The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-01-29


 brother Murad was placed under re- straint, and was conilded to the care of his own mother, who died only few months ago.
 Now, Abdul Hamid's tenure of the throne depends solely and entirely upon the continuance of his brothers insani- ty. He was raised to the Callphate only because his brother was declared to be demented, and were at any mo- ment the Sheik LII Islam, who may be described as the Prmate of the Ma hometan Church in Turkey, to an- nounce ex-cathedra that Murad had re- covered his reason, the reign of Abdul Hamid would be at an end, at any rate, in the eyes of the Faithful.
 A PROOF OF THE SULTAN'S HU-
 VANITY.
 This possibility, therefore, during the last two decades, has hung as sword of Damocles suspended over the head of Sultan Abdul Hamid, and the mere fact that Murad, whose very existence constitutes menace to his throne, his fortune, his family, nay, even to his very existence, should be still alive and in good physical health after all these twenty years, speaks volumes for the humanity, and, above all, for the civil ization of the present ruler of Turkey. Certainly no other Oriental potentate would have shown the same considera- ton and forbearance, and had Murad's lines been cast in any other Asiatic country he would long since have been l J,,I h1,, pf a more or less mythical suicide, during a period of insanity, resulting from that drink of which, rightly or wrongly, Murad is declared to be so fond.
 It must be borne in mind that in British India and in the Gallic Protec- torates of Cochin China and the Far East, the vassal rulers have no hesita- ton in putting out of the way relatives who might become a source of danger to their thrones, the English and French governments closing their eyes thereto. No one, therefore, would have been astonished to have heard long ere this of Murad's death, nor would any great blame or obloquy have fallen to the lot of Abdul Hamid in connection therewith.
 There are two additional reasons why the present Sultan deserves credit with regard to this matter. In the first place the legitimacy of his birth is open to question. Secondly, Murad is re- garded as the representative of the so- called young Turkey or reform party, which aims above everything else at the re-enactment of a constitution for the Ottoman empire and the reinaugu- ration of a parliamentary form of gov ernment.
 THE SULTAN'S EVIL GENIUS.
 Among the principal opponents of these enlightened ideas, and bitterest of all the enemies to reform of any kind, is Hassan Pacha, the evil genius of the Sultan; he was one of the prin- cjpal factors in bringing about the de- position of Murad. For. some twenty or thirty years he has held the office of Minister of Marine, and during that 1 time the major portion of the revenues assigned for the branch of the public service under his orders have found their way into his pocket, the result be- | ing that the Turkish navy, which at one time occupied a prominent position among the fleets of Europe, is now in ferior even to those of Greece and Por- tugal, and the laughing-stock of the civilized world
 Concerning this there is an amusing anecdote current at Constantlnople It seems that three months ago, when Said Pacha-"Honest Said,'' as he is called-took office as Grand Vizier, he called upon Hassan to furnish him a report concerning the state of the navy. I Hassan drew up the report and pro ceeded at his next interview to read off glibly long list of cruisers which he described as in first-class condition and ready for service. Suddenly Said stopped him with the following re- mark:
 When you and were only Hassan Bey and Said Bey-it was oyer thirty five years ago-I remember our being called upon to furnish the Grand Vii zier then with a report as to the condi- tion of the navy. And likewise recall that you an expert in these matters, mentioned these last three cruisers to which you have just referred as obso- lete and as unseaworthy by reason of neglect and old age. How then, can you presume to Include them in your 1 list?" That, of course, ended the inter view and brought about a summary de- mand from Said to the Sultan for the dismissal of Hassan which was, as | usual, refused.
 Every honest Grand Vizier that has assumed office since the accession to the throne of the present Sultan, and even during the reign of Abdul Aziz, has stipulated for the dismissal of this scoundrel on the ground that he consti- tutes an obstacle to good and efficient | government. But in spite of all this, and in spite, too, of the charges of dis graceful cowardice in the Russian war of 1S7677 which were brought against him by the English naval aide-de-camp of the Sultan, Admiral Woods Pacha, he has been kept in his place, the strength of his position being due to the fact that he practically controls the clique of minor officials, menials and eunuchs by whom the Sultan is sur rounded. An autocratic ruler just as much as the Czar of Russia, bound down by an etiquette and system of precedence infinitely more stringent than those which hamper the Musco- vite emperor, obliged also to preserve | the dnp0rIIrn and preStiua which the