THE LIFE OF MIDHAT PASHA [Illustration: _From a Photograph._ _The Typographic Etching Co. Ph. Sc._ _Midhat Pasha._] THE LIFE OF MIDHAT PASHA A RECORD OF HIS SERVICES, POLITICAL REFORMS, BANISHMENT, AND JUDICIAL MURDER DERIVED FROM PRIVATE DOCUMENTS AND REMINISCENCES BY HIS SON ALI HAYDAR MIDHAT BEY WITH PORTRAITS LONDON JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET, W. 1903 PREFACE As the Son of Midhat Pasha I was for fifteen years compelled to reside as an exile in Smyrna, but finding the physical and moral sufferings to which I was there subjected greater than I could endure, I succeeded in quitting the territories of the Sultan, and came to take up my residence in this hospitable land, and among this great and free people. In the following pages I have endeavoured to carry out a duty which has long been incumbent on me, by letting the public, and especially the English public, know the true story of my father’s career, and of his death. The record is based mainly on documents and notes left by him. In obedience to requests from high quarters I abstain from publishing certain documents and correspondence which, bearing as they do on International affairs, might be calculated to cause embarrassment and do harm. It is possible that some of my father’s papers which I have now printed, and which were written in Turkish, may have lost some of their original brightness in the process of translation, but at least, most scrupulous care has been taken to give the sense of them accurately. There can be no doubt that at the present time Turkey is suffering from a Reign of Terror, and is in a state of anarchy. I hope that the narrative contained in these pages may afford some evidence of the methods by which this condition of affairs has been produced. My readers will learn how the Sovereign of the Ottoman Empire, in order to carry out his own system of Government, has suppressed every effort for reform, and has removed those men, who by their force of character, by their uprightness, and by their popularity, seemed capable of thwarting his designs, and amending the condition of the country and of the people. I wish to state here that I have a profound respect for the Imperial Throne, and it is this consideration alone, I repeat it, and the honour of my country, which makes me regard it as a duty to humanity to expose the nefarious system of Sultan Abdul Hamid. In conclusion, I would beg to offer my thanks to the Proprietors of the _Times_ newspaper for giving me permission to reprint the excellent report of my father’s trial which appeared in their columns. ALI HAYDAR MIDHAT. EASTBOURNE, _August 6, 1903_. CONTENTS CHAPTER I EARLY HISTORY OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE Page