The Sun.
London, England, 1834-03-29 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

giving_ antagonist privileges to another ; royal
charters had been opposed by acts of Parlia-
ment, and acts of Parliament had been modified
in their operation by royal charters : in short,
the profession had been thrown into a mould
of accidental formation, from which it came
out in a shape which it had never worn be-
fore in any other civilized country, because in
no other country has custom, prescription, or
" the wisdom of ancestors," been pleaded against
the obvious improvements suggested by the re-
sults of experience and the progress of reason, with
the same force, or for the same duration, as in
England. Hence it happens, that the greatest
city in Europe, where medical education in all
its branches must necessarily be most exten-
sively cultivated, has not a board which can
confer a medical degree, but must obtain the
qualifications of its college from two universi-
ties which have not a medical school ! Why
the old
.practice was abandoned, of obtaining
degrees in medicine from the Archbishop of
Canterbury, as in the time of Henry VII., it
would be difficult, after this, to explain. Just
at the eleventh hour of their fate, or when
threatened with a Parliamentary inquiry or a
Royal commission, tHe College of Physicians
bethought themselves of this strange inconsis-
tency, and have now, as was mentioned by one
of the witnesses, a petition before the Privy
Council, praying for leave to grant degrees, as
well as to confer the liberty to practise, on
degrees granted, by other corporations I
When the College—relying on its three cen-
turies of right to resist innovation had
thus offered to become reformers, it is not
surprising that we should have a large body
of unprivileged individual projectors, who
in pamphlets, and through the periodical press,
make known their schemes of reform. We are
glad to see that the most of these publications
are characterised by one common idea—the
abolition of corporate privileges, a higher stan-
dard of medical education, and a separation of
the government of the faculty, or of the exa-
mining board, from the narrow interests of
teaching or practising establishments. One of
the pamphlets to which we have alluded, is the
work of Mr. Green, professor of surgery at
King's College, London, and one of the sur-
geons at St. Thomas's Hospital. It is en-
titled, " Suggestions repecting an intended
piglitto_f_ Medical Reform, particularly offered
fdtoannk
,and the Profession." The
to the Leil
learned professor mariascre---4__bigher idea of
his own " plan" than he can instir-i9lO the
parties for whom it is intended, but, amid'
good deal of professional pedantry, of quaint
or not very intelligible language, and of fan-
ciful or fantastic distinctions and propo-
sals, his publication contains " suggestions"
not unworthy of attention. Why he dwells
so much upon the character of a gentle-
man in the medical practitioner, and insists
upon having a kind of court of honour as an ad-
junct to a medical board, we are at a loss to de-
cide. Let a high standard of education be re-
quired in the profession—let quacks and empi:
ries be excluded—and there is no reason why
gentlemanly feelings and habits should be less
cultivated in the medical than in other liberal
professions. At least, a deficiency in such ha-
bits and feelings must be left to the punishment or
correction of the world, and cannot be supplied
by any general rules of medical education. Mr.
Green's three requisites in the medical profession
are—first, " The possession of technical know-
ledge." Second, " Scientific insight," or, as
he goes on quaintly to express it, " the posses-
sion of the knowledge of those laws or rational
grounds which form at once the principles and
ultimate aims of all professional knowledge;" and,
thirdly, " the character of a gentleman," " that
his conduct may be a pledge that he pursues his
profession as a liberal science." Mr. Green,
like every other man of sense, insists on
a good general preparatory education in the can-
didate for medical honours, but probably most of
our medical practitioners would think his stan-
dard too high. We ourselves would be ready
to compound with the examining board for a
competent knowledge of Greek and Latin in the
medical pupil, in addition to the requisite scien li
-
tific and practical attainments of a professional
kind ; but our author demands still further, a
knowledge of logic (he does not say whether
Aristotelian or Baconian), of mathematics, and
of Lord Chesterfield ! ! The following is his
programme of study or qualification for a degree,
expressed in his own words, and with his own
italic characters :

Few plans of reform have met with such
general applause as that propounded by Lord
Brougham for the administration of Criminal
Jurisprudence in the Metropolis. The simpli-
city of the plan—the complete swamping of
petty courts, ideal boundaries, and supposed
demarcations—the contempt of local interests
for the great result of public utility—and above
all, the erection of a great criminal tribunal
which will command the confidence and respect
of the public, while it will attract a bar of
greater talent and higher rank than that which
now practises there—are all worthy of Lord
Brougham's reputation. This bill may be con-
sidered as a sort of dredge to clear away the
shoals and shallows which have long impeded
the course of justice in and about the metro-
polis ; and it must be a matter of congratu-
lation, that there is at last a Chancellor who is
of opinion that the law was intended to protect
the public, and not to throw every possible
impediment and obstacle in the way of punishing
the plunderer. There is now a grand opportunity
which ought not to be lost, for effecting that
which, while it will impr-Ove the administration of
Justice, will have the advantage of relieving a
large body of the middling class of tradesmen
from an onerous and painful duty, almost exclu-
sively pressing on them, and for the discharge of
which they must be less qualified, and ought to
be less exposed than those who are most impro-
perly exempted from bearing their share. As
the unavoidable consequence of more frequent
gaol deliveries must be an additional call on the
time of the traders of the metropolis, the object
of this article is to suggest such an amended
method of striking petty jurors as will equalize
the labour amongst that immense body really
liable to serve. It has long been an anomaly
of our law, that where property is at stake, ju-
17;rnen of a superior rank and supposed superior
talent may be summoned ; but on questions af-
fecting the life of a fellow-creature no such pri-
vilege is allowed. When a damaged cargo is
the cause of action, a jury is composed of mer-
chants, ship-owners, and persons most conver-
sant with the gobect; but when the captain is
indicted for murdering azg-toman, his life is sup-
posed to be perfectly safe in the tins of those
who are considered incompetent to estimate it:l
loss of a bale of cotton or a staved hogshead of
sugar. At present the jurors-book, in very many
parishes, is in a most defective and neglected state :
it is handed over from each overseer to his suc-
cessor with less care than his gold-tipped wand,
without any alteration or addition ; the conse-
quence is, that the juror's book of the sheriff
does not contain the half of the names it ought,
and of those that are inserted, one half is
non est inventus ; so that from the neglect of
overseers, the unavoidable irregularity of the
sheriff's office, and the idleness of the sum-
moning officer, the petty jurors are generally
taken from the parishes in the neighbourhood
of the courts. It is seldom that a tradesman of
opulence is seen on a petty jury. " They have
no time ; so extensive a concern as theirs must
be looked after ; and a douceur to the officer ge-
nerally settles the business ; and the arduous
duties of the courts thus devolve almost wholly
on those who, though they may not have exten-
sive concerns, have shops which must be looked
after by themselves, whose time is their most
valuable property, and who cannot, from their
habits, be expected to be able either to
weigh the niceties of evidence, or to bring
an attention to the subject, wholly unoc-
cupied by matters, to them of the very highest
importance. God forbid that we should insinu-
ate that they are either inattentive or careless in
the discharge of their solemn duties ; but when
it is notorious that, in long and intricate cases,
the jury often mainly depend on the summing
up—when we have heard them urging the
Judge to prolong a protracted sitting, rather
than call them away another day from their bu-
siness—we cannot help making these observa-
tions. Our remedy is briefly this—extend the
simple and satisfactory machinery, not the prin-
ciple, of special juries to petty, by compelling
an accurate revision and completion of the jurors
book, by drawing ritimbers by lot, which num-
bers correspond to names in that hook—by bal-
lotting these numbers publicly, at the police-
office nearest the Sheriff's office—by allowing no
permanent exemptions beyond those claimed at
the present appeal day. The result would be,
that, taking but 5 per cent. of the two millions
comprehended in the new district as qualified
(we need only have those who have intelligence
and leisure), we should relieve those who have
not the latter, though they may have the first,
and yet call on the same person to serve twice
only in thirty years, the time now being about
two years and a half. At Brighton, where the
magistrates have required more accurate lists,
the results have been most satisfactory ; and in-
stead of clodhoppers, in smock frocks, endea-
vouring to distinguish between a larceny and
robbery—a felony and a misdemeanor—they
are relieved, and the duties distributed over an
extensive body of wealthy traders, who have in-
telligence and leisure to qualify them for such
solemn and responsible duties. We trust that
Lord Brougham will consider this.—Morning
Chronicle.

" 1. The knowledge of words, their definite import
and right use, as grounded in grammar, and evinced
by a correct style.
" 2. The knowledge of the elements of mathema-
tical science, as the discipline of the pure sense.
" 3. The knowledge of experimental science, as
af-
fording the requisite discipline of the senses.
4. The knowledge of logic, as the laws of right
reasoning, the forms of all legitimate conclusion, and
the criterion of truth and falsehood.
" 5. The knowledges properly medical, grounded
on physics, physiology, and psychology.
" 6. The cultivation of the morals, and the formation
of habits of gentlemanly feeling and conduct."
To his proposition of a Government or Ex-
amining Board, greatly modified, little objec-
tion might be felt, but we have the utmost re-
pugnance to establish by law his higher and
lower grades in the profession, under the names
of " inceptor graduates of physiology," " gra-
duate in physiology," " doctor in medicine,"
" master in surgery," and " doctors in medi-
cine and midwifery," or any other title. All li
men let loose upon the world to practice on the
bodies of their countrymen under the name of
doctor, surgeon, or general practitioner, should
be supposed by laNv_to be qualified for their bu-
siness by an average education—and all subse-
quent distinctions to which they may aspire,
should be the consequence, not of their diploma
or degree, but of their personal talents and pro-
fessional eminence. The poor must not be taught
to suppose that the Government makes doctors
for them with lower qualifications, and other
doctors for the rich more highly instructed or
gifted. Practitioners may attain the reputation
of a Baillie, a Hunter, or a Cooper ; but it is
only the examining board of public opinion,
and the assenting voice of professional admira-
tion, that could confer such degrees. It is evi-
dent at least, that titles of this kind cannot be
the coinage of a college or the creation of a
medical board.— Times.

It appeared evident from the announcement
of a Parliamentary committee on the state of
the medical profession, and even from the pro
valent rumour of a Royal commission before
that committee was appointed, that the rules of
medical education and the privileges of medical
corporations could not be long allowed to remain
on their present footing. The examinations
hitherto taken before the select committee since
the commencement of its inquiry strongly con-
firm this confidence in a radical change.
Scarcely one of the witnesses hitherto examined,
though all fellows or licentiates of the College
of Physicians, has expressed his own satisfac-
tion, or that of the faculty, in the existing ar-
rangement. The impolitic monopolies, of
medical bodies, like other monopolies, often
harshly exercised, and only restrained from
greater rigour by the fear of provoking an aboli-
tion of their rights,—the conflicting. claims of
different orders of the profession, mainly arising
from these exclusive privileges,—the obstacles
placed to the free circulation of medical practi-
tioners over the different divisions of the united
empire by exclusive laws in each,—the fre-
quent neglect of the interests of the public
and of the honour of the faculty, by the injudi-
cious grant of degrees, diplomas, or licenses, in
some cases, and by their unjust refusal in others;
these and many other evils have long been se-
verely felt, and only required the collection of a
body of evidence, proving their existence and
results, to secure their reformation. In the
present patchwork system, which has never be-
fore
undergone a general revision, one anomaly
had been made to correct another ; one corpo-
ration had received privileges against the public
interest which it was necessary to counteract by

We are glad to find that the Lord Chancel-
lor's bill for improving the administration of
criminal justice in the metropolis has met with
a reception from the corporation which shows
that men of all parties are likely to agree in its
utility. The discussion which took place in the
Common Council on Thursday last was altoge-
ther of a laudatory character. It betrayed none
of the jealousy which corporations are too apt
to feel, and which too often have been known to
stand in the way of extensive improvements.
It redounds much to the honour of the present
Lord Chancellor, that with all his laborious ap-
plication to the duties of his high office, he still

keeps his eye steadily on those great and neces-i ducing -a real improvement. We do- not corn-
sary legal reforms Mich his peculiar studies : plain of the Government for interfering upon
and his comprehensive mind so well qualify : such an occasion ; on the contrary, we give
him to deal with. That amongst the worst ' them credit for having done so. Their facilities
specimens of the legal profession, those who ; are greater ; their responsibility is also greater ;
live by th6ltricks and evasions of the law, his ' and the importance' of the change required is
effortsstO purify the course of justice will con- such as to justify the course they have pursued.
tinue to be regarded, as they have hitherto But again, let us remind the Solicitor-General,
been, with dissatisfaction and enmity, is a who is the agent of the Government in this in-
consequence he must expect ; but it is a part stance, that there is always, if not a strong
of the glory which his talents and conduct suspicion, a passing doubt as to the motive
have earned for him, to be obnoxious to such with which people in power adopt the under-
men. They may abuse him in their little cir- takings of others, when it is evident, from the
des for the mischief he has done them by sim- state of public opinion, that such undertakings
plifying the intricacies and obviating the delays must be,,oto a certain extent, successful. It is
on which they thrive. But in public let them not the mere suggestion of jealousy—for pru-
beware ; the cloven foot is soon seen ; and, dence speaks the same language—that whispers
however moral the tone of their indignation in the public ear to watch narrowly the conduct
may sound, people are not such fools as to over- of advocates who do not seem to have appre-
look that symptom in the endeavour to estimate ciated the urgency of the case until it had made
their real motives. It is gratifying to find, some progress without them. There are two
amongst the members of the corporation, indi- great evils consequent-upon the present state of
viduals differing so widely in their politics as Sir the law, against which any bona fide amend-
Peter Laurie and Mr. Charles Pearson concur- ment must be directed. The power which Go-
ring in approbation of the Lord Chancellor's vernment possesses through the machinery of
bill. It is evident that party spirit alone can- ex-o,cio informations, and fictions and con-
not resist his progress in reform, when it lends structions of persecuting the press, and the
its aid, as in the present instance, to applaud power which individuals of the worst conduct
the advance, and, if it were necessary, to con- and character have of doing the same thing,
firm the purpose by which it shall be carried though the press, in both instances, may not
into full completion.—Morning Herald. be fairly chargeable with a single falsehood, or
with any other motive than a good one. To
In the Paris and German papers, two
subjects are commented upon of no incon- interfere with the present law, without af-
siderable importance, in a political point of view fording substantial relief in those particulars,
—the first relative to the asylum granted to the will be mere meddling. Mr. O'Connell's Bill
Poles in Switzerland, and the second to the —which, by the way, had the merit of bre-
treatment of the Porte by Russia, and the nature, vity and perspicuity, and was remarkably free
lor rather the duration of the friendly under- from the technical verbiage of lawyers
standing which subsists between France and his bill went too far in some respects. The
1 this country. Upon the former subject the idea of making truth a justification in all
Constitutionnel remarks in a just and independent
a door to much injury. The pro-
cases was certainly a stretch of principle that
spirit, and asks upon what grounds the German would open
and Russian cabinets can possibly conceive that position sounds well at first—it sounds all the
they have any right to prevent the Swiss Can- better for being the very reverse of that profli-
tons from dealing with the exiled Poles as jus- gate maxim of the law, which flagitiously pro-
tiee and humanity may dictate. claims, " the greater the truth the greater
"In the British parliament," says it, " Lord Palmer- the libel." But it would be easy to put
ston denied that the government had received a cir- cases in which the latter maxim would
1 cular said to have been addressed by the court of St. come nearer to the purposes of justice,
Petersburgh to,the different cabinets, urging them not to notwithstanding its iniquity as a general rule,
grant an asylum to the Polish refugees and afford them
succour. If we are well informed, however, Count than the former, when pushed to the extreme.
Pozzo di Borgo has delivered a note to such an effect A case which has often been put is that of a
to the Duke de Broglie, and is urgent for an answer. deformed person held up to ridicule on account
We hope and believe that the answer of the Minister
of his deformity. In this instance, the truth
for Foreign Affairs will be prompt and dignified. Our
aggravation of the libel. But
would be an a
territory is free, and France has never been inhospi-
gg
table. The government certainly should, by means
under the provisions of Mr. O'Connell's bill,
f the regular police, take care that the refugees do the truth of the statement would justify the
noi'diat,urb public order, but this great nation will scoundrel who was capable of making such a
never suffei-eae-u*ppy exiles from Poland to be re- use of it. The way to obviate the difficulty
fused succour and suppoit':-:'.. -
would 6-e, --,ci-s- Mr: Rix- once proposed; to allow
Really if Russia has set up such pi:eta-a:3in;
and is desirous of preventing the gallant men evidence of the truth in all cases, leaving the
whom her cruelty, her oppression, and her jury to determine whether it should be considered
usurpation have driven from their native land, as a justification or the reverse. Though • the
from finding an asylum, it is high time that the bill to which we have been alluding is now laid
free governments of Europe should take steps aside, it is evident that the main objects to
to convince her, first, of her own comparative which it was directed must form, to a certain
weakness, and, secondly, of their determination extent, the foundation of any effective measure
not to be dictated to by her as to whom they shall for the improvement of the law. Mere techni-
or shall not grant hospitality. The attempt cal alterations will do nothing. The soul of the
upon the Swiss cantons was no doubt a feeler ; tyranny must be plucked out. Whatever minor
arrangements may be considered necessary to
but if we may be allowed to judge from what
we see in the foreign journals, some of these the perfection of the system may then be adopted
without exposing the Government or its repre-
small communities have behaved in a highly.
sentative to the imputation of having under-
spirited and proper manner—disallowing the dic-
taken a popular measure, in the hope, and with
tation of the Autocrat and his German satel-
the. determination, of frittering it down to no-
lites, and declaring it to be their opinion that they
thing.—Morning Herald.
ought to be allowed to treat these unhappy
men with as much hospitality as their circum-
stances will allow. What then ought the Go-
vernments of France and England to do ? Are
they who are bound to have protected them
from the calamities which have unfortunately
overtaken them, to yield to the demands of
Russia, and to say to the unhappy Poles " here
ye shall find no resting place'" Most shame-
ful was the abandonment of Poland, when Po-
land, as a nation, demanded and was entitled to
their aid ; but baser still would be their refusal
of an asylum to those who, if they had been
but justly dealt with, would have been able to
afford, instead of being in a situation to claim
one. With regard to the second point, there is
a long article from Prussia dated the 14th inst.,
in which strong complaint is made of the man-
ner in which some French and English journals
speak of the conduct of Russia towards the
Porte, and a threat held out that what is termed
the good understanding " between France and
England may not be of long duration."
" In general," says it, " foreign policy seems to be
the weak side of the Grey Ministry. Mistakes are
every where made, but among the greatest may be
reckoned the attacks directed against the treaty of the
Bth of July. They have disclosed the weakness of
England, but have shown even their cards to France,
now their ally, but which will not always remain such,
and may easily resume its old character of a rival."
It is true enough that the weakest side of the
Grey administration has been its foreign policy
—and equally so that Russia is most anxious,
upon the principle divide et impera, to destroy
the amicable feeling which exists between
France and England ; but it by no means fol-
lows that they will be foolish enough to allow
the Russian Autocrat to become the dictator of
the future policy and condition of Europe—
and we are further somewhat of opinion that
that high and mighty personage would find it
prudent to draw in his horns, instead of making
fresh claims, by their unnecessary and disgusting
obtrusion, upon the hostility of England. No
war in which this country could possibly engage,
would be more popular than a war upon Russia
—and we can assure M. Pozzo di Borgo and
his coadjutors in the misrepresentation of Eng-
lish feeling, that it requires but a little more
offence—a little more of the same species of
conduct which has been shamefully submitted
to during the last five years—to induce the
people of England to compel the Government
to effect a signal vengeance for all past wrongs,
and hitherto unrequited usurpations and insults.
—Morning Advertiser.
We fully agree with an evening contempo-
rary (the Courier), that if the Solicitor-General
goes to work like a mere lawyer in his reform of
the law of libel, he will do very little good.
People's minds are prepared for a radical change
in the whole of that oppressive system, and any
thing short of such a change will neither give
satisfaction nor relief. It is not the correction
of some of the most glaring anomalies in the
theory, nor the alteration of some of the more
palpable defects in the practical working of the
system, that is called for. More must be done
than merely to give a better face to tyranny and
in .
justice—the tyranny and injustice must them-
selves be got rid of. This the present state of
society requires, and any attempt to compromise
with such a demand can only end in disappoint-
ment. As the subject is now taken out of the
hands of Mr. O'Connell by the Government, it
is particularly incumbent on the Government to
show that they did not interfere with the mea-
sure introduced by that gentleman from any
feeling of partiality to the existing law. The
way to repudiate such a feeling will be by intro-

THE DRAGOMANS.

CONSTANTINOPLE, SEPT., 1833.—The diplomatic
intercourse at Constantinople between the Sublime
Porte and the Ministers of the Great Powers, is
conducted by means of a body of persons called
Dragomans, who, though being simply interpreters,
arrogate to themselves a great deal of importance,
and in the progress of time have become of some con-
sideration. They are in general deficient in intelli-
gence and the usual instruction bestowed upon poli-
tical agents ; few of them are competent to read
and write Turkish correctly, but they have Con-
trived to make themselves indispensable to every
embassy but that of Austria, which has had the good
sense to establish interpreters of its own. Other
nations have tried to imitate the example of that
country, but none of them have as yet succeeded ;
and the dragomans have grown into a close corpora-
tion, intermarrying with each other's families, sharing
the State secrets of all the Powers of Europe, and
looking upon the Ministers to whom they are at-
tached as persons inferior to themselves. I cannot
altogether expose their weakness and incompetency,
but I think I have the means of removing some part
of the mystery with which they have contrived
hitherto to envelop their proceedings. This system
had its origin in the period when the European na-

tind when, on s establishede ignorant relations
of the
Rit h the
language,Ottomanthey
Porte
were;a
obliged to employ Church Missionaries, to whom the
usages of the country had become familiar. Greeks
and Jews were subsequently employed ; and as the
Porte considered these agents as protected by the
laws of the country into whose service they were
taken, the wealthy Jews and Greeks eagerly pur-
chased the office, or protections under the office, as
a certain mode of securing their wealth. That sys-
tem having led to much abuse, other agents were
employed, which, after several interruptions, settled
down to that which is now in operation, and from
the shackles of which Austria alone has been able
to free itself.

The principal dragoman families are of Venetian
origin ; and there were several eminent ones de-
scendants of persons of that Republic settled in
Tynos, Chio, and other islands of the Archipelago.
The names best known are those of Franchini, Pi-
sani, Timoni, Navoni, Salzani, Testa, and Cherico.
Some are of French descent, such as Chabert and
La Pierre, but from the same islands, where they
were called Taouchans, or rabbits, by the Turks,
because they fled to caverns or rocks when the Ca-
pitan Pacha paid his annual visit to the islands to
collect the taxes. Others are of Ragusan extrac-
tion, Skicpovich, and BasgoviCb, who were
i the dra-
gomans of the free town of Ragusa before t merged
into the Austrian dominions.

The Divan Terdseunzani, or Dragoman of the
Porte, is independent of all these families, and pre-
vious to the Greek revolution, he was chosen from
the principal people of the Fanar, the selection being,
in latter times, made from four families only. It
was sought after with great avidity, as it was consi-
dered the stepping-stone to the hospodarship of the
principalities of Walachia and Moldavia, and several
curious intrigues are on record of the competitors
for these honours. Since the revolution Greeks are
no longer employed, and none but a native Turk
can now fill the office of Dragoman of the Porte.
The present dragoman, Hald Esrca Elendi, is a
tolerable good French scholar, and, it is said, cor-
ducts himself with great propriety. He has the
assistance of two deputies, who are well acquainted
with Arabic and Persian, and he has the charge of
bringing up and qualifying for the office four youths,
from amongst whom his post is hereafter to be
filled. The duties of the Dragoman of the Porte
are to act as interpreter for the Reis Effendi,
when that Minister receives a foreign Ambassador
who is always accompanied by his dragoman, as
a check upon the agent of the Porte. He is also
honoured by the interpreting for the Sultan, when
his Highness grants an audience to a Foreign Am-
bassador—such as that which he allowed to Sir
Stratford Canning—and which he so frequently per-
mitted to Count Orloff. He has, besides, the task
* Atlas Ethnographique de Balbi,

' of translating into Turkish all important documents
which may be sent to the Porte in French, as each
embassy has its choice of forwarding its communi-
cations in French and Turkish, because the Drago-
mans are not always equal to drawing up notes of
great moment in appropriate Turkish. He is fur-
ther obliged to compare the Turkish copy with the
, original French, which always accompanies each
paper, as the Reis Effendi is determined to see that
the intentions of the Ambassador communicating
1 with him are not misinterpreted or misstated by
the ignorance of the Dragoman who had drawn up
the note.

has been educated for the purpose, and is an excel
lent Turkish scholar, reading and writing the Jan'
guage with fluency.
The great evil of the system is, that a body ol
men are employed in the secrets of government wlio
have no national interest at stake, and on whom the
force of public opinion at home cannot be brought
to bear. There is no assurance for their goof'
faith, and he that betrays one interest to-day, may
be found to-morrow enlisted in the corp All thatd nra-
a-
tion to which we have been sacrificed. the
gomans make a great mystery of their proceedingfreels,
and scarcely condescend to communicate y
with the Ambassadors who employ them. It 1,
and each having an interest in the 5
only amongst each other that they are confidential,
general good,
communicate such portions of the most secret nee"
tiations to the opposite party, as may enhance Or
reputation of a brother droman, who arrogates
himself great credit for developing so much of the
affair. It is by means of this want of good faith,
that hints of apparently close political transactions
every day transpire ; and, with the exception o
Austria, who, as I have shown, has a corps of Ger-
mans, and of Russia, who pays largely for the secrecy
of its officers, I believe a portion of the business
transacted at the Porte is made known the day after
its communication. The English Ambassadors
know well how erroneous the system is, and they
would gladly c hange it if the could, and one a
them lately said that the American Government
deserved well for having had the spirit to break so
early through a monopoly which embarrassed other
nations so much.
y
It will not be amiss, as a conclusion to this article,
to give you an exact list of the Ambassadors,
secre-
taries, and dragomans of all the European Powers
at present at Constantinople.
RUSSIA.—Mr. Butenieff, Envoy Extraordinary and
Minister Plenipotentiary Mr. Artinoff, Counsellor of
the Embassay ; first secretary, Mr. Wolcoff; first ad-
joint, Mr. Giani ; second secretary, Mr. Gouriff;
second adjoint, the Count Medea ; third secretary, 111„:"
Sitoff; third adjoint, Mr. Fok ; fourth secretary,
George de Chirico; the Prince de Soltic off, attach 6;
first interpreter, vacant ; second interpreter, Mr. Mat-
thew Pisani ; third, Mr. Deodati ; fourth, Mr. Mira,,,n;
Chancellor, Mr. Paul Pisani ; deputy, Mr. Angc
moni ; director of the Porte, Mr. C. Froding ; deputy,
Mr. Allnadi.
AUSTRlA.—lnternuncio, the Baron de Sturrner firjt
secretary, Mr. de Wallenburg ; attaché, M. Parc'n
de Testa; attache, Mr. Kloff; Chancellor, the ;
YMatcovic.hn_
Anthony de Testa ; deputy, Mr. Thomas
first interpreter, Mr. Adelbourgh ; second, Mr._ Pt
f the
ihony de Raab ; third, Mr. Skoezl ; director of
Porte, Mr. Strende ; deputy, Mr. Eizenbach.
first
DENmARK.---Minister, the Baron Hubsch; d, ma.
terpreter, and chancellor, Mr. Crevoni ; sec'n
P. Romani.
secre-
SPAIN.--Minister,
the Chevalier Cordoba;•
de Souza ; first interpreter,Mr
E. Souzi; chancellor, Mr. Estephani.
ssader ;
FRANCE.—The Baron de Roussin, Amba...
angs_
Baron de Cahorn, first secretary ; the Baron
dorf, second secretary ; Mr. de Talleyrand, a
al ttach
d de-
Mr. Arnelin, chancellor ; M. Olivier, first
cant
fourth};
camp to Admiral Roussin ; first interpreter, va
second, Mr. La Pierre ; third, Mr. Danton ;
At.= Francovillo three students. , Mr.
ENGLAND.—I.ord Ponsonby, Ambassador ; 2
i..
Mandeville, secretary of the embassy (abse
1.-nte)neral ;
Waller, attache ; Mr. Cartwright, consu g
chancel-
Mr. Comberbatch, vice-consul ;
Mr.
Moore,
second,
for ; Mr. Francis Chabert, first interpreter ;;
Ad fourth,
Mr. Anthony Pisani ; third, Mr. G. Wood Mr.
Calavro ;
Mr. Frederick Pisani ; fifth, Mr. bert, Mr.
Alex. Pisani, interpreter elect ; Mr. R. Cita
R. Wood, and Mr. Etienne Pisani, students.
ounsellor
PRUSSlA.—Minister, Baron de Marten ;
r r ov,c..
Mr.
Matthew Stipovich ; second, Mr. John 0 g
of the legation, M. Borgovich ; first inte
third, Mr. Constantine Testa. ' d'affaires ;
HOLLA No.—The Chevalier Testa, charge_
first interpreter, Mr. Giustimani ; second, Mr• kla"
zz
third, Mr. Salsani. Sum('
M.
NAPLES.—M. d'Errie, charge d'affaires ; Gra-
r'
neri, first interpreter, Mr. Navoni ; second,
I.s3ceter,

The duties of the dragoman of the great powers
may be divided into two classes, political and com-
mercial. The first and second dragoman are attached
to the ambassador's persons, and it is their office to
communicate sometimes verbally, and more often in
writing, between him and the Reis-Effendi, when
the Ambassador wishes to make his instructions
known at the Porte. The first dragoman, if he be
selected for that duty, for the Minister has power to
call on whom he pleases, has access to the Reis-
Effendi at all hours, though the Ambassador in
whose service he is can only see that functionary
by a special appointment. The answer to the com-
munication made by the dragoman is given either
verbally or in writing, according to the mode which
he adopted, and the negotiation is carried on by him
to a conclusion. He has also the task of reducing
into Turkish as well as he can the instructions of
the Ambassadors, and as well of that of translating
into French the papers which the Reis-Effendi may
think proper to send him in Turkish. In short, the
first dragoman, if selected for duty at the Porte, has
in his hands the whole policy of the nation he repre-
sents, and if he be accessible to any influence but
that of his master, it will be seen how easily its in-
terests may be betrayed. There are a thousand
stories current of the intrigues and bad faith of many
dragomans, but as I have not the means of authen-
ticating them, I will not mention the cases, more
particularly as it is the system, and not theindivi-
duals, that I desire to expose. I think, however,
the brief exposé which I make will be sufficient to
show how remiss the European Powers have been in
allowing such important objects to be committed to
the care of men who have no principle among them
of national attachment.

The third and fourth dragoman serve in what is
called the chancery of each embassy where vessels'
papers and travellers' firmans are registered, and
where all commercial disputes between the natives
and foreign subjects, or those having foreign protec-
tion, are arranged for the inspection of the Grand
Vizier, who is invested, by the several treaties be-
tween the Porte and the Great Powers, with au-
thority to decide them. The dragoman prepares
the papers for his inspection, or verbally explains
the nature of the case to him, and it is his custom
never to hear a cause, or to give a judgment upon
it, except in the presence of the official interpreter
of the nation to which the litigating party belong.
This is a considerable branch of dragoman's duty.
As I suppose the Frank population of Pera, with
the,Pri,i^bricaci; eilubt is to say Greeks or Armenians,
who are employed by Europeans, tuiLe rpee;ve
from the respective Consuls certificates of protec-
tion, amount to 10,000 or 15,000 persons.
Whether to save themselves from labour, or be-
cause they are more ignorant of the Turkish language
than they are willing to admit, the dragomans of all
the embassies are in the habit of resorting to a per-
son called a Kiatib—that is to say, scribe or writer,
who prepares in pure language all documents for
them, and who has always at hand a quantity of
forms ready for ordinary business. The Kiatib is
paid a salary by all the embassies, as the- greater
part of the dragomans are obliged to seek his aid ;
and unless the Ambassadors take especial care to
transmit their notes to the Reis Effendi in French,
it is possible that the state secrets of all the nations
of Europe may be found in the bureau of Nedjeb
Effendi, the French writer, from the positive ineffi-
ciency of the dragomans to draw up the necessary
papers without his assistance. The only embassy
that can really depend on its interpreters is that of
Austria, who finds an adequate supply of native
Germans from the school which she has established
at Vienna, and from whence some highly eminent
persons have proceeded. The internuncio, as the
Austrian here is called, is most commonly selected
from this corps. The late internuncio, Baron D'Ot-
tenfels, was a dragoman ; and the father of the pre-
sent Baron Sturmer belonged to the same body. It
is generally admitted that no nation is so ably re-
presented or so efficiently served as Austria ; and if
the Court of Vienna should separate its policy from
that of St. Peteesburgh, as many persons think she
may be induced to do, the superiority of her mode
of transacting business here will soon be very evident.
The official place of meeting for the Dragomans is
at Constantinople, in an apartment within the gate
called the Ottoman Porte, in a large quadrangular
building, where all the public offices of the Turkish
Government are united. The Dragoman of the
Porte has his office at one side of a lower floor, and
the apartment of the other Dragomans is immediately
opposite
to it. It is there where they assemble, in a
sort of freemasons' lodge, and carry on the intrigues
of their masters or their own ; and communicate
just as much of the most secret business to each
other as may be necessary to support the credit of all
in their respective embassies. It was in this room
that the Dragomans of the Porte used to assemble
before the Greek revolution, and where so many in-
trigues were carried on towards attaining the grand
object of their ambition—the government of the
principalities of Walachia and Moldavia.
The Dragomans of Russia are said to be intelli-
gent and tolerably well-educated men. The prin-
cipal, Franchini, who has died within two months,
though unable to write Turkish, spoke it fluently,
and, being a man of great natural abilities, acquired
considerable influence at the Porte. He was the
chief Dragoman of France when General Sebastiani
was Napoleon's Ambassador at Constantinople.
The second is Mr. Matthew Pisani, the third, Mr.
Deodati, and the fourth, Mr. Paul Pisani. The suc-
cessor to M. Franchini is not yet appointed, but the
nephew of one of the Hospodars of Walachia,
who, with his father, escaped to Russia at the
commencement of the Greek revolution, and
only returned to Turkey in the suite of the
Count Orloff the other day, is said to have
the best chance, as it is generally understood among
the body that all vacancies are to be filled up from
Greek families, as the policy of Russia is turning a
favourable eye towards those who are likely to be its
future subjects. The place of the head dragoman
of France is vacant, but M. La Pierre is the second,
M. Dantin the third, and M. Francoville the fourth.
England has, first on her list, M. Francis Chabert,
with a salary of 1,000/. a-year--second, M. Edward
Pisani—third, M. G. Wood—fourth, M. Frederick
Pisani—fifth, M. Calavro, each with 500/. a-year,
besides M. Alexander Pisani, dragoman elect, M.
Robert Chabert, M. Etienne Pisani, and Mr. Richard
Wood, students for the office, each with salaries or
allowances. All these persons are acquainted with
French and Italian ; few of them are Turkish
scholars—that is to say, write it with correctness
and elegance, though all can speak it fluently. The
first and second dragomans of our embassy cannot
speak English, and I believe they have generally a
most satisfactory ignorance of our system and insti-
tutions. The English dragomans were formerly the
servants of the Levant Company, but when that
,monopoly was broken up by Mr. Canning, they were
transferred partly, as I have explained, to the service
of the Ambassador, and partly to that of the Chan-
cery and Consulate. The salary of the first drago-
man is actually 8001. a-year, with an allowance of
NO/. a-year to him, if he be in attendance at the
Porte ; but it does not follow, of course, that the
head dragoman is chosen for that purpose, as I be-
lieve it was in Sir Stratford Canning's time that the
extra salary was taken away from M. Chabert and
divided between the second and the third. They
also receive a variety of fees on firmans, which, in
some cases, fall to the lot of the head dragoman, and
in others are divided at the end of the year among
the corps. The American government has, with its
usual good sense, adopted the Austrian system, an
Mr. Hodgson, late Charge des Affaires at Algiers.

ziani.
SARDINIA.—The Chevalier Cherie°, charge
deaf,aldi
An
faires ; Mr. Sumoneri, first interpreter ; Mr. h6s•
second interpreter; Mr. Gabbi and Mr. 'nice°, attac
SWEDEN.-The Chevalier, A ntony.de Testa, chal e
.
d George Timoni,'affaires ; Mr. Paul Serepino, first interpreter ; it"
interpreter elect.