The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1877-12-02


the cost Of the war In Servia, he experienced
the bewidered feeling of a man In dream.
His estate was surrounded by Turkish and
Christian villages, he was personally ac-
quaintod with many neighbors of both
faiths, and no could vouch that they con-
sorted on terms Of peace and amity. As
matter OF fact life and property wero so
safe that his Scotch ovorsccr, living on tho
farm with his wif9 and children. never book
the trouble to bolt hs doors ut night. We
may add that the sole war tax which the
distri Vt had to pay consisted OF n contribu-
tion Of stockings and blankets for the troops
suffering from cold in Scrvia. to which was
subsequently, joined an mpost Of thir-
tv-siS cents on hundred dollars,
which ruined nobody. As to the Os-
manli character, while he was not blind to
the invctcratc Viccs of the Turkish iunc-
tiOnary. he conceived a profound respect for
the Turkish merchant. and especially for
the Turkish Peasant. who supplies the fight
ing clement Of the armies. ON the whole he
IL utterly unable to ecc the Turk with the
cyos ~ Mr. GLADSTONE, and OF the lattcr's
American satellite, Mr.. SCHUYLER. but as
surcs us that Only the head or, - to speak,
th" scalp. of the nation Is diseased. tn"
body is sound and strong.
But while sympathy i no longer refused
"a gallant people which defends itsnf 80
dauntl--ly against trcmcnl1 us odds. We
are sometimes told that probity and courage
do not sum up the credentials of nation:
That II must also be progressive; and that 10
this merit Turkey can lay no claim II Is
true that many of the authorizations decrced
10y the Porte have been very impcrfcctly
carried out; hnt may not az much be said of
certain reforms in RUSSIA. OF the Zemstvo.
or provincial assembly. for example? ~
impartial traveller certainly has venture
to assert that the condition Of the rayohs Is
not sgnally improved. that they arr not
richer, more industrious. and less mulestcd
than they were forty years ago The Bul-
garian town of Eski-Saghra. according Ia
Col. BAKER. numbered in 1850 about 2l.n00
inhabitants In 1870 it had $4,000, aud
numerous thriving manufactures. In lSl
it had only one Christian school; thirty
years later it had Gity, with nm attendance
II moro than 20o0 pupils. We should not
have been justified In supposing Eski-Saghrd
to be the only town in Roumclin evncng
signs ct progress, aud IL is now notorious
that the Russians were a.i Jni-hed AZ the dr-
gree IT relative wealth and prosperity which
they encountered in Bulgaria. and which
was in strange contradiction with tbs mo-
tiuns previously nculcated.
II Is obvious that snail value attaches to
the statements of dipiomatists whose ne
Quaintauce with the Ottoman people Is mar
rpwed L. the official circles of Pcra and
testimony of BAKER. whose opinions are tho
fruit u prolonged residence aud personal
observation in the heart of Ruumelia. In
his Judgment the pcriOiical in-urrcctiOn is
IN no ca-o an indigenous product, it Is an
imported article. Not seldom. he assures
U.s. emi-satic- from Belgrade or Bucharest
have had 10 use force to drive the Bulgarian
peasant unucr their flag; at other times
dazzling promises have suiliced ~ hOodwink
him. On the Whole. he inoJnes Va think the
lch-t scruplluus Of pasaas a less pormiei1us
being than an usten-hle pauslavi-t a gita-
tor. Were these rural populations lcn 70
them selves, he Is convinced they would be
capable and DESTROYS 81 developing their in
dustrir~ and impro, ing their condition; but
In" chronic state ol 'oVcri-h excitement IN
which theyaro maintiinrdby furcign agents
paralyzcs all their Efforts. He is led finally
u suggest n parallel Of singular point and
cogcncy. Had the House of Commons. he
says & make laws for nineteen lrcianls In
stead OF one. sumc notion might bc formed
OF the difficulties which lsS.t government
in Turkey; aud then, perhaps. some English
pol ticians would IT, moro temperate IN the
c"u,ure and less hasty in the Judgments
thoy pronounce on that country.