Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1876-04-26

~ AHeApoIlencou SaAlOrS-hOW u
WOmHn's influence PrOcured n
NOvice an Important Position.
Correspondence London News,l
The present Sultan's hobby is
ship-building, just as the last Sui
tanls was palace-building. Abdul
Aziz, it is understood, takes great
interest in the modelling Of ships
and in the extent of his fleet. Those
who have passed up or down the
Bosphorus during summer will ad-
NIT that the double line Of iron
clads which are always anchored be-
fore the palaces form a decided
acquisition to the picturesque and
lively scene before their eyes. But
the utility Of the feet may safely
be doubted. Six months these
ships lie in the Bosphorus. Then
they get up steam and go into the
Golden Horn, a distance say of two
miles. There they winter until, in
spring, they again get up steam for
the return voyage. With the ex.
ception of one or two trips, lasting
a day or two at the outside, when
they steam for a short distance into
the Marmora, they never 90 to sea.
A training-ship did, indeed, go ia
India last year, and occasional trips
have been made, by individual
ships, but the utter ignorance of
navigation displayed by most Of
their officers would render a voy-
age to sea far too dangerous and
expensive an experiment to be
lightly or often taken. l could fill
q column with stories | have heard
from Turks themselves Of the inca
pSpity of the officers in charge. 1t
wa certainly believed here three OF
four years ago that a man-of-war,
which had been sent to Marseilles,
returned, after a long cruise in the
Mediterranean, without success in
finding that port, the captain de-
claring his belief that it did not
exist; and though / will not vouch
for the truth Of the story, yet
it, in addition to a dozen of a sim
liar character which are current
here, shows that the popular esti'
mate of the skill Of those in com.
mand is very low. When the an
nual voyage is made there is usually
some mishap. Either the bridge il
struck or the engines get out o
order. When aman-of-war weighs
anchor she becomes on all sides th'
subject Of small jokes, the natura
result of a long series Of miSfor
tunes arising from incapacity. I'm
til lately the engineers on boar(
Iwere Englishmen. They have nov
been succeeded by Turks, who
since by lifting one handle the,
can go ahead and by moving an
other they can go astern, are re
garded as capable engineers, bu
\ who know little more Of the scien
tifc construction Of q steam engin
than they do of Chinese metaphys
lies. Moreover, the engineers d
not have a weeks actual practic
during the year. The ships, too
are always insuficiently manne,
and badly ofiicered, When tn
Sultan visited England the Office
lin command had the sense to tax
an Englishman with him to direo
/ the navigation; end the Sultan, VIII
was not told that his officers wer
| incompetent, on asking on severa
occasions who the giaour was, ha,
to be put off with The excuse tina
he was merely visitor on board
an Englshman to whom they wer
giving apassage to England. TIL
reason Of the incompetency Of tn
Turkish naval officers is to b
found in the general corruption
which peryades everything Turk
ish. i" Look said aTurkish off
Ger who had been educated in Eng
land to me as we were passing on
of the iron-clads year ago, 18th
officer in command of that vesst
is my superior in rank. He wa
/, never on board a ship in his lii
. u ntil he was placed in command Q
that But his wife was a relatio
J Of one of the women in the Sultan
r harem, and through her he G
y | II. G,..t c,on1 a,A,.n;,, t,,,a,,k ,,yb II