Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-09-03
REFORM IN ARMENIA.
Lord Salisbury Warns the Sultan
That His Throne is in Danger.

Lord Salisbury Warns the Sultan
That His Throne Is In Danger.
| From his speech the Address, August Is.
With respect to Armenia the observa-
| lions made by the noble earl are so COM
pletely in harmony with those I wish to
| make that I need not dwell upon them
| long. We have accepted the policy which
our predecessors had initiated; We have
done our best to carry it out. We have
received a certain amount of assurance
| that reforms will be set on foot in those
districts which have most suffered, and
| we believe that for the present there Is
no danger of these terrible disturbances
| or horrible crimes being renewed But
what at present we have not succeeded in
| obtaining is an adequate guarantee for the
execution Of these reforms 1t is to that
| object that our efforts must be directed.
Up to this point we have received the
| most loyal and complete support from
| and they have expressed their earnest
desire to maintain their cooperation with
| US throughout If the Sultan has inter-
posed delays, procrastination, excuses
which do not seem to us valid and do not
seem to US wise, 1t is unfortunately, in
obedience to a deluson by which Turkish
&c vernments have been for too long guild
| ed. His fear appears to be lest he
should do anything which would sacrifice
| the apparent independence of his coun-
| try.
| 1t is a noble sentiment, to which we
| Gesire to give every sympathy; but the
| independence of Turkey, though it is writ
| ten in the public law of Europe, though
| 1t is guaranteed by the treaties of Berlin
| independence; it is independence that ex-
| lists by reason of the agreement of other
powers that they will not interfere with 1t.
and that they will maintain 1t, and the
danger, of course, which the powers have
| felt from the first time that this policy
was initiated has been lest, in maintaining
the Turkish empire, in protecting it from
the possible ambitions Of other powers, in
giving to 1t stability which it would
not naturally possess they should be up
| holding a mechanism which did not work
for human happiness and progress, but
| rather showed tendencies toward weak
government and toward free lice 5e, to the
antagonism of creed and of which
has for SO many centuries been he curse
OF the provinces of the Turkish empire.
Europe has maintained the Turkish empire
and yet, by the stipulations it has con-
stantly exacted. 1T has shown its appre-
hension lest by giving to it Fictitious
than benefit to the human race.
How long the present state Of things
will go on 1 confess appears to me more
doubtful than it did twenty years ago.
The noble lord himself said that the per-
manence of the sultan's rule was involved
In the conduct that he pursued If, genera
| ton after generation, cries of misery come
up from various parts of the Turkish en-
pire, I am sure the sultan cannot blind
himself to the probability that Europe will
at some time or other become weary of
the appeals that are made to it, and the
Fictitious strength that is given to his en-
pire will fail 1t.
I have earnestly tried to impress upon
| the Turkish government the extreme grav
ity Of the conduct which 1t has pursued;
but at the same time to impress upon it
that there is nc government more anxious
to maintain the Ottoman empire than the
English government. If may speak for
| moment Of partisan matters, there is no
party more anxious than that with which
l have the honor to be connected to MAIN
tain tine Integrity and the independence
of the Ottoman empire, which is sane
toned by treaties. The sultan will make
grave and calamitous mistake if, for
the sake of maintaining a mere formal
| Independence, for the sake of resisting
| a possible encroachment on his nominal
prerogatives. he refuses to accept the as
sistance and listen to the advice of the
European powers in extirpating from his
| dominions an anarchy and weakness
which no treaties and no sympathy will
prevent from being fatal in the long run
| to the empire over which he-rules