (1910); 1,044,324 (1911). 



A section of about 150 miles of the Bagdad line, starting from railhead at Bulgurlu and 

 reaching to the Amanus Mountains is opened for traffic, passing through Bozanti, Dorak and 

 Adana. There is a station at Aleppo and a line from it to Muslamieh (15 kil.) which is 

 continuous with the French line from Aleppo to Hamah and Rayak. At Muslamieh is the 

 junction with the main line from the west. This has now been laid from the eastern end of 

 the Bagche Pass (Mt. Amanus) to the Euphrates at Jerablus, where a bridge over the river 

 (now building) is to carry the line on to Harran, Tell Ilelif, and Mosul. In consequence 

 Aleppo ' has acquired an accession of Christian inhabitants and new buildings of European 

 character, c. g. German Hospital, Schools and Casino. Construction has been going on from 

 Aleppo in two directions, towards the Amanus Mountains and towards the Euphrates, and 

 a section of 100 miles was expected to be opened for traffic in the early part of 1913. The 

 last section of this railway, namely from Tell Helif to Bagdad, was started in the middle of 



1912, construction beginning at Bagdad. The site of the Bagdad railway station has 

 definitely been chosen on the right bank of the Tigris, and the scheme provides for the con- 

 struction of a harbour and a custom house. 



e Saracenic wall has been largely destroyed on the north and east sides of the old 

 city. Since the promulgation of the Constitution and the death of Ibrahim Pasha, the 

 rebellious chief of the Milli Kurds (1909), the province of Aleppo has been tranquil; but the 

 feudal beys and mukhlars, whose power has been an institution of N. Syria for many genera- 

 tions, continue hostile to the new order of things. 



