St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1876-06-16
ROBERT COLLEGE.

~ tHt EutOF O| me fuitdOHiuH:
DEAR SIR Il have never vcnturrd to
write You Oh ii subject which Prince
BIsmark. Count Audrasscy and Premier
DISraell, have been unable to fith"m,
but the Eastern question has recently
assumed such features that every in
hahltant of Constantinople begins to
feel Il personal interest in the matter
The telegraph has brought To You the
news of the troubles that have been
gathering thick and fast about the gov
crnmeut of the MuSlcms in Europe the
lnsurIection III Herzegovina. now twelve
months old, the financial crash the
assassination of the European Consuls in
Salonica, and the insurrection of the
Bnlgarans.
1t is probable that you have not been
able to get very near the truth of the
situation. but no doubt in some respects
You have been quite as we'll informed
a. We who live III the midst of it. The
Turks have established 50 strict Il cen
sorship on the press, that We get very
little reliable information from the city
papers. and the news that We rely "n
most comes to Us bN way of tl,, London
Times.
The past few days have been quite
exciting i'll C"nstantin"ple, for every
one has been in the condition of not
knowing what is going t" happen. \
week ago the Soft;is (thc Mohammedal
pricStly caste students of law and
theology -wrdrers of the white tulban)
sent in to the Sultan Il demand for the
removal of the Grand Nizier. Mahmond
Ncdim Pasha, and the Sheik ul-I Islam.
the highest ecclesiastical dignitary he
low his Imperial Majesty. both of " hom
had made themselves very offensive to
them. This was an act of unlIeard-o -ot
holdness under an absolute despetism,
such as the Sultan is supposed to
possess, and as such, created great
deal of cOnImotion.
But Ahd-ulAziz finds that the power
that WAS once welded 10y his predeces
sors has slipped away from him. He
wields an impotcnt sceptre, and the
Sottas are too powerful class to be
disregardcd. Report places their num-
her at 10000 in the city, which is per
rcveIed and influential class as being
the eXpounders OF the law and gospel of
the Prophet.
1t was rmmored too, that, unless their
demands were complied with. they
would rise and burn the city; and the
Sultan feeling powerless to resist them
reluctantly removed the imperial seals
from the hands of his fivorte Mahmond
Pasha.
The people having gained their point
so far. became quiet for few days, but
the man VIII" WAS appointed t" the
Grand Niziership, Mehemet Rushdi
Pasha, not being to their minds, they
have again demanded (so rumor states)
that he be removed and their favorite
Midhat Pasha put in the place. En-
couraged by their former success, they
threaten now that unless their wish is
granted, they will not pray for the Sui
tan to-day friday in the mosques
which event would have very ominOus
Specification to the MOslems, being |
suppose, equivalent to renouncing their
allegiance.
Poor Sultan Add ul Aziz is probably
the most unhappy man in Turkey to-
day. He sees the power that he once
held slipping from him, and he cannot
stem the tide. He is moreover in NOR
tai fear of his life, and it is said he can
neither eat nor sleep. He keeps ii large
force OF soldiers constantly about his
person for protection.
1t appears that the movement Oh the
part of the Sottas is purely political,
aud not fanatical OF religious. as was
feared by some. They are disgusted
with the policy of government which