“As to the financial state of the province, it is most deplorable, and, as I have already had the honour of showing you, in a previous letter, the public revenues are reduced to one half; the country has been ruined by the tithes, and the depredations of the Army have desolated that which remained. The disastrous effect of the paper money having been to reduce the revenues by one half, one is appalled at the acknowledged deficit. This enumeration is a faithful _résumé_ of the state of the vilayet, a state of which foreigners are the first to complain, whilst at the same time, they are just those who have the greatest political profits to gain from the continuance of these disorders. It is quite certain, that if this condition of affairs is not brought to an end, the Great Powers will place the administration of the vilayet of Anatolia in the hands of foreign officials, under the pretext of the introduction of reforms. And, as the schemes of foreigners for Syria are well‐known, to accept their conditions, based upon the maladministration denounced by the European newspapers, would only increase public opinion in their favour, and cause their pretensions to be sustained by the Cabinets of Europe. “Ever since my arrival, I have done all in my power to bring some order into the affairs of the vilayet and to avoid the dangers I have detailed above. With your support, the question of the central district might be arranged, but the improvement of the province is not even then accomplished. There still remains the great difficulty of establishing the financial condition of the vilayet on an equitable base, of improving the Tribunals, and, above all, of putting an end to the extortions of the officials, who, in addition to the loss they occasion to the Treasury, do still more to discredit the Government in the eyes of both the natives and of the foreigners. In a word, it would be necessary, at all costs, to reassure public opinion by the application of existing laws. “The actual state of things having reached this point, the laws, which are at present being deliberated upon in the Council of Ministers, should be elaborated and applied in all the provinces of the Empire, taking into consideration the manners and customs of each province. “It would be a complete mistake to believe that this state of things can continue, and it is quite insupportable to me to know the remedy for the evil and yet not to be able to apply it, and above all to acquiesce wittingly in the harm caused by the present administration. “I feel myself obliged once more to submit the above observations to Your Highness.—I am, etc., “MIDHAT. “_17th March 1295, O.S._” (_29th March 1879._)