The Sun.
London, England, 1861-07-10 00:00:00

AFFAIRS OF TURKEY.

A letter from Constantinople, dated June 30,
says :—Sultan Abdul Aziz has ascended the throne
at a moment when the wonderful fabric raised by
his predecessors seemed to have reached that point
where the decline of empires merges in their fall.
With some qualities that would have commanded re-
spect in private life, the late Sultan was utterly unfit
to govern a great country, and the last four years
of his reign were pre-eminently years of decadence.
Will his brother prove that he has at once the will
and the capacity to arrest the progress of decay?
This is, doubtless, a question which people are ask-
ing in England no less than in Turkey. It is one
which Ido not pretend to answer. All I can do
is to place before your readers a statement of facts
as they develops themselves from time to time, ac-
companied with such observations as may assist
you in forming a just conclusion.
For many years past Sultan Abdul Medjid's ap-
pearance, and what was known of his habits, gave
rise to frequent anticipations of the event which was
delayed until last Tuesday morning. Under these
circumstances it was natural that the disposition
and opinions of the heir to the throne should have
been a subject of frequent and anxious inquiry.
Nevertheless, such was the jealousy with which
every movement of Aziz Effendi was watched
that, except through the medium of his medi-
cal attendant and his music.master, all com-
munication with the outer world was denied
him ; and the popular notion of his character was
therefore varying and undefined. All that could
be ascertained was that he was a robust man, fond
of healthy and invigorating amusements, such as
riding, yachting, and shooting. It was also known
that he took some interest in agriculture, that he
manifested a lively curiosity in respect to steam
machinery, and that he had at once taste and appli-
cation enough to induce him to learn music. A
strong will of his own he was said to have ; but
it was generally supposed that this had taken an
evil direction, and that it would one day manifest
itself in acts of religious intolerance. The better
opinion, perhaps, was that although his sympathies
were with the more austere of the Mussulmans, they
did not extend to the extreme fanatical party. A
strict economy, and regularity in matters of account,
distinguished the management of his household from
that of the neighbouring Palace ; but whether this
was attributable to himself, or to his mother, the
present Valide Sultana, did not clearly appear. The•
actions of the worst Princes have rarely been suck
in the first days of their reign as to furnish an index
to their future conduct; and we should not, per-
haps, allow our hopes to be raised too high by what
is now passing around us. Still, events would seem
to justify the more favourable opinion previously
formed of the new Sultan's character. That his
tendencies incline towards the old Mussulman party-
the choice of Namik Pasha, to which I shall pre-
sently advert, must be taken to imply. Yet one of
his first acts would negative the presumption of a
blind fanaticism. Signor Guatelli, the late Sultan's
bandmaster, had been in the habit of giving lessons
on the piano to Abdul Aziz Effendi. On the day
after the accession of the latter his music-master
called at the Palace. He was at once admitted Scs
the presence of the new Sultan, who asked him to,
what he was indebted for the honour of the visit-
" I have come to give your Majesty your lesson
on the pianos' was the answer. " You know,"
replied the Sultan, " a Pasha cannot condescend
to give lessons in music." Signor Guatelli was.
thus informed, for the first time, that he had been;
raised to the rank of Siva Pasha Marco Bey. His
Imperial Majesty's physician, another Christian,.
has been raised to the same rank.
An Imperial haft will be read at the Porte in the
course of a few days, in which, I am told, economy
will be proclaimed as the order of the day. It is
said, too, that a firm determination to carry into•
immediate effect the provisions of thellatti-Huma-
voun of February, 1856, will be expressed therein..
The practice of economy has, however, preceded
its preaching, his Majesty having already dis-
missed some 1,500 attendants of the Palace, and
having announced his intention of reducing the ex-
penses of his Civil List to 7,000,000 piastres per
month—one half of that which proved insufficient
for the wants of his predecessor. Some idea of the
extravagance which prevailed in the Imperial house-
hold may be gathered from the fact that there were
over 900 boatmen (caiquedjis) constantly employe&
The women of the harem, numbering over 750, have-
been removed from the Palace of Dolma-Bagtches
and their jewels taken possession of for the service
of the State. Among these ladies the lawful wives
of the deceased Sultan are, of course, not included ;
these, with their children, being allowed for the pre-
sent to remain in the Palace.
Ghalib Pasha, a man of good repute and of a
liberal education, which he received in Vienna, has
been appointed First Chamberlain, in place of
Ahmed Effendi, who is under arrest until he shall:
render satisfactory accounts—a task he is not likely
to accomplish on this side of Doomsday. A number
of other officers of minor importance have also been
replaced by others, whose appointment gives gene-
ral satisfaction.
But the event which has produced the grsAtest
sensation took place yesterday. The fall of the
favourite of the late Sultan, Itiza Pasha, Minister
of War and Seraskier, was an occurrence which,
sooner or later, must have happened if any serious
reform of the Administration were intended. Still,
he is a man of considerable ability, and., being Com-
mander•in-Chief of the army—a position which
enabled him to dispense many favours, it was
doubted whether the Sultan would venture thus
early on his dismissal. This step has, however, been
taken, and Namik Pasha reigns in his stead.
Mehemet Ali Pasha, a son of the great Mehemet
Ali of Egypt, died here a few days since.