Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1861-08-31
What a Royal HareDa Costs.

The new Sultan of the Turkish Empire,
says the London Morning Post has begun
his work with the encomy of radical and
the determ ination of a caliph. -"Retrerch.
menP is the W ord everywhere. The palace
is the first subject Of this ruthless rerorma,
ton We have now got for the first time
an authoritative statement of the expendi
ture incurred by the Turkish civil list during
the reign of the deceased Sultan. 1t
amounted TO $4,000 O00f, or not less than
93,000,900 ($l5, 900, 600 y year. No
wonder that the credit of the government |
was so terribly impaired. This constituted |
something Ike fourth or fifth of the total
revenue Of the Ottoman empire, all spent
on the theocratic practice of polygamy
The expenditure has no comparison, or
approach to q comparison, at the wealthiest
courts Of Western Europe. The Sulaan
Abdul Az has at once Topped off GO, ,OOO,-
000f year, thereby reducing the palace
expenditure to l2000,000f, or G48O,O 900
of our money, being only Gl00, 900 yecr
more than eur own civil list. But what is
to become Of the magnificent harem, retiuue
and guards, who were wont to live on the
two millions and half sterling which are
Eow sequestered from the civil list. The
answer is plain for the Sultan has more OF
less directly, given u' his programme
There are first the harcm. Now, hithert,
the death of Sultan has been a source Of
great expense, because a new harem ha,
to be set up, while the old harem has still
to be maintained.
At Constantinope during the last 20 year.
there have been at once the three hun
dred wives of the then reigning Snltan anc
the three hundred widows of Mahmoud II
to be maintained simultaneously at the pub
lie expence. And as the latter were all
on the accession Of Abdul Medd, yer
young widows, few dropped off by dealt
or course, in the case of a son succeedn
his father, there could be no choice, Will
Sultanc poygamy was maintained, bu
that the late monarchS ladies should with
draw from the harem of the new prince
But as Mabometanism has certainly ac
knowedged much of the Levitical econ
omy, it might still be question whether
the brother might not take to himself the
wives OF the deceased brother. However
this may be, it is clear that Sultan Aziz has
no notion OF keeping up three hundred wild
oWs OF his brother either, at the public eX
pense. All these ladies, therefore, who
have had children are TO be otherwise nro
vided for This distinction is, however, like
" 10 result in the marriage of the majority
The only question in European minds tha
arises is, where are they to find husbands
We imagine, however, that in Turkey ther
will be little difficulty experienced on tn
head. Possibly the lady of Sultan ndVe
tisipg for husband might become subje
Of national competition. Indeed it is by I
means impossible that the ladies may |
sold at large sums Not only will the futul
expenditure be thus greatly diminished, br
the ladies may themselves be parted wit
FOR considerations that may go far to pa
the late Sntans debts According to tn
gossips of Constantinople, the great msjol
ity of the inhabitants of the harem hav
been practically nus, and the blessings c
married life have been reserved for som
ten or twelve favorites.