Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1876-06-10
THE TURKISH REVOLUTION.

AAE AOAAACA AENVEUIAVEs
Domestic politics are become so
stimulating that it ID almost hopeless
to strive to interest anybody in Euro
pean transactions, and still more so
when they are so nearly Asiatic as to
have transpired in the Turkish en-
pire. For all that, when nation still
great in numbers, and carrying within
its tangled politics the question of
peace OF war in Europe-when such a
nation. after a long struggle with re-
volt and bankruptcy has suddenly de-
posed one monarch and exalted an
other; especially when with the former
a tragical death has followed close
upon his deposition. some recognition
of the fact can hardly be withheld.
Let no man be alarmed, we are not
going to discuss the Eastern question,
we purpose simply to state few facts
On the last day of May the Sultan
Abdul Aziz, Ga few years ago the hon
ored guest of Queen Victoria) ruler of
the Turkish empire. was deposed, and
his nephew. Murad Efendi, elevated
to the throne in his place. Events of
this sort are not infrequent in the his
tory Of the Ottoman throne, and the
regular thing is that the deposed Sui
tan should be strangled and magnif-
Gently buried. Knowing the custom,
and wishing to do kind thing for her
former guest, Queen Victoria tele-
graphed Murad with request that he
wouldn't. He didn't, or said SO =; but
on the morning of the 3rd inst, Aziz
was found dead in the palace on the
Bosporus, to which he had been trans
ported, and the doctors who were in
structed to examine into the cause of
death, report that he committed sui
eide by opening some veins with pair
of scissors they would have been
bold doctors if they had said anything
else. In any case, Murad Efendi
reigns undisputedly, for the present.
Our readers would perhaps desire
to learn a little of the true inwardness
Of this transaction, as we did that of
the Nashville convention, which hap
pened about the same time. 1t is not
an attractive subject, but we will en-
mo- 90 20 knnah - 1scItI,~
This revolution was brought about
by class of men in Constantinople,
called the Sofas. They are young
men undergoing preparation for the
priesthood, and like incipient priests
in all communities, embody in an ex-
aggerated degree all the bigotry and
fanaticism of the nation they have
controlling influence over the lowest
class of Mahommedan roughs in Con-
stantinople. Now, the Softas and the
mob which they influence had become
vehemently excited over the conoes-
sionE tie Sultan was making to Chris
tan powers, extorted from him by the
Instruction in the Slavonic portions
of his dominions, and on the 9th ult.
they visited the harem of the Sultan
and demanded the dismissal of the
cabinet and the substitution of an or
thodox cabinet of true mahommedans,
whs could be relied upon to resist the
mandates of Ignatieff and Andrassy.
The Sultan could not resist; the new
cabinet was appointed, and immedi-
ately found itself in the midst of diff
culties, Christian revolt in the Slavo-
mic provinces, Mahommedan turbu-
lence in Constantinople, dictation of
all sorts at the European embassies,
alternate terror and stubbornness in
the Sultan-and no money. This is
the chronic difficulty of the Sublime
Porte, and the crucial question soon
came up. 1t appears that when a cul-
mination of all troubles in the form
of national bankruptcy became immi-
nent, the Sultan had reserved about
$10,0O0,0OO for the purpose of making
himself comfortable in his harem.
The embarrassed ministry requested
that this might be given up to the
national exigencies. MOI His mag
esty had at last arrived at the point of
determined resistance. He had yielded
to Austrian and Russian ENJOYS, to
Christian insurgents, to Sofas and the
mob of Constantinople, and had got
into that state of confusion that he
scarcely knew whether he was Chris
tian or a Mahommedan power, Euro
pean or Asiatic, but. put the harem on
short allowance No; his foot was
down. The cabinet retired and the
same evening paid another visit, ac-
cOmpanied by mob of armed Softas.
Would his majesty give up that money?
No. Would he be pleased to abdi-
cate in favor of his nephew Murad I?
He would rather not. Would his
majesty bethink him? Worse things
might happen with a mob of Sofas
around the palace, and a larger mob
of bowling fanatics behind them
Would he be graciously pleased to re-
tire to the palace on the Bosporus, or
to risk what might happen in the me-
? He would go, but the ha-
rem must go too. COnstantinople was
quit of both. the suicide or assassina-
ton followed, nobody cares much |
which, and the new order of things is
He is a sanguine man
who thinks it will last long.
COMMENCEMENT AT THE CLARKS-
WILLIE FEMALE ACADEMY.