The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1877-07-21
TURKISH

ASSA bAOOhAA 4AOVoASS " FNcS
of vanquished subjects 50 grievously Op-
pressed for centuries in their W native
land by a mere handful of conquerors.
1T has been a principle of Ottoman gov
eminent to allow no official survey or
census; but it is believed that the total
population of the empire does not ex-
coed t~hirty-two millions, and OF these
about thirteen millions are in Europe.
OF the latter only three millions are
Moslems ; the rest belong to the subject
races and religions. Turkey is notreally
a Mohammedan country. The faith of
Christ has existed in Constantinople a
thousand years longer than the creed OF
the prophet, and is b dsy held
with surprising tenacity by three
fourths of the subjects of the sui
tan. 1t is the very diversity of these
conquered races, and their almost total
separation from each other by mountain
ranges, by deep, broad waters and by
lack of roads, as much as the merciless
oppression which gives them no chance to
revolt, that have kept the Moslem minor
ity in SO full and continued power. The
Servians and Albanians are different
tribes, with different tongues; sowith the
Greeks and Bulgarians, with the Arme-
mans and Syrians. Between many dis
tricts ever a similarity of religion does
not exist, and comPanionship in misery
forms the only bond of unity in interest.
Beside all this, the Moslems alone possess
arms. 1t has always been a fundamental
principle that the entire military force
shall be drawn exclusively from the ranks
of the faithful and, although recent re-
forms have set aside the maxim, yet the
condition of the Christian seems not to
be altered, or altered for the worse. The
Turks have the fortresses and the har-
bors, the arsenals and the treAsury, in
comparable Constantinople and all the
cities. The ruyahs, poor and crushed by
centuries of slavery, are scattered far and
wide i've the country, and have only
their humble homes and little patches OF
ground, covered with taxation.
Even these do net belong to them. No
Christians family is i~nviolate, MORGAN he
own a foot of the land on which he tolls
out his days. 1t should be said, rather,
that this latter statement was the law for
four centuries, until abolished by the re-
cent Tanzimat Of Abdul cdjid in 1856.
But we are considering the cause ofdecay
in the Ottoman empire, and no reforms
Of recent date can affect the subject, espe-
cially as these usuallyfal dead upon their
PRONUNCIATION. The Tdn2imat itself, u
constitution of which any Christian ma
ton might be proud, has produced pitia-
bly, small results, although it promised
a perfect Utopia. No Christian, then,
however wealthy in money, however pow
erful in bis tribe, could be a landed pro-
prietor. The titled fields, the boundlcss
pastures, the luxuriant vineyards, all re-
manned in the grasp Of the Turks, who
are usually poor in money, lacking in ell
terprise, and unable to do anything with
their possessions but to let them out to
the despised Christians, from whom they
wiring the last farthing by taxation. Then
when they come round on their too fire.
quent visits of collection, they invade
the sanctity Of the home, and make the
Christian feel the heaviest yoke that ever
CALLED the neck of man. No beautiful
wife or daughter is safe from the lustlul
Turk. The victim OF his fancy is ruth
lessly torn from the weeping and stricken
household, despite all the fine edicts and
promises oil recent years, the ruined hUs-
band or father is fortunate to come away
with his head, ifehe goes to make COM
plant. But a few weeks ago an aged
father, whose daughters had fallen under
the evil eye of the collector, tremblingly
declined to lodge him, as is the custom,
until the village taxes were gathered.
The enraged Turk saddle6 and bridled
the man, and rode him back and forth,
until he sank with exhau5tion.-Apple-
toms Journal.