The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1903-11-17
HOW TURKEY TREATS
HER CHRISTIAN SUBJECTS

Z lINu y il 'll NI.t. I"'t IIl.IIl
OF Her Christian Subjects
Z am going to speak TO you for a few
minutes this evening upon Turkey and
her treatment of her Christian SUBJ
jects, which lies at the foundation OF
much of the trouble which has taken
place I'm Macedonia, and other Prov
inces during the last few months, ana
OF which we have read SO much.
/ want to give you an idea Of what
the tyranny rs ana hs- been which the
Turkish sultan exercises over mis-
Christian subjects. And let me say that
1t is not my purpose to eXaggerate one
item in the statements / gu going TO
make J DO not base my allegations on
newspaper reports. but on authentic
documents. Ia my "trip from AleXan-
dria to Constantmopla last May / spent
a number of days ON board OF a steam
er whose captain | found to be a NEST
intelligent man who nad made himself
familiar in an unusual degree with
what is known as the Eastern question.
He had thought much and read much
upon the subject. AS 1 remained on
board of the ship duriu5 her four days
stay i'm Constantinuple, we had many
an interesting talk in the evening as
we sat together upon the deck, and as
we were in the midst of the excitement
caused by the uprisings in Macedonia
and Bulgaria, that was the subject up-
permost in our minds. There was also
on board Of the shin. an almost COM
plete set of British consular reports
concerning Turkey covering the last
twenty-five years, and also number
of printed statements concerning the
condition of the Christian subjects Of
the Sultan by English Ampassad doris IN
Consianthnople. In veriicdt,t1 Of Ia"
statements made to me by the captain
Ut thv -. p, he referred me to tnGsa lr-
ports and printed statements. 1t was
with the greatest interest that on the
return voyI AS nom Co.stdulln1r.;e t.
Athens that 1 looked them over. IN
my ak this evening I do not MAKE a
single statement Dsyoui these anthem
tic documents. AMI what hay To say
concerning the peima lont law of Jur-
Key, l have taken from the text books
of Turkish law itself.
The first thing to remember is thai
When we speak Of the Christian sub
Jects of the Sultan we need to draw a
clear distinction between the Christians
who are living IN Turkey, as thu sub.
Jects of other nations, and the Chris
tians who are subjects of the Sultan.
All the nations of Christendon have G,
little confidence in the honesty ana
justice of the Turkish government
that they have their own consular
courts and their own post offices II
Turkey. An American subject. or the
subject of any other Christian, p,wer
is not ul1a: the imisdict, n OF the
Turkish courts of justice, but under
the consular jurisdiction of his own
, country. But the Christian subjects OF
the sultan who are the descendants of
those Christians whom Turkey con-
| quered long ago, have no redress at all
but such as these which / am n,w
about to describe to you. In the first
place, it is against the law of Turkey.
that the Christian subjects of the Sui
ton should possess arms, even a dagger
| OF d pistol. Again, no Christian sub
Ject of the Sultan can give evidence in
court OF Justice against a Mussul-
| man; the evidence OF Christians not
being admissible against Aiusselmans in
any part of the Turkish Empire. The
result is that hundred witnesses who
may be Christian subjects of the Sultan
| may see a woman assaulted, ill-used.
carried off, or forced into the house of
Iurk, or slain, and they cannot prove
| the crime because there may be a hum
dred credible witnesses, their evil
dehce is not available against a Mus
selman, and no Musselman will give
evidence against a co-relgionist in
favor of a Christian.
Again every Christian in Turkey
from the time he is born, is liable IN n
poll-taX, that is tax for permission to
i've during that year. If the tax is not
Palu AT Inc end OF the year, mis- life is
forfeit This law is universal and if is
put in force. 1 said a moment ago tina +
CHRISTIANS were not allowed to pos
sess arms, and because of that they are
not admitted into the army or the
gendarmerie of Turkey, yet every male
christian from the time he is three
| months old, is obliged to pay tax for
I immunity from military service. First
| he is not allowed to be a soldier. ami
| then he must pay this tax from the
! time he is three months old till he dies
Tor immunity from serving the Sultan
IN ms army or gendarmerie. These are
the taxes which the Sultan's Christian
subjects pay in addition to taxes which
Musseman pay in common with them.
All the taxes are farmed out to chiefs
and to others; and these go their
rounds, and as a rule insist upon bribes
III ADDITION to the legal tax or 1.-THE:
ana IL they do not get il they do NOT
alloW the fields to be mown until the
tax is paid; and in the meantime thew
and their retinue of followers are quar-
tered on the inhabitants. The Chris
tians are also liable to forced service
whenever their Musselman landlord
demands 1t, without payment of any
kIhu- Ihey are also liable to all kinds
o. ~, personal insults and indignities.
Ihey are obliged to wear a sombre
dress to distinguish them from a Mus
selman. They are not allowed to bathe
III the same common public baths; they
are not allowed to draw water from
Inc same wells; thes' must live in a
separate quarter of the town and the
terms commonly applied to them, not
by popular fanaticism, but in sober de-
llDerate official documents, are dogs"
and hogs" Also in iegal papers when
the name of the Christian is mentioned
10 Whom the papers are given, or on
whose behalf IL is wan ~ ,ie laa.t,