Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1896-03-11
ARMENIAN RELIEF.
Much of The BcneVOIencc OrAmericn
aud England Goes 60 Turkish
Omcials.

The following is from a Con-
stantinople dispatch telling of the
work of the Turkish commits
sioners sent to the scenes of dis
turbance in Armenia. 1t is related
in the dispatch that the commits
ers lecture the Armenians upon
the benefits the Christians had
received during the reign Of the
benevolent Sultan, Abdul Hamid
Kahn, and the perfdious conduct
of the Armenians, who had started
newspapers and sent men to
Washington and Chicago to agitate
and stir up the nations against
their Government. In conclusion
the address said:
thereafter. if either Turks or
Armenians stir up trouble there
will be no more imprisonments.
but the death penalty will be
visited upon such Offenders
After the reading of the address
Abdul Pasha began to address the
Christians in much more violent
strain. He said If the Armenians
should again begin to agitate. not
even the name of Armenia would
be allowed to remain. They
would all be blotted out. Draw
Ing himself up to his full height
and stretching out his arm like
sword, he said: "What we gained
we gained with blood, and when
we give up this morsel we will
give it up with blood, blood,
blood.
The dispatch goes on to say:
Europe and America are touch
ed with compassion, and funds
are being gathered for the relief
of the sufferers. The Government
has given little aid occasionally. |
In many cases the allowance is |
one-sixth as much as is given to a
Turkish gendarme CT soldier. 1
have seen the bread given in sew
era places. Il resembles the lin
seed cake used in Europe and +
America for feeding cattle. Al
large share of the Governments
appropriations for therelief of the
destitute goes into the pockets of
the officials.
The Turks are hostile to relief
work and oppose it in various
ways. In the city of Palu the
Turks said to the Christians: "If
our benedict Sultan wishes you to
have money he is abundantly able
to give it, but he has not seen fit
TO do so, and now you are recoiv-
ing money from the English and
forming an alliance with them.
We will cut you off" No Chris
tan in Palu dares to receive or
distribute funds. The Armenian
missionaries tried to send money
into Palu, and it was returned to
them because no one in Palu dar-
ed to receive and distribute it.
In some of the villages the tax
gatherers took from the villagers
the scanty pittance they had re-
ceived to keep them alive. They
beat them to extort from them the
money. One poor villager said:
"The rod is hard and the flesh is
soft, so we gave it up"
There are some exceptions to
the hostility of the Turks to relief
works. Raeouf Pasha, the Gov
ernor-G General of Erzeroum, has
ably seconded the egorts of the
relief committee there. In the
town of Peri the local Governor
has sent gendarme with the
committee in their rounds distrib.
uting relief.
The Consuls of the powers who
negotiated peace at Zeitoun report
the most terrible distress and i'll
ness there. There are 5000 re-
fugees in the town and an almost
entire absence of provisions and
clothing. Many are dying Of cold |
and starvation. The Ambassadors |
here have opened funds for their
relief.
A Constantinople dispatch to the
London Daily News says: There
is a persistent rumor here of
fresh massacre at Urfa.
The Government objects to Miss
Clara Barton, President of the
American Red Cross Society, go