The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1876-06-01

| OF winning, and that is to hold all the CARDS.
The Change in Turkey.
Some Frenchman. happier in his phrases
than in his faith, summed up an experience
of many new governments which repeated
the old errors in the phrase, "Thus ca change,
plts cest Ia meme chose;" or, change them as
we may, they are the same at last. And this,
we are convinced, will be the experience Of
the world with the change in Turkey,
though we note that it is interpreted in
some quarters rs fact of good augury
for reform in that country. Apparently
this Interpretation is founded in a too
literal acceptance of the official announce
ment of the change Of sultans The
phrase as to s'the will of the people is
taken as the statement Of fact. In truth,
however, the will of the people Of Turkey
was no more felt In this change and
had no more relation to it than the
will OF the people of Coney Island. If even
mob shouted against the Sultan in the
streets of Stamboul it is we'll enough known
to everybody how that could be managed;
but between crowd of roughs in the
streets of dirty city and the people of an
Empire that stretches from the Balkan to the
Persian frontier there is a perceptible differ
encc. Tammany Hall can organize q dem
onstration in the streets of this city that
will howl reform against my frantic
ten thousand Moslems the world ever saw;
but if by any conceivable circumstance such
demonstration could change our govern
ment would it be fair to say that the
change was produced by the will Of tho
American people Tammany Hall would say
that, of course. But would anybody else?
Would Massachusetts, or California Wiscon-
sin or Texas assent? They who arranged
the deposition of the Sultan have announced
it to the world in phrase that is in the
style of the political slang of the time, for
all in these days must move i'll the name
of the people. But there must be a robust
optimism in those who are imposed upon by
such pretence when it dates from Constan-
tinople.
palace intrigue" is an acknowledged part
of the unwritten law of non-constitutional
countries, and Abdul-Aziz has only fallen
under the ban of that inevitable limitation
of absolute governments. In countries wAre
the sovereign authority finds such support
in the surroundings that it prevails against
all regular endeavors to limit it constitu-
tionally, where it puts down parliaments
and councils-stamps out laws, customs,
traditions prevents, in short, the growth in
the State of any political body that divides
the supremacy with it, there it is found that
the ''palace intrigue" always comes upon
the stage sooner or later as the ex-
preston of awill hostile to the Sovereign's
will. In short. irregular limitation or
conspiracy cannot be prevented. In
Russia this limited supremacy has ope-
| rated SO constantly that that government
war said to be "a despotism tempered by as
sassnation." 1t was said of Russian en-
| peror that he walked to his coronation pre-
ceded by the murderers of his father, fol-
lowed by the murderers of his grandfather
and surrounded by those who subsequently
| murdered him in his turn. Russia and Turkey
are alike in this unpleasant particular. The
Sultan has been put aside by palace in
trigue, to which the heir apparent was per-
haps a party, and which has had the sup
port Of the softas. Are the authors of that
intrigue inspired by any aspiration toward
reform in the government?
This, while conceivable and possible, is
unlikely. Indeed. the supposition is only
possible on the assumption that the authors
of the intrigue are possessed of far more tai
emit than is known to exist among the Otto
man princes for they must have held Eng
land in one hand and Moslem ianaticism in
the other. No intrigue could have sue
ceeded in presence of that fanaticism that
| was known to be allied with the endeavor to
reform-that is, Christianize the country
and no promise Of reform could be made
that did not start with pledge to put down
the fanatics as the only serious obstacle. If
| the present Sultan stands on bargain made
with England he is not likely to stand a
great while; end unless he does stand on
such bargain his accession does not mean
reform. We cannot, therefore, thoroughly
see on what the English journals found their
Joy in the matter, unless, indeed, England 5
| hand has been in the unmaking of Abdul
Aziz, and that there is a secret. pledge of
some kind between the English and tho men
now in power at Constantinople Before,
however, any Power can reap advantage
from the change of names we must sec
which way tends the promised change in the
/ administration.
The Fourteenth Days Bulletin.
Fourteen days from to-day the Convention