The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1881-11-17
5. $ cox.
His Travels in Turkey-ESports and Rail-
roads-A Mushroom Turkish Parliament.
MUSHROOM TURKISH PARLIAMENT.

tlOnS OF our American constitution, Tue
Uloemates have a chief, who is, like our own
chief Justice, the head of the judicature;
and, unlike him, he is chief judge of
spiritual matters When he interprets the
law, or the Koran. or the constitution, he
does il under the favor of the
sultan. III he be truly grand
sultan, like the second Mahmoud,
who obtained from him decision that en-
abled him legally to slaughter the Janissa-
ries, he will have his own Interpretation of
the organic statutes. Graciously permit
ting the chief and court of the Ulemates to
interpret, he will pound them to death in a
mortar if they do not interpret as he de-
sires. This is no joke, and in the aforetime
was a serious matter to the Ulemates. But
when a sultan like the present one is
on the throne, there is no great fear that he
will override the UlematiC decision, even if
it be outside the record or opposite to his
own view or will. The present chief of Is
lam and head of the Ulemats is therefore,
more potent than the Prime Minister of
sultan.
There is responsible ministry here, who
have charge, as in other countries, of de-
partments but the legislature is an absent
body Did this nation ever have parlia-
ment or congress? Yes and have yet-on
paper. In their stress during the Russian
war, congress was called. Its members
were selected by the governors of proviD-
ces, and in some form of election. Still, it
began to crystalze and talk, and make
ules and inquiries of the ministers. Cues
lions quite inconvenient were put as to
taxes and trials revenues and rogues, and
some bold young men from the remote dis.
tricts began to grow eloquent and hard
headed old sticks to show how sensible they
were. All at once APPROXIMATION dissolved,
as proclamation had made them. A
young and eloquent member from Antioch,
who was quite anxious about certain cor
ruptions, was sent home under government
convoy, and the honorable gentlemen from
Jerusalem found city of refuge in Lon
don. The city of Solomon was utterly in
consequential in the affairs of war,
peace and taxation. 1t was interesting as
an experiment, and showed how out of mere
gaseous elements there were gathering stars
for an oriental heaven of oratory; Web
sters, Clays and Calhonns Of solid logic and
eloquence and Damascus blades and Jew
eled yatagans of wit and rhetoric. Sultans,
as presidents, some times do not like legis-
latures to be near them; and the simplest
souls of republics are those who bemoan
the session of congresses and legislatures
as if they were more harmful than unre-
strieted and corrupt power.
Turkey has connected with her provinces
in Europe which have some autonomy and
some local legislative facilities. There is
pressure to increase this home rule. Eng
land has urged the sultan to this end, and
her urgency would have immense emphasis
If the Turk did not point to Ireland and
smile.
Her provinces are ruled by governors.
They are divided into departments; and
these again, al mode Franchise, into ar
rondiscments, with corresponding grades
of officers. There are no titles
of nobility, but there are aflixes, like
Pasha, Eilendi Bey, Aga and Others, which
betoken official or family station. There
is but one restraint upon these officials, that
of tue sultan's will, ifhe choose to use il and
that of the chief of Islam and his college
of Ulemats. There is, therefore, not much
responsibility among the officials. Like all
satrapies, the provinces in Asia are govern
ed by the will of one man, distant from the
source ofpowcr. There is an aflluence of
wealth in this realm, lift could only have
the magic wand to strike the rock and bid
it flow. But there is a fear of Christian or
western control that stops all enterprise.
1t has been impossible for me to OBJ
tain any trustworthy statistics of the trade
of this empire. Where and when sought
the facts are given reluctantly or not ut all.
have given the latest which the Almanach
gives. | now resort for more details to our
consul. Very incomplete returns after the
war with Russia showed that for two years
--lS7S-9-the exports were 1920, 493, 400. "a and
the imports SS6995, 620,S2. This is not fiat
tering to Turkey, but it is to be remember
ed that PRIOR to these years there was
great war, which absorbed the labor of agri-
culture, and that the laborers were in arms
England received the greatest amount of
Greece and Egypt came next and the United
States about $4,000 worth. As to imports,
England furnished half, France, Austria,
Hungary, Russia, Italy, Persia and Greece
the most of the residue, while the United
States imported here only $l,sO99OS.
TURKISH FINANCES.
The finances of Turkey are given IN pias.
tres Is cents, and in that currency make
grand show fatalities. In 1879 the ex-
penses are returned at ,42i $4,000, exceed
ing the revenues by 100, A5, $50. But there
is such confusion of the currency that
am no able to make out just what the debt
or anything else absolutely is, without
risking some errors. The debt is
l,59Ss7, 49, piastres. Of this sum the
foreign portion is about one-half and n lit
tie of this is guaranteed by England and
France, and more by the Egyptian reve-
nues On the other portion OF the foreign
debt the interest is suspended, and on the
railroad obligations and Ottoman bank
debts no interest is being paid This is the
case with the paper money, which is nut
down at $75,O0O,000. Make this budget as
pretty on paper as YOU may, il is still an
exhibit of bankruptcy, and the commission
of foreign bondhoders now here have
treated II accordingly. The army consists
of I2,5Ol men. 1t has been mostly reor-
ganized since the Russian war, when il fell
to 1900 1t is not paid any more than the
debtholders. There is small navy, and
am told that there are some trst-class guns,
though but few.
The currency Of this country is mixed
both in quality and quantity. Its values
are first based on gold, then silver, like the
piastres, which are 1914 to the 100. Anoth-
er kind, the "metallic,h is mixed-alloyed.
II is 205 l-4to the 100; then the veshlk n
kind of copper alloy, is worth 200 III: then
silver issue, alterik, is l27 to the 1G0 Ills
taken in the interior; then 90 es m, or
(greenback), 1 ,450 to the 100. There are
six kinds of currency. The greatest liner
ties have been take in paying It out, such
liberties. as only such government may
take. '
There are some street railroads here one of
hve miles and another of eight and one
half. These once trebled in value: now
they are trebly less. There is n little nm
derground affair have travelled ON from
the port to the top of the hill here in pera-
$50 yards--in three minutes drawn by n
stationary engine, iirst-class ticket a piastre,
or cents. should say il Is doing well. Ii
10 Ia la EtpA,Ant