The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-08-23
ARMBNIA'S PRAYER.
Circular Letter 10 the Powers
Begging for Protection
Against Annihilation.
fBy Gable to The Associated Press. ]

TBy Cable to The Associated Press.l
CONSTANTINOPLE,A Aug. %, 1S97-The
confessions of the two Armenians, arrest
ed on Saturday and at whose residences
bombs were found by the police, are said
to have been prompted by the Turkish au-
thorities. The prisoners are alleged to
have confessed that they intended to use
the bombs at the Russian and German
Embassies.
The circular letter received by the AM
bassadors of the powers from the Ar
menian Dashnakzutrum Committee, al
most identical with the one sent to the
Ambassadors in 1896, declaring the Ar
menians are tired of waiting and are re-
solved to take action for the redress of
their grievances, also appeals to the pity
of the nations of Europe not to allow the
Armenian nation to be annihilated, as
serts that the Turkish promises of re-
form are a dead letter and that in this
extremity the Armenians are resolved to
carry out what was foreshadowed by the
occurrences of August &C. 1896.
These steps, they further state, are the
preliminaries of a plan, the very idea of
which fills them with terror. They de-
clare they will not cease to act until
their demands, which are "sanctified by
1t is given out here that the French
Minister for Foreign Affairs, M Hama
toux, replying to the Marquis of Salisbury,
who insists upon the Turkish evacuation
of Thessaly before the Greek indemnity
is paid, says he shares the views of the
British Premier and Minister for Foreign
Affairs, but M. HanatOux submits that
the occupation at Thessaly is of less inn
portance than the conclusion of peace.
The Marquis of Salisbury, in order to
solve the difficulty has suggested that
q -faIoo ffaca
able Greece to guarantee the interest on
loan to pay off the Turkish indemnity,
by international control. if necessary. of
a portion of the Hellenic revenues. The
powers are considering this proposal.
1t was on August 26 1885, that the Ar
menian revolutionists made their deter
mined attack upon the Ottoman Bank, in
vading that building with bombs and re-
volvers, killing a number of policemen on
guard, mounting to the roof and from
there and from the windows firing upon
the police in the street below. This fire
was returned by the police and number
- of persons on both sites were killed and
wounded. The riot then became general,
shops We're sacked and baZaarS were in
vaded and scene of terror was wit
messed. Thousands of Armenians were
beaten or shot and stabbed to death in
the streets, a bomb was exploded near
the Galata-Serai Guardhouse, many sol
diers were killed and wounded and it
looked as if the Mussulmans were de-
termined to massacre all the ArmenianS
in Constantinople. Sir Edgar Vincent, di-
rector of the Ottoman Bank, eventually
prevailed upon the Armenians in that
building to surrender, and, after about
forty-eight hours of unchecked bloodshed
the MussulmanS gueted down.
The circular of the Armenian RevoIu-
tionary Committee assumes greater inn
portance when considered in connection
with the announcement OF the ''Groshat''
the organ of the Constantinople Commit
tee of the Armenian Revolutionary Fed
Grafton, printed at Geneva, Switzerland
and cabled to The Associated Press on
Saturday night last. The "Groshat" as
serted that the recent explosions in Con-
stantinopIe were the work of the COM
mittee, claimed that the committee is
directing the movements of the parties
who are fighting the Turks in the district
of Van and added
I'VE are obliged to resort to every pos
sible means to carry on the struggle
against such overwhelming odds and rev.
olution Is the only resource left to us."