216 



CRETE. 



less, Col. Reid, successor to Sir Herbert Chermside, 

 determined to take possession of the tithe office and 

 hand it over to the insurgents. He placed a guard 

 of 20 marines in front of the customhouse to pro- 

 tect the Christian officials who took charge of the 

 titiies. A mob of unarmed Mohammedans jostled 

 the guards until one of them fired into the crowd, 

 killing a man. According to another account the 

 marine had been stabbed, and his weapon was dis- 

 charged involuntarily. The Mohammedans ran for 

 their arms, and, returning, attacked the marines, 

 who, firing one volley, fled down the quay to a boat 

 which carried them on board the gunboat " Hazard." 

 Of the party 4 were killed and 15 wounded. Col. 

 Reid with "a detachment of Highland infantry 

 fought off the Mohammedan rioters for four hours, 

 until the Turkish governor came to his relief and 

 got the British off on a steamer to their gunboat, 

 which meanwhile was shelling the town. The town 

 was set on fire in seven places, and the Moslems fell 

 upon the Christian inhabitants, and butchered at 

 least 800 out of a total number of about 1,200. Of the 

 Highlanders 1 officer and 7 men were killed, and 27 

 wounded, 4 of these mortally. The Turkish garri- 

 son, having been ordered not to interfere when the 

 English demanded the tithes, took no effective 

 measures to stop the massacre. It consisted of 4,000 

 regular Turkish troops with guns, in addition to a 

 great number of Bashi-bazouks. These latter the 

 Turkish authorities blamed for the disturbance. 

 The international fleet in Suda Bay proceeded at 

 once to the scene of the disturbance. Edhem Pasha 

 placed a Turkish battalion at the disposal of the 

 admirals, and proposed to proceed in person to 

 Candia, but his offer was refused. The insurgents 

 massed themselves round the cordon and attacked 

 the Turkish outposts, while their best fighting men 

 hastened to the spot from other parts of the island. 

 The Cretan Executive Committee offered to send a 

 force of Cretans to assist the English, and declared 

 it to be impossible to organize the Provisional Gov- 

 ernment unless the Turks evacuated the island. 

 British re-enforcements were dispatched from Malta. 

 Two days after the outbreak 600 international troops 

 had landed, and were encamped in the British posi- 

 tion on the ramparts. The surviving Christians of 

 the town, who had been protected by the Turkish 

 troops, were taken on board ships and carried to 

 Canea. 



The Bashi-bazouks barricaded the streets and 

 threatened the English outposts and the interna- 

 tional camp on the ramparts, while insurgent forces 

 advanced on the Turkish outposts and threatened 

 to attack Suda from Malaxa. Panic seized the 

 Mohammedans at Sitia, and the Christians at Canea 

 and Retimo. The insurgents were massed at Anop- 

 olis, one of the British outposts, to the number of 

 5,000, and fresh bands were marching on Candia 

 from all directions. The Cretan Executive Com- 

 mittee threatened to resign until the Turks left the 

 island, but were requested by the admirals to re- 

 main, and assured that a final settlement was near. 

 The admirals requested their governments to send 

 each an additional battalion to Crete, and recom- 

 mended as the only means of pacification that the 

 Hii-lii-bu/ouks, and afterward the Turkish troops 

 and officials, be withdrawn. While they remained, 

 neither the Christian nor the Mohammedan popula- 

 tion could be convinced that Turkish rule might 

 not one day be restored. Admiral Noel, who ar- 

 rived to take command of the English forces, accused 

 the Turkish troops of firing on British soldiers, and 

 the Ottoman commander requested an investigation 

 by a mixed commission. By Sept. 12 the European 

 forces to the number of 6.600 were in possession of 

 the fortress at Candia. Turkish soldiers had re- 

 stored order in the town. During the emeute 29 



Bashi-bazouks and 4 Turkish regulars were killed.. 

 Admiral Noel, supported by his French, Italian, 

 and Russian colleagues, demanded the delivery of 

 the ringleaders in the outbreak within forty-eight 

 hours, the transfer to his charge of the Christian 

 survivors of the massacre, the surrender of the forts 

 and ramparts held by Turkish troops, the demoli- 

 tion of houses surrounding the British rampart, and 

 the delivery of all tithes collected since Sept. ;>. 

 While protesting that the British were to blame for 

 the disorders, through their non-fulfillment of their 

 promise to extend the zone of occupation and their 

 seizure of the tithes, the Porte complied with the 

 ultimatum, which was accompanied by a threat of 

 bombardment. The disarmament of the Bashi- 

 bazouks was also demanded, and they consented to 

 give up their rifles to the Turkish soldiery. About 

 60 suspected ringleaders were handed over, not to 

 be summarily punished by the British admiral, but 

 to be tried by an international court. Edhem 

 Pasha issued a proclamation ordering the people to 

 deliver up their arms to a commission appointed to 

 collect them. Disarmament was a part of the Eng- 

 lish demands that the other admirals discounte- 

 nanced. The Porte on Sept. 11 addressed a circular 

 to its representatives in London, Paris, St. Peters- 

 burg, and Rome, protesting against the re-enforce- 

 ment of the international forces, offering to send 

 Ottoman troops to assist in restoring order, and 

 asking for the nomination of a Turkish subject as 

 Governor of Crete. The British admiral requested 

 the Italian and French commanders to withdraw 

 their forces entirely from Candia, as he was confi- 

 dent that he had a large enough British force to 

 deal with the situation under the circumstances. 

 The Christian leaders were informed that the dis- 

 armed Mohammedans were under British protec- 

 tion, and must not be attacked. 



The Italian Government, recognizing that, if the 

 Mohammedans at Candia were now under control, 

 at Retimo and Canea they still regarded the Chris- 

 tians as hostages, and the Turkish garrisons, if 

 summoned to withdraw, would probably refuse to 

 leave their posts without orders from Constanti- 

 nople, and would resist any forcible attempt to ex- 

 pel them, determined to make a final diplomatic 

 effort at Constantinople before proceeding to ex- 

 treme measures. Accordingly, Admiral Canevaro,. 

 now the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, sug- 

 gested to the cabinets of the five other powers that 

 representations be made to the Porte on the follow- 

 ing basis: Turkey to withdraw immediately all gar- 

 risons and officials from Crete ; Europe in return 

 to guarantee both the high suzerainty of the Sul- 

 tan and the protection of the lives and property of 

 the Cretan Mohammedans. Germany and Austria 

 declined to take part in the negotiations. Lord 

 Salisbury suggested that the safety of the Cretan 

 Mohammedans should be guaranteed by the four 

 powers only to the extent to which it had hitherto 

 been by the Turkish troops. With this proviso the 

 Italian suggestion was accepted, and a joint repre- 

 sentation in that sense was made to the Porte. The 

 Turkish Government rejected as illegal the demand 

 for evacuation. The powers regarded the pro- 

 visional regime as having broken down. The British 

 assumed full responsibility for the preservation of 

 order in their allotted sphere. In October. Sir 

 Herbert Chermside, who had resumed his military 

 command at the time of the disturbances, demanded 

 the removal of Turkish troops from posts that they 

 were ready to occupy, and after some hesitation (he 

 Turkish officers withdrew their men to avoid open 

 hostilities. The Russians at Retimo, having re- 

 enforced their garrison with Russian troops and 

 Montenegrin gendarmes in November, proceeded in 

 the same manner. 



