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Discovering Diverse Content Through
Random Scribd Documents
Majesty’s Ministers are engaged in endeavouring to restore the
governmental edifice which has with so much difficulty escaped total
ruin, surely Your Majesty would not willingly add to the work of
destruction.
“If Your Majesty should in consequence of the above named opinions
consider it your duty to relieve me of my functions as Grand Vizier, I
would pray Your Majesty to confide them into such strong hands as
shall be able to reconcile the principles and ideas of Your Majesty
with the necessities of the country and the gravity of the situation in
which the Empire finds itself placed to‐day.—I am, Sire, Your
Majesty’s humble servant,
“Midhat.
“18th January 1293, O.S.”
(30th January 1877.)

For three days he abstained from going to the Palace.

The Sultan, who was now prepared for extremities, sent Safvet
Pasha to him to inform him that all he demanded would be granted
and to request him to come to the Palace. Safvet Pasha, Minister for
Foreign Affairs, and one of the Turkish delegates at the Conference,
was not what would be called a strong Minister. He was prone to
conciliation and compromise rather than energetic measures and
resolutions; but he was essentially an honest man: duplicity and
treachery were absolutely foreign to his nature. If on this occasion
he was intended as an instrument of duplicity, it was practised at his
own expense, and he was merely an unconscious tool. Midhat,
however, demurred to the invitation, and required the necessary
Irades to be issued on the matters pending with the Palace, before
he resumed his functions as Grand Vizier. Thereupon the Sultan sent
his first aide‐de‐camp, Saïd (Ingless) Pasha, to him, to assure him
that the Irades were ready, if he would, on the Sultan’s order,
accompany him to the Palace. Midhat went. He perceived on his way
an unwonted display of troops in the district of Tavshan Tashi, where
his Konak was situated, but he was not aware then, on the night of
the 4th‐5th February, that the Imperial Yacht Izzeddine was moored
close to the marble steps leading up to the terrace of the Palace of
Dolma‐Bagtche. If he had perceived it and guessed its purpose, it
was too late to retreat, or to escape the snare laid for him. On his
arrival at the Palace he was shown into a small ante‐chamber and
told to await the Sultan’s orders.
The first aide‐de‐camp soon returned with the Sultan’s order to
deliver up his seal of office, and to accompany him.
He then conducted him on board the Izzeddine, which, with steam
already up, immediately weighed anchor and steamed off in the
direction of the Sea of Marmora with Midhat on board. The Captain
of the Izzeddine had sealed orders, which he was only to open in the
Sea of Marmora. These orders were, that he should wait for twenty‐
four hours in the Bay of Tchekmedje, and if he received no telegram
within that space of time, he was to conduct Midhat to any European
port on the Mediterranean that the ex‐Grand Vizier might select. No
despatch arriving, he proceeded on his course to Brindisi, where he
landed Midhat.
That the forcible banishment of the Grand Vizier was a violation of
the letter as well as the spirit of the Constitution promulgated and
sworn to by the Sultan, has never been seriously denied. The
“reason of State” urged would obviously cover any act of arbitrary
power whatever. It was for the express purpose of putting an end to
such an arbitrary régime that the Constitution was framed and
insisted on. The flimsy pretext put forward, that it was in accordance
with the 113th Article of the Constitution, will not bear the most
superficial examination. The power therein conceded to the Sultan
was in a rider to a clause declaring a state of siege when the safety
of the State required it, and the purport and limits of the clause
must necessarily govern the subsidiary provisions of the clause itself.
Not only could a rider of this description not bear the interpretation
sought to be placed upon it, but other substantial clauses of the
Constitution directly forbade the exercise of any such arbitrary
power, and provided for the elementary right that no man should be
punished except after due trial. But further: clauses 31, 32, and 34
contained special and minute provisions for the arrest and trial of
Ministers guilty of treason or malversation, so that both positively
and negatively, in its substantial provisions and in its omissions, the
banishment of Midhat, with its attendant circumstances, was as clear
a violation of the Constitution as the coup d’état of the 2nd
December 1852 in France.
But political morality and good faith and patriotism apart, it must be
allowed that the tactics pursued by the Palace were, qua tactics,
very cleverly devised. If the Sultan had struck at the Constitution as
well as the champion of it; at reform at the same time as the
reformer, he would undoubtedly have raised a storm in the country
which would have immediately endangered his throne; but by
striking down the father and pillar of the Reformers he practically
killed reform, and put the Constitution at his mercy as certainly as if
he had suppressed it then and there; and whilst pretending himself
to champion both reform and the Constitution, he managed to play
the rôle of Wat Tyler successfully, and to take the sting out of the
blow, and conceal the full meaning of the act that he had just
committed. There was a party in Constantinople, to which personal
ambition was not a stranger, who imagined that Midhat was not
essential to the cause of the Constitution, and that Abdul Hamid II.
was sincere in his protestations of reforming ardour. Some were of
good faith, and some were simply moved by ambition. Both very
soon discovered their mistake, and in various distant provinces found
leisure to reflect and repent of their confiding innocence.
The Palace, although they had hazarded this great coup, did not feel
at all secure as to the effect it might produce on the population of
Constantinople, in spite of all the measures of precaution that had
been taken; and the order given to the captain of the Izzeddine to
remain twenty‐four hours at anchor in the bay of Tchekmedje, was
with a view, in case of a serious rising in the capital, of recalling
Midhat and persuading him to resume his functions—until a more
convenient opportunity arose. The Palace was playing for safety.
Stunned by the suddenness of the blow, entirely unprepared for any
concerted action, and distracted by reports industriously spread, the
people did not rise, and the Palace breathed freely. It had gained a
complete victory.
* * * * *
Between the breaking up of the Conference and the breaking out of
the war, the sequence of diplomatic action can be very briefly
narrated. On the 19th January 1877 Prince Gortchakoff issued a
Circular to the Powers, which can be summed up in the question,
“What are you going to do about it?” One particular phrase,
however, in this document must be noted. He says that the
agreement in the Berlin Memorandum not being unanimous, and the
crisis being aggravated, among other causes, by the revolution in
Constantinople, the Cabinets recommenced negotiations, and, on
the initiative of England, agreed upon a basis and guarantees to be
discussed at a Conference at Constantinople. There is very little
doubt that this revolution in Constantinople—which had the avowed
object of checking absolutism and giving the Turkish people
guarantees for good government—was in the eyes of Russia an
aggravation of the crisis, and justified, and even necessitated, in her
opinion, hostile action against Turkey. That Russia, who had
undertaken the championship of liberty and progress among the
inhabitants of a neighbouring empire, should be confronted by the
establishment of institutions far more liberal and advanced than
anything her own people were allowed to dream of; and that there
should be sitting at Constantinople a Parliament, the very name of
which was a terror and nightmare at St Petersburg, was without
question an intolerable grievance.
À propos of this, the famous despatch of Count Pozzo di Borgo, of
November 1828, to M. de Nesselrode, may be read with profit:

“When the Imperial Cabinet examines the question as to whether

the moment had arrived to take up arms against the Porte, some
doubts as to the urgency of this measure might exist in the minds of
those who had not sufficiently meditated on the effects of the
sanguinary reforms that the Ottoman Chief had just executed with
terrible energy. But now the experience that we have just had ought
to unite everybody in favour of the line then adopted. The Emperor
has put the Turkish system to the proof, and His Majesty has found
in it a commencement of material and moral organisation which
hitherto it has never possessed. If the Sultan has been enabled to
oppose to us a more lively and sustained resistance whilst he had
scarcely collected the elements of his new plans of reform and
improvement, how much more formidable should we have found him
if he had had time to give them more consistency and solidity?...”

The whole policy of Russia towards Turkey is contained in the above

despatch. The Cabinets of the Powers did not immediately answer
Prince Gortchakoff’s Circular of the 19th January. General Ignatieff
took a circular journey round Europe and felt the pulses of its
Governments. On the 13th March, Count Schouvaloff handed to Lord
Derby the draft Protocol which it was proposed to submit to the
signature of the Great Powers, so as “to terminate the incident.” In
this interview, the Russian Ambassador urged in favour of this
course the unfortunate result that would ensue if shades of
difference of opinion were to manifest themselves in the replies of
the various Cabinets to the Russian Circular, which might be a
determining cause to induce Russia to seek for a solution either by
means of a direct understanding with the Porte, or by force of arms.
Lord Derby does not seem to have requested the Russian
Ambassador to explain the above oracular utterance. There was
more in it than he perhaps imagined. Another remarkable expression
fell from Count Schouvaloff at this interview, and one which shows
that he did not give himself the trouble, in his interview with the
English Minister, to maintain even the appearance of consistency. “As
a period of some months would not be sufficient to accomplish these
reforms, it would be preferable,” etc. But this was Mr Disraeli’s and
Lord Derby’s contention, though not sustained, for postponing
diplomatic action, and the Turkish Ministers were never tired of
urging it as a good and valid reason for deferring the Conference
altogether.

The Protocol that was signed at London on the 31st March 1877 was
certainly, as compared with the Protocol of the Conference, a very
colourless document. After recapitulating certain recent diplomatic
acts and taking cognisance of certain others, in view of certain
indications, “the Powers propose to watch carefully by means of
their Representatives at Constantinople, and their local agents, the
manner in which the promises of the Ottoman Government are
carried into effect.” It concluded by saying: “If their hopes should
once more be disappointed, and if the conditions of the Christian
subjects of the Sultan should not be improved in a manner to
prevent the return of the complications which periodically disturb the
peace of the East, they think it right to declare that such a state of
things would be incompatible with their interests and those of
Europe in general. In such case, they reserve to themselves the right
to consider, in common, the means which they may deem best fitted
to secure the well‐being of the Christian population and the interests
of the general peace.”
This Protocol was accompanied by two remarkable declarations,
annexed to the Minutes of the Meeting at the Foreign Office at which
the Protocol was signed—the one on the part of the Russian
Ambassador, the other on that of the English Minister.
The latter was to the effect that, in the event of the object for which
the Protocol had been signed, viz., reciprocal disarmament and
peace, not being attained, the Protocol in question should be
regarded as null and void.
The declaration by the Russian Ambassador was in the following
terms:—

“If peace with Montenegro is concluded, and the Porte accepts the
advice of Europe and shows itself ready to replace its forces on a
peace footing, and seriously to undertake the reforms mentioned in
the Protocol, let it send to St Petersburg a special envoy to treat of
disarmament, to which his Majesty the Emperor would also, on his
part, consent. If massacres similar to those which have occurred in
Bulgaria take place, this would necessarily put a stop to the
measures of demobilization.”

The Porte thought fit, perhaps unnecessarily, inasmuch as its

adhesion to the Protocol was not required, to make on the 9th April
1877 a most elaborate and spirited answer to the position taken up
by the signatories of that document.
It pointed out that the efforts of the Powers were exclusively
directed to what they considered the well‐being of one portion only
of the Sultan’s subjects, whereas the reforms which the new
Constitution aimed at introducing did not bear a special or exclusive
character in regard to province, race, creed or language. That the
small account which the Powers seemed to have taken both of the
great principles of equality and justice which the Turkish Government
sought to introduce into the internal administration, and of its rights
of independence and sovereignty, was deeply to be regretted. That
Turkey as an independent State could not submit “to be placed
under any surveillance, whether collective or not.” That the Treaty of
Paris explicitly declared the principle of non‐intervention. That Treaty
which binds the other high contracting parties as well as Turkey,
cannot be abolished by a Protocol in which Turkey has taken no part.
And as for the last clause, the Government of the Sultan saw in it “a
proceeding of intimidation calculated to deprive their action of all
merit of spontaneity, and a source of grave complication for the
present as well as for the future.”
With reference to the declaration of the Russian Ambassador
annexed to the Protocol, the Porte very pointedly remarked that “as
regards the disorders which might break out in Turkey and arrest the
demobilization of the Russian army, the Sultan’s Government, while
resenting the offensive terms in which this idea has been expressed,
believes that Europe is convinced that the disorders which have
disturbed the tranquillity of the provinces were due to external
agitation; that the Imperial Government cannot be held responsible
for them, and that consequently the Russian Government will not be
justified in making the demobilization of its armies depend on such
contingencies.”
This last paragraph pointed out a serious practical difficulty that
confronted the Ottoman Government with reference to the proposal
for demobilization. Russia was supposed to be able to mobilise her
armies in eight days: at any rate, it was a question of days with her.
Turkey, on account of her geographical position, and the nature of
her organisation, required several months to effect this object. If,
therefore, after making the greatest sacrifices in order to collect her
forces, she were now to dismiss them to their distant homes, and
Russia were allowed, on a pretext indicated by herself, to remobilise
her own army, Turkey would be caught at the greatest possible
disadvantage, and would then be completely at the mercy of her
unscrupulous opponent. And nothing would be easier than for
Russia, employing the means at which she had shown herself an
adept, to excite troubles which would give her the very justification
which she sought for a systematic attack on the now defenceless
Ottoman Empire. The Porte had had experience of this very same
line of action and of argument in respect to Servia. On the 2nd
November 1876, Sir H. Elliot writes to Lord Derby that “General
Ignatieff told me this morning that he has been directed by his
Government to inform the Porte that they would consider any
excesses committed by the Turkish troops as a violation of the
armistice; and one of the secretaries of the Russian Embassy was
desired this afternoon to tell me, further, that the General had orders
at once to leave Constantinople upon any violation of it occurring,”
and he adds, “a ready pretext for a rupture appears thus to be
prepared.”19
On the 19th April 1877, Prince Gortchakoff issued another Circular
announcing a declaration of war against the Ottoman Empire, and
concluding with the following most remarkable sentence: “In
assuming this task, our august Master fulfils a duty imposed upon
him by the interests of Russia, whose peaceful development is
hindered by the permanent disturbances of the East.”
Commentary would spoil this choice bit. The lamb was troubling the
stream.
On the 1st May, Lord Derby made a most caustic and merciless reply
to the Russian Circular.
After pointing out that the Porte had never wavered “in affirming its
intention of carrying out the reforms already promised,” which was
the avowed object of the Powers, and that by patience and
moderation on both sides these objects might still have been
attained, and that it was the presence of large Russian forces on the
frontiers of Turkey, “menacing its safety, rendering disarmament
impossible, and exciting a feeling of apprehension and fanaticism
among the Mussulman population,” that constituted a material
obstacle to internal pacification and reform. It went on to say, that
the course on which the Russian Government had entered involved
graver and more serious considerations. It was in contravention of
the stipulation of the Treaty of Paris of 30th March, 1856, by which
Russia and the other signatory Powers engaged, each on its own
part, to respect the independence and the territorial integrity of the
Ottoman Empire, and further, that they had, as late as 1871, signed
a declaration at the Conference of London, affirming it to be “an
essential principle of the law of nations that no Power can liberate
itself from the engagements of a Treaty, nor modify the stipulations
thereof, unless with the consent of the Contracting Parties by means
of an amicable arrangement.” It concluded by saying, in reference to
the pretension that Russia was acting in the interest of Great Britain
and of the other Powers, that it felt bound to state in a manner
equally formal and public that the decision of the Russian
Government was not one that could have their concurrence or
approval.
Nothing could be more logical or reasonable, but it was not logic or
reason that could keep the Russian armies on their side of the Pruth.
 CHAPTER VII

MIDHAT PASHA IN EUROPE

The exile of Midhat Pasha to Europe, after his sensational downfall

from power on 5th February 1877, caused very much excitement in
Europe. The Emperor of Austria is reported to have exclaimed,
“Good Heavens! these Turks are incorrigible!”; while M. Thiers said,
“Turkey’s most inveterate enemy could hardly have devised such a
diabolical piece of advice to give to the Sultan.” The Cabinets lost all
hope of seeing reforms introduced into Turkey. The English, as well
as the greater part of the European Press, showed their sympathy
towards the ex‐Grand Vizier and their discontent with the Sultan.
Amongst the Russian newspapers the Golos of St Petersburg, 9th
February 1877, whilst clearly showing the interest that Russia had in
the disgrace of Midhat Pasha, yet expressed its opinions in the
following manner:—

“The end of the Turkish Empire in Europe has come. All that is now
wanted is patience, and waiting is not difficult, since war is
impossible with a State which will perish more quickly by the effect
of its internal crisis than through a foreign army. Russia will have
time enough to save the Christians from the misfortune that might
befall them through the fall of Turkey. It is now more to the
advantage of Russia, as well as of the Christians, to wait and see
how the course of Turkish decay will shape itself than to prolong the
process of dissolution by interference.”20

The exile of Midhat, and the consequent change in the Ministry, also
caused the very greatest commotion throughout the greater part of
the Turkish population.21 But the Sultan had taken every precaution
against the possibility of any insurrection on the part of the people in
favour of the exiled Grand Vizier, and he hastened to assemble
Parliament, in order that he might gain the credit of being
considered even more liberal than his Grand Vizier; and to show that
the downfall of Midhat by no means involved the abolition of the
recently promulgated Constitution, he opened Parliament.
The opening of the new Parliament had been fixed for the 1st March,
but owing to the fact that many of the deputies from the more
distant provinces had not arrived in the capital, the ceremony was
adjourned till the 4th March. On that day Parliament was opened
with great ceremony by the Sultan in the Palace of Dolma‐Bagtche.
On the right of the throne stood the Ministers and high functionaries,
the Chiefs of the Christian communities, and members of the Council
of State; on the left, the Ulema, and Cadi, and Heads of the High
Courts of Justice, with the Generals of Division; behind these the
pages of the Court. Behind the throne were the Foreign
Representatives, and interspersed between the groups on the right
and left of the throne were the Senators and Representatives in the
Parliament. The Sultan entered, dressed in black, and stood by the
throne with his hand on his sword, whilst his First Secretary read the
following Opening Speech:—

The Sultan’s Speech.

“Senators and Deputies,—Gentlemen,—The difficulties and dangers

which our general situation presents cannot be compared to any of
the crises through which the Empire has hitherto passed. I was
obliged, first of all, in order to guard the rights of the Empire, to
augment the effective force of our armies at various points, and to
call under arms 700,000 combatants. Next I considered it a duty to
try, by means of essential reforms, to put an end, with God’s help, to
the disorder of the situation, and thus to insure our future in a
permanent fashion. It is evident that, thanks to the resources with
which Providence has endowed our country, and the aptitudes of our
subjects, a good administration would enable us in a short time to
make considerable progress. If we have not reached the level of
progress of other parts of the civilised world, the cause of this must
be traced to the instability of the institutions necessary to the State,
and of the laws and regulations issuing therefrom. This instability
proceeded from everything, being in the hands of an absolute
Government, which disregarded the salutary principle of common
deliberation. The progress effected by civilised States, the security
and wealth they enjoy, are the fruit of the participation of all in the
enactment of laws and in the administration of public affairs. This is
why we thought it necessary to seek in that course the means of
arriving at progress, and of enacting and enforcing laws adopted by
the common consent of the population. For this purpose I have
granted and promulgated the Constitution. By the promulgation of
the Constitution, I have not simply designed to invite the population
to share in the direction of public affairs; I have had the firm
resolution of employing the deliberative system as an effective
means for the amelioration of the administrative system of the
country, to preserve it from maladministration and absolutism.
Irrespective of these fundamental advantages, the Constitution
guarantees the unity of the governed, and confirms the principle of
the welfare and fraternal solidarity of the population; for our
illustrious ancestors, having, by God’s grace, extended their
possessions and aggrandised the Empire, have combined under their
rule a large number of peoples. These peoples being of various
nationalities and religions, it was desirable that a uniform law should
unite and protect them all. I give thanks to Divine Providence for this
legitimate aspiration being at length realised. Henceforth all my
subjects will be considered children of the same country, and will be
placed under the protection of one law. They will be designated by
the name borne by the illustrious race of the Founders of the Empire
—a name associated with the glorious annals of a history of 600
years. I have a firm conviction that from this moment all my subjects
will unite their efforts to make the name Osmanli retain the force
and power hitherto surrounding it. I am therefore resolved, in view
of this ideal and these reasons, not to deviate from the course which
I have just adopted, and ever to adhere closely to it. I expect from
you a real and intelligent co‐operation, in order to derive legitimate
benefit from the Constitution, which is based on justice and the
public security. I have deemed it necessary to insure to all the
advantages of liberty and equality, to abolish the system of
arbitrariness, to enact and execute laws adopted in common accord
with the population, and, lastly, to found our administrative system
on constitutional and liberal principles. It is in order to realise this
sincere desire that I have created and convoked your body,
composed of the Senate and Chamber of Deputies. It now devolves
on you faithfully and honestly to fulfil the legislative duties intrusted
to your patriotism. In this task you should not be influenced by any
personal considerations, but have in view only the faithful
maintenance of the safety and welfare of the State and country. The
improvements which we now need, and the reforms in all the public
services, are of the highest importance. The gradual application of
these measures depends on the accord which shall prevail among
you. The Council of State is engaged in framing Bills which will be
submitted to you. In the present Session you will have before you
Bills on the Standing Orders of the Chamber, the Electoral Law, the
General Law respecting the Vilayets and the Government of the
Communes, the Municipal Law, the Civil Code of Procedure; the laws
relative to the re‐organisation of the Tribunal and the mode of
promoting and superannuating Judges, the Law concerning the
functions and retiring pensions of all public functionaries in general,
the Law of the Press, that respecting the Court of Accounts, and,
lastly, the Budget Law. I desire that these different Bills be
successively studied and discussed. You will have especially to
occupy yourselves with the re‐organisation of the Tribunals, the only
safeguard for the rights of everyone, and with the formation of the
gendarmerie. In order to attain this end, it will be necessary to
augment the amount of special grants for these two branches of the
Service. As you will see from the Budget which will be submitted to
the Chamber, our finances are in an extremely difficult situation. I
recommend you, above all, to adopt common measures adapted to
meet the difficulties of the situation and to restore our credit. You
will have moreover, to take measures to insure the supply of funds
required for urgent reforms. One of the greatest wants of our Empire
and of our subjects is the development of agriculture and industry,
and the progress of civilisation and of public wealth. This result can
only be obtained by means of the development of public instruction.
Measures with the object of improving educational establishments,
and of fixing the programme of studies, will be submitted to the
Chambers in the Session of next year. The Imperial Government
attaches the greatest importance to the choice and appointment of
the functionaries who will be called upon to apply and execute the
above‐mentioned laws and those which will be ultimately
promulgated for the working of the Constitution. Since my accession
to the Throne I have given particular attention to this question. It is
for this reason that I have decided on instituting, at my own
expense, a special school for the education of administrative
officials. As stated by the published organic regulations of that
school, they will be admitted to the highest administrative and
political posts. The pupils will be selected without distinction of
religion, from all classes of my subjects. Their promotion will be
according to the degree of their capacity. For nearly two years we
have had to face internal complications. During this period,
especially during the hostilities with Servia and Montenegro, our
faithful subjects have given proofs of patriotism, and our troops have
done, at the price of great suffering, acts of courage and bravery
which I profoundly appreciate. In all questions we have only had the
defence of our rights in view. The efforts we have made for this
purpose have had the result of restoring peace with Servia. As to the
decision we shall take in the negotiations with Montenegro, it will be
referred to your deliberations at their first sitting. I advise you to be
prompt in deciding. Our relations with friendly Powers are still
marked by that courtesy and deference which are among the most
precious rules for our State. Several months ago the Government of
England proposed the meeting of a Conference in our capital for the
consideration of the present questions. The bases proposed being
also supported by the other Great Powers, our Sublime Porte
consented to the meeting of the Conference. Though a definite
understanding was not obtained in that Conference, we have given
proofs of our sincere desire to defer to the wishes and counsels of
friendly Powers. As to the causes of the non‐agreement of the
Conference, these lay rather in the form and the mode of execution
than in the substance. I thoroughly appreciate the imperative
necessity of continuing the efforts for progress, by which so much
has already been achieved, from the origin of the Tanzimat till this
time, in all branches of the administration, and in the general
condition of my Empire. All our efforts still tend towards that object.
But on this occasion I considered it my duty to preserve the country
from all attacks on its honour and independence. Time will prove the
sincerity of our intentions. Our desire being in all cases to maintain
our rights and independence, we adopt also for the future the same
line of conduct. I rejoice to think that the proofs of moderation and
sincerity furnished by our State, before and after the Conference,
will have served to strengthen the bonds of friendship and sympathy
which unite my Empire to the Concert of European Powers. May the
Almighty deign to grant success to our common efforts!”

Thus, against his will, the Sultan had been obliged to keep his word
and to open the Chamber of Deputies, but he now left no means
untried in order to deprive the people of the privilege which he had
just granted them. It so happened that events occurred which
furnished him with certain opportunities, of which he took advantage
with the greatest astuteness, and which were very much to the
detriment of the nation.
The refusal of the Porte and of the Grand Council to accept the
propositions formulated at the Conference had placed Turkey in an
exceedingly critical position, although the whole civilised world, with
the exception of Russia and the Sultan Abdul Hamid, were convinced
that this refusal was of no great importance, since the solemnly
proclaimed Constitution had assured the Empire that the necessary
reforms should be made, and that the maladministration should be
brought to an end. Nevertheless, the fall of Midhat, of the very man
to whom the empire owed this Constitution, gave rise to doubt as to
the execution of the promised reforms. On 19th April, Prince
Gortchakoff sent out his Circular to the Powers, and on the 24th of
April hostilities were begun by Russia.
Public opinion in Turkey was thus entirely engrossed by the danger
with which the empire was threatened from outside, and was no
longer able to concentrate itself on the changes that were taking
place in the internal government. All minds were excited at the near
approach of Russia, and were unable to occupy themselves in the
maintenance of those rights which had been conferred by the new
charter. The Sultan was thus able to attain his object, and finding no
longer any obstacle to his will, he closed the Parliament and exiled
the few deputies who dared to raise their voice in protest.
The war declared by Russia was the necessary result of the policy
which Abdul Hamid had proposed to follow. Having exiled Midhat
Pasha, and closed Parliament without having executed a single
reform, he was equally obliged to crush every liberal tendency in
order that he might monopolise the supreme power, and spared no
effort to rid himself of every force that was capable of thwarting his
designs. He now began to get secret information as to the opinions
of all the principal Ministers and Generals, and took care at once to
deprive of all power those whom he feared might be dangerous to
him. The contradictory instructions that he gave to the Generals, the
absurd military orders that he issued from his Palace of Yildiz, were
transmitted after reports which attributed revolutionary designs to
certain of his Generals—designs which they were far from cherishing
—had reached him.
It was in consequence of these suspicions on the part of the Sultan
that the Commander‐in‐Chief Abdul Kerim and the Marshal Suleiman
Pasha were brought before a Council of War and condemned, not on
account of faults committed, but simply because one of these two
chief officers had participated in the deposition of the Sultan Abdul
Aziz, and the other was known to have liberal opinions.
The Sultan’s efforts were crowned by the Treaty of San Stefano. The
Circular of Prince Gortchakoff, which had appeared in the Official
Journal of St Petersburg on the 9th April 1877, showed that what
Russia had wished to obtain from Turkey by the Conference of
Constantinople, differed but very little from the conditions which she
imposed on the Porte in the Treaty of San Stefano, a fact to which
Lord Salisbury rendered due justice in his despatch of 1st April.
Although the Cabinet of Great Britain had firmly stated its intentions
of not entering into the quarrel, the general interests of Europe and
the special interests of England were so deeply involved in the
dispute, that it was impossible for that Power not to be obliged
sooner or later to take some share in the proceedings. The
intervention of England, although unhappily it came rather late in
the day, led to the Congress of Berlin, which blotted out the Treaty
of San Stefano.
As Midhat Pasha, however, played no part in the Russo‐Turkish War,
nor in the events that followed, we will pass over them, and relate
the vicissitudes of his journey in Europe, including the interviews
which he had with the heads of States and celebrated politicians.
Midhat arrived at Brindisi, 11th February, 1877, and after a few days’
rest left for Naples, where he had at first wished to live, withdrawn
from the world and its capitals. The following statement, which we
reprint from the Neue Freie Presse of Vienna, was made by him on
the future of the Constitution:—

“It is not despotism which, by my banishment, has reacted against

the constitutional régime. That is not at all the case. Montesquieu
has taught us that the creation of a constitution is very difficult and
takes much time. A sovereign prince, accustomed to absolute power,
can only be persuaded little by little to abandon his prerogatives,
that being necessary to the constitutional régime. It is a difficult
task, frequently interrupted by contrary currents, but for all that one
need never despair of reaching the goal, for with time, patience and
perseverance success is attainable. It is not in the person of the
Sultan, nor yet through his present Ministers, that I see danger for
the Constitution, but rather in the want of character and of courage
so often to be found in those who are the Sovereign’s Councillors,
and who, instead of acting according to their convictions, seek their
own advantage in hiding the truth. I have never hesitated about
giving my opinion to the Sultan, whoever he might be, whenever it
happened to differ from his; I have always done so with the greatest
respect, but also without the least reticence. Many a misfortune
might have been avoided in this world of ours if there had not been
a great lack of men, capable of placing the whole truth before their
Sovereign.
“The danger to the Constitution lies, not in the lack of goodwill, but
in the ignorance as to how to manage the mechanism. The
Governmental form of despotism reminds me somewhat of a
primitive mill, which may be turned by the force of water, or may
equally be turned by its wheel. Constitutional Government also
resembles a mill—but one that is put in movement by a complicated
and artistically constructed mechanism. A knowledge as to how to
work this machine and to keep it in movement is absolutely
necessary. Thus, we must hope that the men of experience who find
themselves at the head of affairs at Constantinople will not put the
machinery of the new mill in motion, in accordance with the ideas
and routine of the primitive mill. Constitutional Government cannot
have the customs and the men of the Despotic system as its motive
power. Reshid Pasha, our great reformer, was one day reproached
for employing young men who had only just left college; he replied
that it was right that it should be so, as neither one man alone, nor
yet ten, could possibly do everything, and that it was therefore
necessary to prepare a fresh staff of administrators. This has always
been my idea, and whenever I have seen many rivals around me, I
have delighted in the thought that it was to the profit of my country.
“If a man would render real and genuine services to his Sovereign
and his Nation, he must be patriotic, and very much depends upon
the way in which each person interprets this word. As for me, I
consider that man to be a true patriot who, renouncing his own
private interests, devotes himself morally and physically to one
supreme aim—the welfare of his country. One must be willing to
renounce everything—to be ready at a moment’s notice to sacrifice
happiness, family, and life itself for what one realises to be the good
of the Fatherland.
“I have frequently been in a position in which I might have remained
Minister, or have acquired vast wealth, and so have been able to end
my days in the midst of luxury and covered with honours. But such
is not my idea of patriotism.
“The esteem, love and sympathy of my nation have been always
valued by me far above all other favours and all the splendours of
this world. I could not remain a Minister when my Sovereign refused
to allow me to act as I thought necessary for the honour and welfare
of my country, and I prefer poverty and exile to the swords of
honour, the diamonds and highest favours; and to be held in esteem
by my compatriots is to me the proudest and keenest satisfaction.”

Events in the East having now begun to assume a more and more
threatening aspect, Midhat felt he could not possibly remain in
inactivity at Naples, in the face of all the troubles that assailed his
country. He went to Paris, and thence he crossed to London. He was
the subject of the warmest welcome in each of the two capitals.
Although an exile, he worked his hardest to find some favourable
issue, and to deliver his country from the risk she ran in the Russian
War. His friendly relations with Lord Beaconsfield and with the other
English statesmen did not fail to produce some good effects in
helping to save his country from an unjust war. When he had seen
that the English Government were disposed to offer their good office
for the promotion of an honourable peace, he left London for
Vienna, where he was granted an audience by the Emperor Francis
Joseph. On receiving news of the resistance offered by the Turkish
army to the Russians, he addressed the following telegram to the
Sultan Abdul Hamid:—

To H.M. First Secretary, Saïd Pasha.

“During my stay in London, I have tried to employ all my feeble

efforts in favour of the Empire’s cause, and to obtain an honourable
peace. I flatter myself that I have achieved some results. Now that I
am at Vienna I am desirous of acting in the same way, subject of
course to the approval of His Imperial Majesty, but it naturally goes
without saying that in order that my efforts may be crowned with
any measure of success, I must be to some extent acquainted with
His Majesty’s plans, so that guided by the intentions of the
Government, I may, to the best of my ability, render those services
which are necessary in the crisis through which we are passing.—I
am, etc.,
Midhat.”
(1877.)

The Sultan informed him in reply that he would never accept peace,
and he would refuse to listen to any pourparlers on this subject, and
that he did not hesitate to declare that any man who should
contemplate such a step was far from being a true patriot.
Midhat Pasha, seeing that peace was impossible, returned to
London, where he never wearied of striving by every means in his
power to be of assistance to his country. The Sultan, on his side,
was doing his best to vilify Midhat’s name in his own capital, and it is
this that elicited the following letter from him to the Grand Master of
Ceremonies, Kiamil Bey.

To Kiamil Bey, Grand Master of Ceremonies.

“Dear Sir,—I am thoroughly aware of how anxious you must be to

avoid a correspondence with me in my present disgrace, but I must
ask your indulgence for the few lines that I find myself obliged to
address to you.
“It has been brought to my knowledge that the publication of a
letter in one of the newspapers of Constantinople has given rise to
various attacks directed against me. I know very well that if an exile,
instead of seeking for indulgence and pity, dares to make use of the
language of criticism as to the acts of the Government, in such a
way as to provoke the enmity of certain personages, he will not even
be able to avoid hurting his friends. But as these observations only
relate to the defence of my own personality, it would be better to
pass them over in silence, for there is no greater crime than to be
occupied with one’s own individuality whilst the State is in the midst
of such serious dangers. I believe that no one who has studied my
letter can deny that it only contains the absolute truth. If there is a
certain crudeness to be found therein, it comes from the truth of the
words. If I have been able to remain indifferent to the attacks of my
enemies, who for more than a year have done their best to injure
me in the eyes of His Majesty by inserting articles and pamphlets
against me in the newspapers, it is also in my power to bear with
patience the vexatious attacks against my character. But no one
must be surprised that the right of nationality which I possess in
common with thirty‐six million fellow‐countrymen prevents me from
keeping silence whilst our country is in the midst of such terrible
vicissitudes, and our Ministers are involved in such great difficulties.
Yet time presses, and the perilous situation, which has been dreaded
for more than forty years, draws nearer and nearer. It is therefore
the duty of every child of the country to let his complaint be heard
and to lay his fears before his Sovereign. Those to whom the door of
access to the Sovereign is closed must naturally employ every
possible means by which their words may reach him. It is high time
to realise that to place the truth before a Sovereign is an act of
fidelity, and to hide it is a felony. Recent events have successively
shown us the faults of those who are opposed to the wise measures
which had been recognised by our Sovereign as necessary to save
the Nation and the Government, and, putting aside all personal
enmity, I am tempted to believe that they will profit by the goodwill
of our august Sovereign and devote all their efforts to the good of
the country. I end this letter with a request to you to be indulgent
towards my expressions, which are free from all adulatory emphasis.
—I am, etc.,
“Midhat.
“27 Zilhidje 1294, Hegira.”
(November 1877.)
The Sultan, beginning to fear lest his former Grand Vizier’s sojourn in
Europe should prove a danger to him, decided to recall him. We
publish the following correspondence which passed between the
Grand Master of Ceremonies and Midhat Pasha on this subject, and
which resulted in the return of the latter to Turkey and his tragic
death. Midhat committed a great error in accepting the reversal of
his exile, an error which has cost the Party of Reform at the very
least twenty years of progress.

Letter from Kiamil Bey, Grand Master of Ceremonies, to Midhat Pasha, in exile.

“Your Highness,—His Majesty having questioned me some time ago

on Your Highness’ situation, I replied that you were wandering, sad
and dispirited. As to your means of subsistence, I stated that you
were living on what you borrowed. His Majesty, on whom these facts
made the deepest impression, and who was much touched, shed
tears and wished to send Your Highness at once the sum of £T1000,
to provide for your absolute necessities. But I took the liberty of
saying that it was first of all necessary to ask how the money should
be sent, and also if you would wish to appoint someone to draw it—
and then to act accordingly. What I have just related to you is only
known to His Majesty, Your Highness, and to me, and must be kept
secret. His Majesty even went so far as to say—‘The poor man was
deceived.’ As to Your Highness’ present situation, it may come to a
happy termination through a correspondence with your humble
servant, according to the Imperial desire. I shall await with
impatience the immediate reply of Your Highness to this letter, as
well as a letter of thanks for the favour which Your Highness has
received from His Majesty.
“I am, etc.,
“Kiamil.
“13th‐25th November 1293 (1877.)

“P.S.—His Majesty repeatedly enjoined that all that I have just told
you should be kept secret.”
 Letter from Midhat Pasha in reply to Kiamil Bey, Grand Master of Ceremonies.

“My very dear Sir,—I have received your letter of November 13th. I
was at first surprised and astonished to find that a friend, who ever
since my departure from Constantinople had taken care not to send
me even a simple greeting, should now have the courage to write
me a letter with his own hand; but after having read it I understood
the motive. Thank you for having wished to attract the Imperial
kindness towards me, and for having replied—‘He wanders, sad and
dispirited’ to the question that His Majesty kindly put to you. But at
the same time I must point out to you that these words are used for
the unhappy and the bewildered. If His Majesty has sent me away
from Constantinople and exiled me to Europe, it was in order to put
an end to the calumnies which were spread against me in
Constantinople, where my presence caused a certain amount of
anxiety. As it is neither in keeping with the dignity of the State nor
yet with the Imperial will that a man who has occupied the highest
rank in the Government, and who has so frequently received the
public proofs of the Imperial favour, should be treated as one who
wanders bewildered through foreign countries, I think you would
have been nearer the truth and also have better pleased His Majesty
had you said, ‘Midhat Pasha has retired to Naples, where he is
praying for the happiness of the Sultan.’
“As to the rest of your letter, I must beg you to excuse me before I
begin to comment on it. You know that I am the son of Hadji Echref
Effendi, and that I have no other protector than God. I have worked
very hard to acquire knowledge and virtue, but I have not
succeeded. I own that my capacities and accomplishments are
inferior to those of my colleagues. Now, if under these circumstances
I have still been able to reach a rank so much above my merits, it
can only be thanks to my plain dealing; and all the difficulties that I
have met with during my life, are entirely due to my having spoken
the truth.... What has happened, and to what is it due that I have
been deceived? It was necessary that there should be a Sovereign at
the head of the State after the Sultan Abdul Aziz, and, in accordance
with the law, he was succeeded by the Sultan Murad. He became ill
—was deposed—and, still in accordance with the law, the Sultan
Abdul Hamid ascended the throne. It has been recognised that he
manifested a sincere desire and also the necessary capacity to lead
the State into the paths of progress; he showed much esteem for
everyone, and his esteem and benevolence for me were prodigious.
In the report which the late Mustapha Fazil Pasha laid before the
Sultan Abdul Aziz, it is stated that the truth is always the last to gain
admittance into the palace of Sovereigns, and indeed this is the
case. But the more dangerous the word of truth, the more profitable
is the result when it is spoken to the Sovereign in the hope of
serving the State. This is the reason why, subordinating my private
opinions to the public interests, I have never failed to speak the
truth, and have never hesitated to point out clearly which was the
way of salvation, and which path would lead to the destruction of
our country. Men of evil intention have, I know, made use of this as
a weapon against me, but all the events of to‐day are proving one
by one how just were my words. Unhappily, there are certain
personages who, instead of trying by every means to save their
country in the present dangerous situation, think only of their own
private interest, and desiring to preserve their prestige, have
committed serious faults, which are incompatible with humane
feeling and quite impossible to correct. And by these acts not only
have they created a bad name for themselves, but they have been
the principal cause of the destruction of the empire. I can, however,
only be grateful to His Majesty, and ever since my departure from
Constantinople, wherever I have been, I have never ceased to
repeat with fervour how good are His Majesty’s intentions. Those
who know the constancy of my words and deeds will realise that
there is no other course possible to me. My most ardent desire at
present is to see my country delivered from the horrors of war—my
own personal consideration can only hold a secondary place in my
thoughts.—I am, dear Sir, etc.,
“Midhat.
“28th November 1293, O.S.”
(10th December 1877.)

Letter from Kiamil Bey, in reply to Midhat Pasha.

“Your Highness,—I hope that Your Highness has perfectly recognised

from the tone of my letter from what source it came. I was
expecting to hear some expressions of gratitude from Your Highness,
but your reply has in no way fulfilled this expectation, and you have
ruthlessly exposed the real state of affairs without giving the least
consideration to the shades of meaning in my expressions. This has
been a great grief to me, and has diminished the hope I had of
seeing you aiding the course of progress. In certain circles it is
suggested that Your Highness may be waiting for a change in the
Khalifat. I have been in Egypt for some months for change of air,
and if you should wish to answer me, I would beg you to address
your letters to me in Egypt.—I am, etc.,
“Kiamil.
“24th December 1293, O.S.”
(6th January 1878).
 CHAPTER VIII

THE RETURN OF MIDHAT PASHA TO TURKEY

After having received the most sympathetic welcome in Europe, and

above all, in London, during a period of seventeen months, Midhat
Pasha yielded to the Sultan Abdul Hamid’s invitation and returned to
Turkey, thereby disregarding the wise advice given him by his friends
both at home and abroad, but declaring that he would sooner die in
his own country than in a foreign land. He refused to accept any
office, and only desired to be allowed to live quietly with his family,
far from all politics and public affairs. He fixed upon Crete as his
place of residence. During his exile in Europe he had seen the Sultan
Abdul Hamid enter into the paths of despotism—giving power to
those men who had done nothing in the past, and banishing from
the capital all those who were his partisans and who had striven to
establish a rule of justice and of progress. He had seen his country
menaced by every danger, and had observed the manœuvres of
those ambitious statesmen who only sought for their own personal
interests in the Sultan’s despotism and in their country’s decadence.
He had seen the destruction of all he had worked for, had seen the
Constitution he had done so much to establish deprived of every
authority, and become only a name in the official records.
The position that Midhat occupied after his return to Turkey, may be
considered as an exile imposed upon him by the Sultan. Abdul
Hamid was anxious to keep him in Turkey, but at the same time did
not dare to keep him there in inactivity, fearing lest the leader of the
Liberal Party should once more begin to occupy himself in obtaining
the necessary measures for opening the Chamber of Deputies. He
was well aware that Midhat, as the Governor of a province, would
devote himself entirely to its re‐organisation, and would therefore
have no time in which to concern himself with central administration.
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