The People's vindicator. [volume] (Natchitoches, La.) 1874-1883, 1880-10-23
The Tarkish Question.

TIN. ia not merely the apparently
,,,;nn;Scoat-,aas vhsthsr y the town
~ Dnlciyno shall be coded to
Won,enevro. whether the irecian
boundary shall DO moved
lew miles to the north, whether, even,
Eastern Roumelia shall he permitted to
follow her natural instincts and unite
with Bulgaria in o Bulgarian State; it y
whether the power OF the Caliph shall
he renewed, the whole Mohammedan
world united under one head, all the
fierce fanatisism Of the sixth and sew
enth centuries resived b. Eastern b.
. .srG , Asia hsFs 'se perhaps ie''A
The Caliph is the successor OF Ao.
hammed-the word means Wear, or
auccessor-and he thus stands in the
same relation to the Mohammedan re
lipion that the Pope does To Roman
Catholic Christianity. lp Mohamme.
dan theories He il invested with quite as
great authority, regarded with quite as
treat reverence, and obeyed with quite
8 unq,estioning zeal. But the Moham-
medan world has been rent by contests
between rival caliphs as the Western
world by conflicts between rival popes:
The sultan of Turkey h4s long clAned
10 be the Caliph; an1 tbs claim, grad
ually fallen intoe Xhiysaee, tie preaens
Sultan il f1Aaavoring to re.establlsh.
lie is igh pit for = strip Of Greeian
terr;tory, d pr q quasi papal author
ity over India, Africa. For the
Sultan ask Evil ruler Of Turkey the
Mofamm6d Of the rest Of the world
would not kw q sword nor march =
mile; for r8 St4 St " shpA =
the sioha, 3 Ill 20 they al. ready
to battle a IA III die. A9lyS
q; T!s% 3; =. 1s13S$??sssly E ii. ~
TO stimulate their fanaticism and to d.
rect It whenever opportunity; shall offer
any prospect Of 1akcoss. 7 - : -
three years ago the present Sultan
was nit Nom1 S4hkS By . clique 9of
ministers yB \yp}elto sss him a.!
their tool. Wig Hsd been educated
among the Ulemas, and possesses all
the fanaticism, all the narrowness and
oil the bisotrykV,t ID scsrse s:. .
arcny. Thus 6is religious instincts
stimulated his political shrewdness; he
perceived that the road power, 10y IN
a roasscrtieu randl ts4dstsblishhleN Of
the lower and authority OF the Caliph
that If This could be reasserted and re.
establishments would not only give him
absolute aalhsrity NJ My own Turkish
Empire, but throughout the MOhanlme.
dan world Wthineixhteea months he
had c,ncentrated the, wh9le power. OF
the Turkish ds&jDA ~ Ihb Avn
hands: the /" sNxKss lhsMsster ! Ind
from that. time all his energies have
been directed to rcgsimng thl5 hrges
authority of Cal;ph, with its consequent
suprenacy,l1tss> Asia Minor, Contra
Asia, India and Africa Hence the ap
nouncemcnt Of thSi 0rsad ' Council o
Ulema that the Sultan ,reigns tas Caliph
hence the repeated murders '0f Christ
ians in and around Constautinople, s.
mr with absolutef lpuAity; {lnce Il!
occasional threats kf 'trelig3e war
with which Turkey xdpt the Beac,hs
field Administration in fear for India.
Now tho war; Of, words has accom-
plished all'that ii can accomplish. TIL
Sultan has, by his Identification Of him
sell with the MOhammedanJ llf(gchy
attained once more u hold On the Arab
ans and the Indians; but his supremac
with them depend21TE SeS Hs4'
he yields to European influence, that il
to Christianity, he resigns all hope I
the power of the Caliphate. II, On, ii
contrary, he can show that he is able
DEFY or to defeat Europe, he will regal
the lost position OF the "Sultans' as C'
liphs. And that means sgreat deal
means that all through Asia Minor ther
will be revival Of Mohammedan Sfapa
icism; it means general massacres OF IL
Christians; il means that in India an
Central Asia the whole influence OF tn
Mohammedsn pOpussGiOn will be raise
against the English Government to owe
throw the English dominion in India;
means u general return to the state I
things OF one hhhtkA Massage. w
The indications are chat England h,
at her head q statesman who 50, .rea(
the Turkish Question; but it. 3 ndt's
clear that it is 80 read by the rest
Europe. Aussis has q m6n0maniac
dread OF Russian INF tience ia The Eas
and fears any chansB lest j be-
change iOr> the worse. It !,
the policy Of Vienna TO let Turk
in Europe die y natural DEATH, Fran
and Germany are .xEshlnk ssch othl
each chiefly anxious that the other sh'
gst no advaq1ege through Eetern COZ
\ s sss ;,:ss 5 9{fazl::: O. 9,
war and 90 6hdShger its own frOnti'
Russia has her watchful eye open to
7 possibilities Of gaming ssr~a:sr, y
rsnean Sea. The one power that is
terested in preventing the Sultan fri
;G:: e: ::;,: :: {, =: 81;
byarevival and dokcel|t D. dli5n Of NIoka
mechanism y Eeg|s "a "a 81 It i i, H \. !. 2
fleet 'ossaSq ~ 2s|
the English Vic0.Admiral who cf