The Lamoille news. (Hyde Park, Vt.) 1877-1881, 1877-05-23
the EASTERN WAR.


eussing for the last year or more Is
too complicated for man to gather a
very clear idea of it without long ana
laborious study. There was an aru-
Gle on Turkey published in the Nf~S-
dealer last summer, and written by
DIR. Dougherty, of Johnson which we
had hoped to have found and rereaa
before this, but have not. we sllaii
continue our search, and when we
find it give an abstract or reprint the
article. 1t was a well written chap
Ter of history, which is becoming OF
more and more interest as the con-
Aict in the East thickens. III Is
remarkable incident that the oldest
;tor, Of nrnfarn historg- should no an
account of a successful struggle for
freedom. A slab of rock called the
Moabite stone was discovered not
many years ago in the East, and the
inscription upon it is considered the
Oldest scrap of history found outside
the Bible. The inscription is an ac-
count of a successful rebellion of the
Moabites. There seems to be in man
a natural disposition to arrogate
rights that belong to another, and a
desire to make others subject to his
will, even though it be to their disad-
vantage. On the other hand there
seems also to be in all or nearly all
men an innate desire for personal
freedom. The burden of history, be-
ginning with the Moabite rebellion
and ending with the Turko-Russian
war, is an account of the conflict be-
tween these two principles Of mans
nature. The Eastern war, then, as
we look at it, is but continuation OF
mans struggle for freedom.
30 freedom! Thou art not as poets dream,
A fair young girl with light and delicate limbs,
And wavy tresses gushing from the cap,
with which the Roman master crownd his slave
When he took of the gives. A bearded man,
Arm'd to the teeth, art thou; one mailed hand
Grasps the broad shield, and one the sword; thy
brow,
Glorious in beauty, though it be SCARED
With tokens of old wars; thy massive limbs
Are strongand struggling"
The following is no more than al
ahst net from an article in an old mum
her of .Harper's Weekly, written by
Major Con5table:,
eShall a small horde Of Asiatic bar
bariane hold ~:,-'.A- 80 TIL
-oeto2
question as put by writer's in man,
influential English and other foreign
journals.
1t may be well to attempt an ex
PLANTATION of the assertion that thu
Eastern question has reference to the
condition Of the Christians in Turkey
The root of all the evils endured by
these understanding peoples lies il
the Mohammedan religion of theil
rulers, who govern not by any recog
nized code of secular law, but by 6
system claimed as of divine origin
embodied in the Koran, the sacred
book of their prophet and founder
Mohammed. The fundamental prin.
ciple of this system, as regards sub.
ject races, is that there can be nc
equality between a true believer anC
an infidel. In this latter term are
classed all Christians of every demon.
nation.
In the course of events, indeed, oc
casions have arisen in which it has
been necessary for the respective Sui
tans to issue specific DEGREES on various
subjects, whose provisions have beer
determined, to large extent, by the
nature and complications of the cir.
cumstances which they were designed
to meet. All these have been gather.
ed into one collection, and form 6
code known as the "Canon Nameh.'
Of these degrees the most important
TO the Christians is the one known as
the Capitulation of Omar, issued by
the Caliph of that name after the cap
ture OF Jerusalem. By this decree an
lnfidel Ia Christian) who submits to
tribute-that is, who purchases his
freedom by the payment of tribute
purchases with it~the title to his prop
erty and right to the free exercise
OF his religion; but it went no farther.
and established the Mohammedan as
the fuiing ofder, and consigned those
OF every other faith to a subordinate
position as q subject class. Associat-
ed with this famous decree in the code
referred to are many others of more OF
less Importance and of varying liberal
lty, but they are all of strictly limited
torces The s'Hatti-Sherihs', which
constitute this "Canon Nameh" being
merely emanations of human authori-
ty, may be held in obedience or disre-
garded at pleasure; the commands
and teachings of the Koran and Null
teka, being Of divine origin, demand
and must receive absolute and unwav-