The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-05-14
The regular circulation Of THE Sun fo'
~ week ending Mdu 10, 1870, tCds
rho Three Chanccilors IN Conference.

There are three Emperors In Europe,
ALEXANDER the Second OF Russia. FRAN
I'm JOSEPH the First OF Austria, and WILL
liam the First of Germany. There are
three great Ministers or Chancellors, who,
under these Emperors. direct the affairs
Of their euts-GoRTscuAKoFF the
Russian, ANDRAssY the Austrian. and Bis
nARcK the German. Tue three Emperors
uphold three different oreeds OF the Chris
tan faith. ALEXANDER of Russia belongs
10 the Greco-Russian Orthodox Catholic
Church; FRANCIS JOSEPH OF Austria be-
longs to the Roman Catholic Church; and
WILLIAM OF Germany belongs TO the Evan
Heloal Protestant Church.
The three Chancellois of these Emperors,
Ill of whom claim 10 rule by Divine right,
are at this time hodin, a conference at
Berlin for the purpose of deciding the fate
Of the Mohammedan sovereign OF the
Turkish empire. 1t may be said that the
power and dominion of the Sultan are at
the mercy OF these three Christian En-
perors, represented by their powerful
CHANCELLOR Each o; the Chancellors is q
man OF experience in affairs. GoRTscuA-
KoTF Is seventy-eight years Of age mas been
IN the diplomatic service all his life, and
has Ind his present position in the Minis
try OF Foreign Affairs for twenty years.
ANDRAssY Is fifty-three years old, has
been In public life since lie was u young
man, and O member of II . Ministry for
nearly ten years. BISMARCK Is sixtv-two
years of age. was Ambassador to Russia
and to France, and has been in the service
Of WILLIAM the First, as Minister or as
a. -
men are favorites of the Emperors whom
ehev serve, aud with whom their counsel
b influential.
We can get but uncertain knowledge CT
the propositions and discussions OF the
three Chaucellors at their Berlin confer
snce, which is held In BIsMARcK's house.
But we have, during the last few months,
lad some of the notes, or the joint notes,
sent by them in behalf of their Govern
nents 10 the Turkish Sultan, ana thereby
We have learned the general nature OF
their demands aud the grounds of
these demands. According to the reports
from Berlin. the three Chancellors, on
Friday last, took up ANDRAssY's
note, which required the Sultan to
secure certain fundamental rights to his
rebellious CHI istan subjects, and TO estab-
hsh certain reforms in their inter est. 1t is
further repor cd taat the three Chancel-
lors reached an agreement upon three
points: Firstly, that they would require
the Sultan to guarantee the execution of
che reforms Indicated by ANDRAssY; sec
ondly, that they wo I'D reserve to them-
selves the right to control such execu ion;
and thirdly, that they would, for the pres
snt, refrain from any military interven-
tiou in Turkish arllrs. II the re-
ports are at oil trustworthy, 1t
will be seen from this synopsis
Of them that the three Chancellors have
quickly concluded to adopt an energetic
policy toward Turkey. They have vir-
tually taken upon themselves the duty OF
supervising the administration of the
Turks Government The helplessness OF
the Sultan, under these circumstances, is
shown by the fact that, simultaneously
with the meeting of the Berlin Confer
ence, he has formally announced his
willingness, not merely TO grant the
AyDRAssY reforms, but to give the requi-
site guarantees for their execution, aud to
meet the other desires OF the three Em-
perors concerning them.
, The Sultan has undoubtedly been In
state of great alarm, during the past week,
over the formidable demonstra ton made
by the Christian Powers on account of the
massacre at Salonca. That matter also
will. OF course, be taken up by the three
Chancelors, aud It NAV be considered GER
cain that the Sultan will once more be pro-
fuse in his promises, and In his of RS to
secure the safety ana the rights OF his
Il.
reserve to their Governments the right OF
enforcing the Sultan's guarantees, in case
ef his failure to enforce them, the scope OF
the original ANDRAssY note will have to
be extended in a way that must be entire
iy subversiyc Of his authority all over his
empire.
The great trouble with the Sultan is that
his promises aud guarantees are of but lit
Gle account. lie has violated 80 many Of his
pledges that they have come to be mere
by-word, and command the respect neither
OF his own subjects nor of other Govern
ments. His whole political system and his
way of administering 1t are out Of place
In these times. Full liberty is nomnally
guaranteed In Turkey TO every religious
profession, and it is provided that
there shall be no legal recognition OF any
lntenorty OF one class OF subjects TO an
other. in consequence OF religious differ
snoes yet the charter of liberties in
which these principles appear, is practi-
eally disIegarded in every kind OF way
throughout his empire. Ills Will is abso-
Lutte, but yet he is powcrless to change the
fundamental laws which are based on the
precepts of the Koran and the tradition
AIRY sayings Of the Prophet.
In the European port OF the Sultan's
dominion, more than two-thr1s Of his sub
1ects are adhereuts Of the Chriatian rell-
Gion, most OF them belonging to the Greek
and Armenian rites. The Christian
population are FESTIVE under his gov
ernment; and the numerous Tevolts
among them which have taken place from
time to time, under the stimulus OF Rus
ma and the announcement OF their Rus
sian co-rellgionisis, have given evidence
shat they are perpetually in readiness TO
assist In his overthrow. Az this time, they
are more than usually uneasy on account
the Herzegoylnan insurrection, the