The Irish standard., 1900-05-19
Is Abdul Hamid, Crafty Ruler of
the Ottoman Empire.
CHEcKMATED PRESIDENT CLEVELAND
More Than q Match for M'Kinlev
and His Secretary.
AN AGGRAyATNG POLICY OF DELAY

Has Held His Own With the Best
Statesmen Of Europe.
In their efforts to compel the Sultan
OF Turkey to pay long overdue claims
for indemnity, President Mckinley and
Secretary Hay have entered upon a
struggle with the past grand master oil
the Fabian school of diplomacy. Abdul
Hamid II. is far and away the craftiest
and most daring ruler in the old world
His finesse, skill, cunning, boldness have
been constantly exercised in contests
with the ablest statesmen of Europe for
quarter of century, and, while he
has not always come off victor, he has
won more frequently than he has lost.
Abdul Hamid is Turk and Mussul-
man of the old school. He is s. years
of age, and the innovations of modern
civilization have left little impression
upon him. He rules Turkey as his pre-
decessors ruled it, and has only yielded
grudgingly to the progress of the age.
He became the ruler OF the Ottoman
empire in August, 1876, at moment
when the Servian and Bulgarian prov
inces were in the revolt which immedi-
ately preceded the Turko-Russian war,
and when the combined powers of Ell
rope were exerting their utmost pressure
to compel Turkey to adopt new policies.
Upon his accession to the throne Abb
dull Hamid was confronted by the I'M
mediate danger of the disintcgration OF
his empire. At that time Turkey in Eu-
rope included Servia, Bulgaria, Rou-
mania, Montenegro, Bosnia, Herzcgo-
vina and Thessaly. These provinces
were not only i'll state OF revolt, but
Russia and Austria were known to have
designs upon territory which would OK
tend their own frontiers to the Medi-
terranean. The dissolution of Turkey
was freely predicted in every capital of
Europe, and the strife between the pow
ers for possession of the broken parts of
the empire, for the spoil of CONSTANT
noplc, and the control OF the Darda-
nellcs promised to cmbroil all Europe
in general war.
Abdul Hamid undoubtedly realized
that it was too late to save the Balkan
provinces, but he was quick to rccog-
nize in the general European situation
the opportunity of saving his throne
and his footing in Europe and of still
maintaining Constantinop1c as the seat
of Mohammedan power.
For the first time he played his game
on the chess board of Europe. All the
world knows what followed. The war
with Russia lost Servia and Roumania
to the sultan Boznia and Herzegovina
went to Austria, but Montenegro was
erected into buffer state that for the
time blocked Franz Josefs pathway to
Salonica. The cars victorious armies
were at the gates Of Constantinople, and
Turkeys position in Europe hung only
by thread.
Then it was that Abdul Hamid taught
Europe its first lesson in Oriental state
craft. By secret treaty with Lord
Beaconsfeld the sultan ceded to Great
Britain the Island OF Cypress. In re-
turn Lord Beaconsfeld guaranteed the
territorial integrity of Asia Minor and
sent the British feet through the OAR
danelles.
Russia was checkmated The car at
once realized that his troops marching
into Constantinople would be shelled by
the British fleet. He was reluctantly
compelled to give up project long
dreamed of by Russia and to submit to
the terms of the treaty of Berlin, die
tated by an European congress demand
ed by Lord Beacons6eld, who really
acted as the agent of the crafty sultan.
In June, 1873, the powers were conf
PEELED to take steps to secure the en-
forcement of the terms OF the treaty of
Berlin with reference to the ratification
of the Montenegro frontier. In this
controversy the sultan lost He en-
deavored to save himself by changing
his ministry, thus giving Great Britain
almost complete ascendancy at Con-
stantinople. He watched the ncgotia-
tons of the powers closely, waiting to
make the most Of any apparent disagree
ment But in the end he failed, being
compelled to cede Dulcigno to Monte
negro, but not until after having re-
ceived two ultimatums backed up by
the allied fleets of the powers.
Sultan Abdul Hamid's position in En-
rope was rapidly becoming precarious.
Nearly every power had claims upon