THE object of the Sultan in sacrificing so much money, and in making
such strenuous efforts to concentrate all the ruling power in his own
hands, is simply that he may satisfy his extraordinary and insatiable
lust of tyranny. To gain this end he deceives, bribes, and intrigues,
and to this end also he exiles, imprisons, and even makes away
with anyone who seems likely to be an obstacle to his ambition of
absolutism. He has lost the fairest provinces of his empire through
persisting in carrying on his tyrannical misrule, and he will not
mind losing more in the same manner so long as there are enough
territories to keep him going during his lifetime, for his motto is
"Après moi le deluge." He has destroyed all semblance of personal
liberty in the country. There can be no longer any hope of checking
his oppression, which is becoming more and more severe as the years
go by, as any united movement of opposition is impossible among so
many communities as are found in Turkey, whose aspirations, thoughts,
and racial tendencies are so widely different. On the other hand, the
Foreign Powers would not tolerate the outbreak of an open revolution
in Constantinople, whatever the grounds or reason for it. Some of them
even are much interested in assuring the existence of the Sultan's
rule, and would probably actively interfere in case of a movement to
upset it. For the purpose of Turkey's ruin this Sultan has been much
more useful to Russia than, all her great armies of Cossacks.
There are now new factors in the old Eastern Question, which also
serve the Sultan well in times of political trouble. That is, there
are certain Powers which are much interested in the continuance of
the Sultan's personal rule, and whatever the Turkish subjects lose
through misgovernment is a gain for these interested friends of the
present ruler. The Emperor of Germany, in one of his numerous friendly
telegrams to the Sultan, prayed that the Almighty might preserve his
'precious person,' doubtless that the Teutonic concession-hunters and
fortune-seekers in Turkey might continue to reap the harvest his life
assures to them. If there is really any justice in heaven, I feel
sure l that the Kaiser will be arraigned before the heavenly bar to
answer for his responsibility in assisting Abd-ul-Hamid to increase
the sufferings of Turkey. His telegrams and visits to Constantinople
have been the principal factor in encouraging Abd-ul-Hamid in the
continuance of his oppressive policy. These visits and telegrams have
been purposely represented to the unenlightened population of Turkey,
who have no longer any means of learning the real position of the
Sultan, as the payment of homage due to their master's greatness. If
the head of a great European nation pays homage to Abd-ul-Hamid, his
simple-minded subjects will naturally be impressed by his mighty
influence, and consequently submit to his autocratic will.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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