742 



TURKEY. 



the beginning of 1892 the following was the 

 Cabinet of Ministers, which is presided over by 

 the Grand Vizier : Minister of Foreign Affairs, 

 Said Pasha ; Minister of War, Riza Pasha ; 

 Minister of Marine, Hassan Pasha ; Minister of 

 the Interior, H. Rifot Pasha ; Minister of Public 

 Works, Commerce, and Agriculture, Suhdi 

 Pasha ; Minister of Justice, Riza Pasha ; Minis- 

 ter of Finance, Nasif Effendi ; Minister of the 

 Civil List, Mikael-Effendi-Portokal ; Minister of 

 Public Instruction, Sihni Pasha ; Minister of 

 Evkafs, or Ecclesiastical Aifairs, Galib Pasha. 



Area and Population. The area of the Otto- 

 man Empire, including Bulgaria, Eastern Rou- 

 melia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Novibazar, Samos, 

 and Egypt, is estimated at 1,609.240 square 

 miles, and the population at 39,212,000. The 

 territory under the immediate rule of the Sultan 

 contains 61,200 square miles, with 4,780,000 in- 

 habitants in Europe ; 687,640 square miles, with 

 ( i population of 21,608,000, in Asia; and 398,- 

 738 square miles, with 1,300,000 inhabitants, in 

 Africa. In the European provinces under im- 

 inediate Turkish rule, Turks, Greeks, and 

 Albanians are about equally numerous, consti- 

 tuting about 70 per cent, of the whole popu- 

 lation. Other races represented are Serbs, 

 Bulgarians, Roumanians, Armenians, Magyars. 

 Gipsies, Jews, and Circassians. The population 

 in Asiatic Turkey is largely of Turkish origin, 

 with about 4,()00",000 Arabs, and some Greeks, 

 Syrians, Kurds, Circassians, Armenians, Jews, 

 and other races. The principal cities in Euro- 

 pean Turkey are Constantinople, with 873,565 

 inhabitants ; Salonica, 150,000 ; Adrian ople, 

 70,886. In Asia, Smyrna has a population of 

 225,000 ; Damascus, 150,000 ; Aleppo, 110,000 ; 

 Bagdad, 100,000 ; Beirout, 85,000 ; Erzerum, 

 60,000 ; Broussa, 60,000. 



Finances. An international arrangement was 

 made in 1881 by which the debt was reduced to 

 106,437,234. The Turkish Government agreed 

 to transfer all excise revenues to an international 

 commission, to be administered entirely sepa- 

 rately from the other government administra- 

 tions. The total revenue collected by this com- 

 mission for the year 1889-90 amounted to 

 T2,336,251 (1 1. ' Turkish = 100 piasters ; 1 

 piaster = 4.3 cents), and the expenses to T893,- 

 689, leaving a surplus to be applied on the debt 

 of T1,942,562. Up to March 1, 1887, there were 

 paid on the debt 1,978,528, leaving a debt of 

 104,458,706. 



The Army. By the laws of 1886 and 1888 

 military service is obligatory, for a term of 3 

 years in the infantry, and 4 in other arras of the 

 permanent army. After a service of 5 months, 

 however, conscripts can buy exemption from 

 further active service. They are then enrolled 

 in the reserve for 3 or 2 years respectively, 8 

 years in the Redif, and form then for the space 

 of 6 years part of the Mustahfiz. The army is 

 divided into 7 army corps, besides 3 separate 

 divisions, located, one each, in Arabia, Crete, 

 and Africa. Each army corps consists of 2 

 divisions of infantry, 1 division of cavalry, 1 

 brigade of field artillery, 2 divisions of the first 

 ban of the Redif, and 2 divisions of the second 

 ban of the Redif. The sixth army corps lacks 

 the 2 divisions of the second ban of the Redif, 

 and the seventh corps lacks the division of cav- 



alry as well as the 4 divisions of the Redif. The 

 peace effective in 1892 consisted of 246 battalions 

 of infantry, 190 squadrons of cavalry, 208 bat- 

 teries of field artillery, 92 companies of fortress 

 artillery, 30 companies of garrison artillery, 39 

 companies of engineers, and 21 companies of 

 train, a total strength of 183,000 officers and men, 

 with about 30,000 horses, 1,248 pieces of field 

 artillery, and 2,300 pieces of fortress artillery. 

 The infantry is equipped with repeating rifles of 

 the Mauser system, having a caliber of 11 mm. 



The Navy. The Turkish navy consisted at the 

 beginning of 1892 of 7 armored frigates, 8 ar- 

 mored corvettes, 1 river monitor, 2 river gun- 

 boats, 27 torpedo gunboats, 30 sea-going torpedo- 

 boats, 2 submarine boats, 1 torpedo school-ship, 

 2 frigates, 1 spar-deck corvette, 1 corvette, 11 

 dispatch gun-vessels, 6 gunboats, 17 dispatch 

 vessels and yachts, 6 dispatch boats, and 5 river 

 transports, besides coal-ships, tugs, etc. The 

 time of service in the navy is 12 years, of which 

 5 years are spent in active service, 3 years in the 

 reserve, and 4 years in the Redif. The nominal 

 strength of the navy in 1892 was 977 officers, 30,- 

 000 sailors, and 9,650 marines. 



Commerce. The total imports in 1889-90 

 amounted to 2,104,152,000 piasters, and the ex- 

 ports to 1, 517,243, UOO piasters. The following 

 table shows the trade with the principal countries 

 for 1889-90 in piasters : 



The principal articles of importation and their 

 values were : sugar, 153,785,655 piasters ; cotton 

 thread, 117,111,525 ; cotton prints, 119,284,233 ; 

 coffee, 84,249,778 piasters; wheat. 83,301,044 pi- 

 asters ; calico, 68,334.140 piasters ; petroleum, 

 59,797,681 piasters ; woolen stuffs, 54,674,420 

 piasters; flour, 43.845,052 piasters; cloth, 37,- 

 588,487 piasters ; bar iron, 33,170,906 piasters ; 

 cotton and linen stuffs, 28,849,144 piasters ; cash- 

 mere, 27,174,252 piasters; ready-made clothes. 

 25,737,262 piasters ; sheep and goats, 25,636,376 

 piasters ; fezzes, 22,588,869 piasters ; coal, 21,- 

 767,627 piasters ; hardware, 21,675,995 piasters ; 

 butter, 21,329,019 piasters ; timber, 20,597,455 

 piasters ; chemicals, 19,525,182 piasters ; car- 

 pots, 17,316,582 piasters; silken goods, 16,306,- 

 303 piasters ; leather, 15,084,416 piasters; corn, 

 14,334,426 piasters ; spirits, 16,264,472 piasters ; 

 indigo-blue, 14,233,353 piasters ; raw silk, 13,- 

 960,266 piasters; linen stuffs, 13,110,973 pias- 

 ters; live animals, 12,412,905 piasters; iron tools, 

 11,549,850 piasters ; skins,. 10,331,381 piasters; 





