Bleeding Armenia: Its history and horrors under the curse of IslamWilliams, Augustus Warner
History
Bleeding Armenia: Its history and horrors under the curse of Islam
Williams, Augustus Warner
Armenian question
"The terms of the resolution are as follows:
"'That this meeting expresses its conviction that her Majesty's
Government will have the cordial support of the entire nation, without
distinction of party, in any measures which it may adopt for securing
to the people of Turkish Armenia such reforms in the administration
of that province as shall provide effective guarantees for the safety
of life, honor, religion, and property, and that no reforms can be
effective which are not placed under the continuous control of the
Great Powers of Europe.' (Cheers.)
"That means, without doubt, the Great Powers of Europe, all who choose
to combine, and those great Powers which happily have combined and
have already, in my judgment, pledged their honor as well as their
power to the attainment of the object we have in view. (Cheers.)
"Now, it was my fate, I think six or more months ago, to address a very
limited number, not a public assembly, but a limited number of Armenian
gentlemen, and gentlemen interested in Armenia on this subject. There
was no authoritative and impartial declaration before the world at
that period on the subject of what is known as the Sassoun massacre;
that massacre to which the Noble Duke has alluded and with respect
to which, horrible as that massacre was, one of the most important
witnesses in this case declares that it is thrown into the shade
and has become pale and ineffective by the side of the unspeakable
horrors which are being enacted from month to month, from week to
week, and day to day in the different provinces of Armenia. (Hear,
hear.) It was a duty to avoid premature judgment, and I think it was
avoided. But though it is a duty to avoid exaggeration, a most sacred
duty, it is a duty that has little or no place in the case before us,
because it is too well known that the powers of language hardly suffice
to describe what has been and is being done, and that exaggeration,
if we were ever so much disposed to it, is in such a case really
beyond our power. (Cheers.) Those are dreadful words to speak. It is
a painful office to perform, and nothing but a strong sense of duty
could gather us together between these walls or could induce a man
of my age and a man who is not wholly without other difficulties to
contend with to resign for the moment that repose and quietude which
is the last of many great earthly blessings remaining to him in order
to invite you to enter into a consideration of this question. What
witnesses ought we to call before us? I should be disposed to say
that it matters very little what witness you call. So far as the
character of the testimony you will receive is concerned the witnesses
are all agreed. At the time that I have just spoken of, six or eight
months ago, they were private witnesses. Since that time, although
we have not seen the detailed documents of public authority, yet we
know that all the broader statements which had been made up to that
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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