The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1871-03-08
A FINANCIAL CRISIS IN TURKEY.

The holders of Turkish bonds are so accus-
toned TO hear gloomy prophecies respecting
their investments that they probably will not
be much affected by the observations of the
LeCGpt Herald, which would seem to show
that the Porte Is fast drifting into the gravest
financial crisis it has experienced since the
Crimean war. The whole of the January
coupons will be paid, but it will be under
pressure of such difficulty as no previous
liquidation has ever entaied on the Treasury.
During the last six or eight years, including
the conversion of the cousolides, $i2O, 100000
has been added to the debt of the country,
scarcely shilling of which has been spent
on reproductive public works. Taxation has
been stretched 10 its outside limits-the
capital alone being now left for further turn
of the fiscal screw-yet the annual excess of
expenditure over revenue has gone on in
creasing till the deficit of the present year
will, it is said, fall little short of
$25, 600, 600. portion of this large
sum must no doubt be debited to the extra
military preparations necessitated by the re-
cent move of Russia, and to the Yemen ex-
pedition; but the balance is still much in OK
cess of the deficit of any recent years, and
can only be explained by the wasteful ex-
psnditure which now seems to have become
q fixed law of Turkish administration. Since
1854 a total of nearly $500, 900, 900 of public
debt has been incurred; of this it is true
about $50, 600, 600, has been bald off, but the
balance still entails an annual charge of
nearly $35 0OO, 600, or little short of one half
of the whole net revenue of the country.
There remain. however, vast material re-
sources not only unpledged, but which are as
yet fscally untouched, and which if utilized
would go far to relieve the Turkish Treasury
once for all from its embarrassments, aud
spare it the necessity of resorting to further
loans The resources in question are the
almost limitless mineral wealth of the coun-
try, and the vast forests which abound
within easy reach of the sea in both halves of
the empire. At the very doors of the capital
the coal-mines of Heraclea might be either
leased or sold for a lump sum which would
tell sensibly on the years budget, while the
deposits of silver, copper, and other metals
which also abound in both the European and
Asiatic provinces might be SINH
larly turned into gold. There
are also the splendid tracts of forest
fringing the coast on the banks of a score of
rivers which offer easy means of transport to
the sea, in plenty enough TO feed host of
new native industries and supply half the
Western timber markets besides. Add to all
this store of wealth what might be further
realized by the sale of crown lands, and the
toughest estimate of the whole WILL in the
opinion of the Le0dnt Herald, show that the
Porte is very far indeed from insolvency.
that 1t has, on the contrary, reserve capital
which needs only to be made available to
render the Turkish Treasury one of the
easiest in Europe. On the other hand, it
must be remembered that a nation which
borrows money has many advantages over
one that 'utilizes its resources" In the
present temper of the civilized world repu-
tation for poverty is to certain extent a
safeguard against the cupidity of Christian
neighbors. Debts may as last resource be
repudiated, but resources admit of no repu-
diation. In time of trouble a nations re-
sources, like its sins are sure to find it out,
and therefore any nation nowadays that has
the good fortune to possess resources may
act wisely by keeping them carefully in the
background even at the cost of raising loans
at an exorbitant rate of interest.