Cincinnati daily press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1860-1862, 1860-07-19
Slaughter of the Christians in Turkey.

A few years ago all Christendom was con-
cerned for the preservation of the Turkish
Empire from Russian aggression. The de-
mand of the Gar for guarantees for the
protection ofthe Christians in Turkey was
treated as dishonest pretext for the aequi-
sition of territory from the Turks. England,
France and Sardinia took the field in holy
crusade to preserve the integrity of the
Turkish dominions, and succeeded for the
time in preventing any concession to the
Russian demand.
Recent intelligence from Turkey is bring
ing the fruits of this holy war. The Druses,
warlike people, resembling the Bedouins in
their customs, and of the Mosleml faith, have
opened a war of determination on the Chris
tians. Hundreds of villages have been
sacked, and their inhabitants murdered in
discriminatory, while the government has not
only done nothing for their relief but seems
to be encouraging the Druses, and aiding
them with the public stores and ammunition.
A correspondent of the London NecS states
that in the District of Meten alone, no less
than sixty Christian villages, each containing
apopulation offrom 800 to 1000 persons, were
burned to the ground. Foreign property is
not respected, and religious houses share the
general destruction. A number of refugee
| Christians, peasants, nuns, priests, women
and children, flying from the Druses in Leb-
anon, sought refuge at the town of Sidon,
but were butchered by the Mosems and
Druses of the neighborhood, in sight
of the garrison of 200 Turkish SOL
diers in the town, some of them, it is
said, assisting in the massacre. Easbelya,
a village of 5000 inhabitants of whom 1000
! were Christians and the rest Druses, was at
tackled by the Druses. After some show of
assisting the defense of the town, the Turkish
troops Joined the Druses, the Christians were
overcome and indiscriminately slaughtered.
Rashbeiya, village of 5000 inhabitants had
the same fate. The writer says:
"The blood of thousands of Christians
men, women and children, priests, and nuns,
calls up from the ground in Syria for ven
geance against the local authorities, who
might SO easily have prevented the fearful
catastrophies which have taken place in this
land since the 29th ult., but who have made
it their determined policy to stand by and
see Christians murdered, even helping the
Druses to do what they have"
This slaughter is accompanied by all the
atrocities which so excited the horror of
Christendom when related of the natives in
India, by the British. This is the govern
ment that was preserved at the cost of SO
much of the blood and treasure of civilized
Europe. The Christian population in the
Turkish dominions is greater than that of
| tho TurEo hut fhair ri 10 nd
held almost at the mercy of the Turks 1t is
unnecessary to relate here how Turk re-
CARDS Christian. To neglect an opportu-
nifty to slay Christian, he regards as incur
ring the wrath of God. AS a general thing
the Christians have been deprived of all re-
dress by the judicial tribunals, and have not
been allowed to testify before them. Turkish
justice is proverbial for its corruption, even
among Turks and to rob Christian is re-
garded as doing God service.
By all the rules of civilization the Turkish
Empire should have been wiped out by the
Crimean War. The Intervention of the Wes-
tern Powers sacrificed all the interests OF
humanity and Christianity, and preserved an
atrocious barbarism, impotent for anything
but cruel bigotry, merely to savea balance
of physical power. Now the blood of thou
sands of the inhabitants of Turkey, whom
Russia would have protected, cries out from
the ground, against the Christian nations oi
Western Europe.
Is it not peculiar lecture of philanthropy
J that Christian nations not only tolerate but
maintain this atrocious rule over the millions
, of Christians in Turkey, while they regard
the rule of Catholic Potentate over Cath.
olic people to be necessarily so monstroui
as to justify armed revolution. Especially
is this feeling prominent in England, which
: taxes Catholic Ireland to support ChurcE
{ which treats the religion of the Irish will
4 the insolence of conquerers