The Sun.
London, England, 1861-08-05 00:00:00

THE MIRES LOAM

Among the facts which have become public in
the course of the late trial of Mires there is one
which seems to have pass •unnoticed, but which
nearly concerns the Turkish Government. In the
book entitled A 111 es juges several pages are devoted
to the scandalous Ottoman loan. Among other
things, Mires or his literary representative gives in
the statement which he submitted to the French
Minister of Finance with a view of allaying any
anxiety that might be felt as to the effect of the loan
in France as a money drain. The capital for which
the Turkish Government made itself responsible was
400,000,000 f. Let us see how much they were to
receive for this, according to Mires. The loan was
contracted for at 531' which would yield 215,000,000 f.
but from this there has to be deducted the commis-
sion of 13 per cent., 6,000,000 f., and two years' in-
terest and sinking fund, making, with the deferred
instalments (payable in the course of 18 months),
55,000,000 f., reducing the sum at the disposal of the
Porte to 154,000,000 f. The amount payable an-
nually for interest and sinking fund was 27,360,0001'.,
so that the Porte would pay at the rate of 17 1-10
per cent. per annum (15 for interest and 2 1-10 for
sinking fund) on the effective proceeds of the loan.
The excuse offered for the acceptance of such con-
ditions was that the Government would be able to
extinguish debts on which they were paying a still
higher rate of interest. Now, it has been stated
again and again that the whole debt of Turkey,
floating and consolidated, dces not exceed
£33,000,000. Of this the foreign loans, consolides,
hasne-tahvili, and bons for 10 years, representing
£21,184,000, is at 6 per cent. ; the sehims at 8 per
cent. amount to £675,000. It follows, therefore,
that the balance of the debt, £11,140,000, is at a
higher rate of interest than 15 per cent. per annum,
a statement which we certainly will not believe
without very good evidence. That loans were
made on conditions as regarded reimbursement,
which represented a charge on the Treasury of 30
per cent, and upwards, is probably true; but that
in addition to these enormous collateral profits the
mere interest was fixed above 15 per cent., we re-
peat that we cannot believe. Evidently there is
some dirty mystery :connected with the nego-
tiation of a loan on such monstrous terms, which
needs dragging into the light, and Mires' book may
put the Sultan's Ministers, whose reputation is in-
terested in the question. upon the track. The com-
mission payable on the loan was 11; per cent., but
Mires distinctly states that the portion of the com-
mission coming to him, the contractor, was only
1 per cent. The question therefore arises, who re-
ceived the other per cent., amounting to 3,000,000 f.
There were no intermediaries in the affair ; Mires
states distinctly that on the 20th of October, 1860,
he concluded the treaty for the loan with Mr. G.
Court, representing the Ottoman Government, and
that it was ratified by the Sublime Porte in Novem-
ber. There were only three parties to the affair—
the Sultan's Ministers, Mr. Court, and M. Mires.
We cannot suppose that the Ministers pocketed the
3,000,000 f., nor can we imagine that Mr. Court, the
person employed as negotiator, accepted a bribe
from Mires to induce his employers to consent to so
atrocious an extortion. Nothing that we have
heard of Mr. Court authorisei such a suspicion, but
that M. Mires did abandon one-half of his commis-
sion to some one who had influence enough to blind
the Porte to the real features of the contract is quite
clear. This singular fact being now made public,
we cannot believe that the chief Ministers of the
Sultan, men of undoubted honour and integrity,
will suffer it to pass unchallenged ; for it affects
every one who had a voice in the ratification of the
treaty. That any Minister of Finance should have.
consented to such a convention would appear incre—
dible were it not that, within the last few months,t
so many financial blunders have been perpetrated.
A measure exhibiting the most elementary know-
ledge of financial principles is the only thing that
could astonish us. The sole apparent explanation
of the ratification of Mr. Court's convention is that
other parties had a direct interest in mystifying the
Government, if the statement of Mires be correct.
establishments,
and
that as these bills would be paid by the
f various
One of the arguments presented to the French Mini-
ster of Finance in favour of the Loan was this—
that bills to the amount of 80,000,000 f, drawn by
the
bankingbankers,
were in the
proceeds of the loan, so much less money would
leave France ; the orte would, in fact, only get
74,000,000 f. The bills represented money lent to
the Turkish Government, which had been raised by
o Constantinople
French
this colossal system of kite-flying. It is a curious
coincidence concerning this statement, that the
Constantinople bankers, represented by Couturier
and Co., Rostand, and Arland, Court, and Co. (Mr.
Court being the negotiator on behalf of the Porte),
amicably consented to take 90,000,000 f. of the
capital as soon as the public had swallowed
125,000,000 f. at the extortionate price of 623, and
that the success of the speculation was consequently
certain. These, gentlemen, we believe, were to get
their stock at the contractor's price of 531.
levant Herald.