Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1895-12-08
WRITTEN FOR THE REGISTER.

To the student of Ottoman history
during the present century, three
salient features disclose themselves.
about which events cluster, and upon
which great actions hinge These are;
The unfatAomed horrors of the
wars of determination systematical-
ly waged upon the Christian subjects Of
the Sultan; the persistent policy>of con-
quest and vengeance on the pant OF
Russia. and the duplicity and jealousy
of England, with its inevitable protec-
ton 10 the Turk and the extension and
perpetuatiOn of his license to kill, burn,
pillage, outrage and Cypress. Although
aided to some extent by other European
powers, to England alone belongs the
much more than doubtful credit OF
keeping the sick man" alive, and this
attitude of standing between the Turk
and The fate he has so long and so richly
deserved, has placed Great Britain in
the unenViable attitude of an accomplice
in all the horrors Of Turkish misrule.
England, better than any other power,
knows the full measure OF Turkish
guilt. vet England has always and uni
formly been willing to perpetuate the
existence of this government without
conscience simply to maintain that bal
ance of power in the East which ensures
English commercial and military sup
remacy in that part of the world. To
put it palmer, the Turk has times with
out number transgressed every senti-
ment of humanity, every law OF clVlh-
cation. every commandment Of God
vet England refuses TO deliver up the
criminal to justice, and has thus be-
come, in the eyes of the world, as NOR
ally responsible for each recurring
atrocity as the Turks themselves. And
this English support and protection to
Turkey has by no means been of
passive nature. nor yet limited to diplo-
matte endeavor. Where the subtle art
Of
INTERNATIONAL INTRIGUE
has failed. Great Britain has not hest
tated to resort to arms in behalf Of the
Turk. and in 1888, 1928 and 1896
English cannon Numbered and English
soldiers fought in the interests OF the
Sultan, and by protecting him from
the vengeance of Russia, as happened
in 1878 with only a threat Of war,
made possible a renewal of the
slaughter of Christian subjects,
the burning of villages and
the ou,raging and enslaving Of women
and children Twice within the cen
turv have Russian armies been almost
IN SIGHT of Constantinople only to be
turned back by the Intervention Of
England, while as far away as 1888 the
Empress Catharine would have swept
the Ottomans from Europe but for
English interpOsition. Englands aid at
Acre turned back the triumphant arm
les Of Napoleon BOnapart, and IL was
England who brought about the alli-
ance against Rus STA in the Crimea,
where the Turk was saved at most
astounding cost Thirty years ago, as
now. the world wept at the recital Of
the Bulgarian outrages. Russia march
ed her armies upon Turkish soil, and it
appeared that the end had at last come.
but again English Interference saved
the Sultan's throne, and made the Ar
menian horrors of the past eighteen
months possible When the pen OF
some future GibbOn, Hume. Carlyle or
Bancroft shall have chronicled the full
measure Of
ENGLISH RESPONSIBILITY
for Turkish misrule, with all it's attend
ant horrors, the world will stand aghast
at the record. while neither plea of not
guilty nor protest Of ignorance will
-pl ,rrV,, mi a
land has been particepts criminis with
Turkey in all that Turkey has done.
II may be argued that Russia's course
has alone been prompted by her ira
ditional policy of conquest. Grant
this to the fullest extent. 1t does not
diminish the guilt of England in the
least. No matter what the real motive
of Russia is or has been, she IS for
Ousting the Turk. and that would mean
peace and good government to one of
the fairest portions of the earth.
Neither does It much matter what Eng
lands motive may be. She has been
and is in favor of the perpetuatiOn of
Turkish rule. with all that such rule
implies.
Let us turn a few leaves Of
RECENT TURKISH HISTORY:
The first notable intervention of Eng
land in Turkish affairs was as far back
as 1899. In 1897 Prince Eugene, at the
head of the armies of Austria, admin
istered an overwhelming defeat to the
Turks near Zenta, and drove them al
most to the walls of COnstanHnOple.
Austria. Venice. Russia and Poland
were a. that time at war with Turkey,
hut England, anxious at even that early
day. TO preserve the Ottoman Empire,
induced Holland TO intervene with her,
and the result was the treaty of Carlo
WITT. From this war dates the i'm
Dlacable hostility Of Russia to every
thing Turkish. Islamism has always
been particularly Objectionable to the
Russian rulers, as the head Of the
Greek church, and the treatment by