New-York tribune., 1914-11-23
BRITISH WHITE PAPER
TELLS TURKISH SIORY
First Friction Came with Seizure of Sultans Ships BE-
ing Built in England-Cerman Cruisers Goeben
and Breslau Added to Trouble.

| mans for aggressive operations III
| Egypt and the seizure OF the Sue7
Canal. Sir Louis Mallet, on his part
| teicgraphed that agents OF the Minister
of War were agitating among the MOS.
lens in Syria and Afghanistan against
| Great Britain, and that the Mahometan
world had been informed that the Ger
man Kaiser had embraced their reli-
gion. The Germans themselves were
accused OF making plans to enter Egypt
disguised as Indian soldiers. the tailor
having been discovered who was com
missioned 20 make the costumes and
| headdrcsses. September %, Sir Louis
Mallet laid before the Grand Nizier an
extended memorandum giving the data
Of Turkish plots against Egypt and OF
the arrangements for an uprising OF
the Bedouin tribes against England as
the enemy Of Islam, 10000 tribesmen
being ready for the word Of command.
To this communication the Grand Viz
ier made no reply.
Porte Anxious About Egypt.
Turkey felt that England was treat
ing Egypt "a If it belonged TO her
whereas IL was nominally still a part
of the Turkish Empire. The Porte was
indifferent about India, Tripoli and
Tunis, but Egypt was on their frontier
and they felt about il much the same
as the French did about AlsaceLor-
| raine.
When the ambassador first received
the proposition for the evacuation OF
/ Egypt il was made more urgent by
the frank statements OF Enver Pacha
+ TO the British Military Attach6 that
the Minister OF War had ambitious
schemes for Arabia and Egypt. tc
which he claimed Turkish right OF
ownership. These might be considered
as precautionary against Great Brit
ain, he confessed, but said it was be
cause there were British men Of wal
in the Shat-el-Arab, a river emptyinq
from Turkish territory into the Per
sian Gulf; there was a British feet in
/ the Dardanelles, and there was a large
contingent Of fresh troops from India
IN Egypt, each Of which the Minister
Of War considered an act Of hostility
TO Turkey
The Egyptian evacuation PROPOSE
! ton was, however, ignored by the
( British Ambassador until IL was toe
late for Sir Edward Grey TO act upon
/ IL, If he had 40 desired when it was
.
not but ignore it in his turn, the Turk
ish activities against the British au
thority in Egypt having by that time
become too open.
Turkey Then Mobilizes.
Turkish mobilization near the Egyp.
tian frontier was discovered August %
with the arrival at Alexandria Of q
party of sixty Turkish officers. Sept.
one of the most anti-British Senator.
Of Constantinople was found in Cairo
for the supposed purpose of fomentine
revolution, while stories were circu
lated broadcast throughout Turkey
that insurrection was rife in India anC
/ Egypt and that the British Empire
was tottering TO its fall.
On October % Mallet telegrapheC
that the Russian Ambassador expected
war with Turkey as soon as the Porte
had received the first half Of the loar
/ of S20000.000 which Germany was pro
yiding. The following day Mallet re
/ ported that the Deutsche Bank in Con
D stantinople was receiyeing large quan
titles of bar gold, about $4,000, 00(
, being supposed TO be in its vaults, tn,
Goeben and the Breslau meanwhile
4 sailing out audaciously 10 lay mines.
: War was declared on October 30 by
Russia, after an attack by three Turk
ish torpedo boats upon a Russian gun
boat at Odessa. The Grand Viziel
changed front 10 declare vehe
mently that the attack had been pro
voked, although Turkey vas willing tC
apologize Great Britain, however, fol
lowed with her own declaration of war
the situation with regard to Egypt hav.
ing apparently become intolerable.