The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-07-30 00:00:00

THE TRIAL OF A TURKISH PACHA

The third sitting of the court was held on the 12th,
and was very numerously attended. A number of Otto-
man functionaries were present. The interrogatory of
Mehemmed Aga, aide-decamp to Sahli Paella, which
had been suddenly broken off at the previous sitting in
consequence of the President finding it impossibl to
elicit from him anything like a direct answer, was con-
tinued. The prisoner was in irons, which seemed to
embarrass him very greatly, for he was frequently heard
to exclaim in a plaintive tone the words Allah A mak!
(my God ! pardon.) The President, after recommending
the prisoner not to act as he had done on the former
occasion, but to avow the whole truth, commenced his
interrogatory : " Where did you first see this Toultcha
girl, called Nedela ? " " I was one day going to
Matchin to execute a commission given me by the Pacha."
The President here interrupted the prisoner, telling him
that it was useless for him to enter into those round-
about details, and requested him to give direcr answers
to his questions. He then asked him, " whether he had
not seen her near the door of an inn, and whether in
answer to a question nut by him to her, she had
not said that she had something to say to the
Paella ? " The prisoner answered in the affirmative.
" Did she reply to you in Turkish ?" " Yes." " Are
you certain of that; reflect before you answer ?
—" Yes, lam certain of it." " When you left
for Varna did you not see this girl 1" " No. The
prisoner accompanied his reply by the word "
the usual Ottoman oath, but he was told by the President
that it was not necessary to make use of oaths ; all that
was required of him was to speak the truth. His answers
however, continued to be extremely vague.
The President ordered Moustafa to be brought in, and
addressing him, said" You have hitherto been sincere in
the avowal of your crime. I am about to put some
further questions to you, reflect and reply candidly."
The President then alluded to the part of the
former interrogatory of Moustafa relative to his
arrival at Varna, to which place he had been
sent beforehand by Hussein, to ascertain whether
Mehemmed had found an inn for Salih Paeha. None
had been found, but Hassan Paella, the governor,
to whom Salih Pacha had sent a letter, had kindly
placed his house at the disposal of his colleague. The
President then proceeded with his questions to Moustafa.
" You beard the Pacha speak of this girl ? " Yes."
"And you spoke of it to Hussein was it to you that
the Pacha spoke ?" "loo." " What did Hussein
say when you related to him what the Paella had
said )" "He was very uneasy, and said, What
is to be done with this girl ?" " Was not Mehemmed
present with Hussein at the time ?" " Yes, he was."
To Mehemmed : " You have heard the declaration of
Moustafa; do you remember the facts he mentions ?"
" No, Ido not. What he states might have taken place,
but I do not remember it." To Moustafa: " Did Me-
hemmed know that the girl came with you from Toultcha
to Varna ? " Yes, certainly, he did." To Mehemmed ;
" What do you say to this declaration?" " I was com-
pletely ignorantad
othofoe of
.trthhda
are
tn
frpea tl
osat echlneo:oekat oobfrodNrwu
caehtdnoi Nedela."
abduction
.ny'
otoofur"
,tlal:,td:d was.yeos
Paeha.yus
eondug
yTwohhueor sgeol vfwere,er Insi
girl. He mentioned it to you, and said, I hope it
does not concern you ; ' to which you replied by
a falsehood, pretending a complete ignorance of facts with
which you are well acquainted. What instructions did
you receive from the Pacha on leaving Toulcha ? Did
he not tell you to accompany on the road a young
girl, and to attend to her wants?" " The Pacha simply
told me to apply to Hussein for the expenses of my
journey, and to deliver two letters which he gave me.'
";Did you not: know that the Paella had ordered
Hussein to have the girl lodged separately during the
journey, dressed iu male attire, eze." "I knew nothing
at all of that." "We wish to know what directions
the Pacha gave on the subject of Nedela " I received
none; it 'was Hussein?' " What did the Paeha say to
him ?" You must find a good looking lodging for you
know who." "Did Nedela leave Toultcha on foot, on
horseback, or in a carriage ?" "In a carriage; but Ido
not know where she got into it; I did not see her." It
appeared clear from the manner of the prisoner he knew
better, but would not or dared not speak the truth, and
he was sent back to prison. The President then ordered
Hussein, the intendant of the Pacha, to be brought in, and
commenced his interrogatory, The prisoner appeared
much altered since his last appearance, and his coun-
tenance was that of a man of the greatest brutality.
" How long had you known the Bulgarian girl before
you left Toultcha ?" " For six or seven days." " How
did you first become acquainted with her ?" " Mehemmed
came to me one day, and told me that a girl wanted me,
who had something to say to the Pacha. I spoke to her,
and she told me that she wished to embrace Islamism."
The remainder of the answers of the prisoner was such
a string of prevarications that the President at lengi:n
• . •

sent him back to prison, and then commenced the exami-
nation of Vacil. His evidence Was nothing more than a
recapitulation of the facts stated by Moustafa as to the
murder of the girl. At the conclusion of his interrogatory
the court again adjourned.: