The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1896-01-08

dug at night by the wretcnes destined
to I'LL them, many of whom slung In
while but slightly wounded, awoke be-
meath mountain of clammy corpses,
and vainly wrestled with death and
the dead, who shut them out from
light and life forever. 1t was then
that our present am mbassador at Con
stantinople took action and displayed
those remarkable gifts of energy and
industry to which the prime
minister lately alluded with pride.
The British Ambassador did his best.
and at last carried the appointment Of
a commission of investigation. Yet,
while the commission of inquiry was
still sitting at Moush, the deeds OF
atrocious cruelty which it was assem-
bled to investigate were outdone under
the eyes of the delegates. Threats
were openly uttered that on their
withdrawal massacres would be organ
lied all over the country-massacres.
it was said, in comparison with which
the Sassoun butchery would compare
but as does the balance. In due time
they began. Over 10000 Armenians
have been butchered and the massa-
cres are not quite ended yet. In Ire.
biznod, Birmingham, Hassankelah and
numberless other places the Christians
were crushed like grapes during the
vintage. The French mob during
the terror were men-nay angels OF
mercy-compared with these Turks.
These are but issolated scenes. The
worst cannot be described. And, if it
could be, no description however wy
id would convey true notion OF the
dead reality. At most of these mani
festations of bestial passion and de-
lirium, the sultan's troops in uniform
stood by as delighted spectators, when
they did not actually take an active
part as jealous executioners- And
these are the Turks whom unanimous
Europe has judged worthy of counting
to govern and guide the Christians Of
Asia Minor. The sultan undertakes,
if reasonable time be given him, to
reestablish the normal state Of things
in Turkish Armenia; and we know
that the normal condition implies the
denial to Christians of the fundamen-
tai rights of human beings, the aboli-
ton of womanly purity, the disinte.
grafton of the family, the raviShlng OF
tender children, IN a word, a system
of government for which the history
of the world affords no parallel.
''Yet, unanimous Europe, we are
told, entertains no doubt that the true
interests of Christendom demand that
Turkish rule should be maintained.
It cannot be too clearly stated that
what is asked for is not the establish
ment of an Armenian kingdom or
principality, not buffer state, not
even Christian autonomy in any sense
that might render it offensive or dan
gerous to any Of the powers of Europe,
but only that by some efacacious
means, the human beings who pro
fessed and practiced it there for cen
turies before the Turks of Kurds were
heard of. shall be enabled of which
for the past II years they heve been
the silent victims, shall speedily and
once for all be put q stop to.
What serious hope IS there that
the lot of the Armenians will be bet
tered in the future2 Conventional jul
risconsults have just given it as their
conscientious opinion that any special
reforms for the Armenians would
necessarily involve grave violation
of the right OF man and of the law Of
God, and the jurisconsults ought to
know. If this be 50, the sensitive
sultan will naturally shrinking from
such lawlessness and godlessness and
piously shelve the reforms. They
would wrongly recommend wide
reaching reforms for all Turkish sub
jects, were it not that insuperable OBJ
jections render even such course ab-
solutely impossible; for first, the pow
ers have no right to interfere in favor
of the sultan's Mohamedan subjects; :;
second, the Turks and Kurds them
selves desire no such reforms-are in
fact opposed to them, and finally, gen
eral reforms for all would necessarily
prove as disastrous as special reforms
for Armenian Christians, because the
Armenians as the most intelligent and
only self-disciplined element of the
population would profit by the i'm
provements to obtain political prepon-
derance for themselves. Things had
better therefore remain as they are
with the wholesale butcheries left out;
that is to say, the normal conditions
of things must be reestablished, which
in few years will solve the Armenl-
an question by exterminating the Ar
menians.
And England, moral England, ap-
parently endorses this view.
IF there still be spark of divinity
in our souls, or trace of healthy hu-
man sentiment in our hearts, we shall
not hesitate to record our vehement
protest against these hell-born crimes
that pollute one of the fairest portions
of Gods earth and our strong condem-
nation of any end every line of policy
that may tend directly or indirectly to
perpetuate or condone them.
Russia will be Neutral.
ST.. PETERSBURG, Jan. 1.-Itis semi
officially stated that the statements in
the St. Petersburg dispatch of Decem-
ho. 0-,h 70 +ba Tooahlott of Rerlin