Norwich bulletin., 1919-06-27

between the government of the kaiser
 and the heads of the revolutionary
 committee, who, at the beginning of
 1914, had placed themselves in pow
 CT by means of a coup d'etat. call
 to witness the official despatches ex- changed between the representatives
 of France and Great Britain, and their
 respective governments, during the
 three monts which preceded the out
 break of hostilities between Turkey and the empire of the czars. . When war had once been declared, the eternal covetousness of Russia as
 regards Constantinople was skillfully
 represented to the people as an immin- I ent danger. and anxiety for the preser- vation of national existence thereupon
 rendered the struggle a desperate one.
 Our archives are, moreover, thrown entirely open to an inquiry which
 would enable the statements which I
 have the honor to make to this high
 assembly to be amply confirmed.
 Tn regard to the other tragic events.
 l beg leave to repeat here the declara- tions which I have repeatedly made
 to the Ottoman senate. Turkey de- plores the murder of a great number of her Christian co-nationals as much
 as she does that of Moslems, proper ly speaking. In point of fact, the :, committee of union and progress, not i. content with the crimes perpetrated against Christians, condemned to
 death by every means three million
 Moslems.
 "The great trial of the Unionists at
 Constantinople has proven the re-
 sponsibility of the leaders of the com n mittees, all of whom occupy high po- Q sitions in the state for the war and o the other tragiv events. That is the . rehabilitation of the Ottoman nation r What we ask for thus. is, more- # over completely in conformity with
 President Wilson's principles, which y we invoked when we requested an arm a istice, being convinced that they ,f would be evenly applied in the inter- v, ests of the peace of the world. On h the other hand, fresh parcelling out Ls of the Ottoman empire would entirely j. upset the balance in the east" l. The reply of the allied and associat- r. ed powers to Damad Pasha (grand as vizier) says in part: E.. ry1 Neither among the Christians o1 in Europe nor among. the Moslems oi
 Syria, Arabia and Africa has the Turl
 done other than destroy, whenever h,
 has conquered. never has he showT - he has won by war. Not in this di T. rection do his talents lie
 n ''The obvious conclusion from thes. ,n facts would seem to be that, sine, le Turkey has, without the least ex- of euse or provocation, deliberately at ,r lacked the entente powers, and beer , defeated, she has thrown upon the vic Il. tors the heavy duty of determining tn, / destiny of the various populations ir in her heterogeneous empire. This dut, in the council of principal allied and as
 I nfo1 4o of as far as may be in accordance witt nd the wishes and permanent interests o id the populations themselves.
 ed But the council observes with re it's gret that the memorandum introduce
 in this connection a wholly differen he order of considerations based on op to posed religious rivalries. The Turk an ish empire, is, it seems, to be preserv Id, ed unchanged, not so much becaus as this would be to the advantage eithe to of the Moslems or of the Christian
 within it's borders, but because it as maintenance is demanded by the re ice ligious sentiment of men who neve GIT felt the Turkish yoke. or have for 1T gotten how heavily it weighs on thos is. who are compelled to bear it.
 o oe But surely there never was sen .1S timent less justified by facts. Tn ,r whole course of the war exposes ii ,ha hallowness. What religious issue
 raised by struggle in which Protes bis ant Germany, Roman Catholic Austri ,an OrthoroX Bulgaria and Moslem Tul ,es key banded themselves together lde piunuer thelr nelshpors!
 ble 1T II be replied that the dlmlnutic el- III the territories of a historic Mosle
 state must injure the Moslem eau.
 in all hands, we respectfully sugge
 that in our opinion this is an erro To thinking Moslems throughout u RIG world the modern history of the go' - ernment enthroned at Constantinop ec- can be no source of pleasure or pride