“The first formality was the proving of the prisoners’ identity, and immediately thereafter the indictment was read by three of the prosecutors, which may be briefly stated as follows:—A few days after the dethronement of Abdul Aziz, Mahmoud Damad, and Nouri Damad, engaged two professional wrestlers and a Palace watchman to assassinate their ex‐Sovereign, promising them £100 each and a monthly pension of three pounds, as appears from the accounts of the Civil Lists. The crime was committed with the assistance of the Chamberlain, Fahri Bey, while Ali and Nedjib Beys, who had introduced the assassins into the Palace, mounted guard with drawn swords at the door of the room. As there was at that time a Supreme Commission, composed of Mehmed Ruchdi, Midhat, Hussein Avni, the Sheik‐ul‐Islam, and Mahmoud Damad, and as no important orders could be given without the concurrence of this Commission, it may be assumed that all its members must have been _cognizant_ of Mahmoud and Nouri’s criminal proceedings, and it is for this reason that Midhat is among the accused. “When the indictment setting forth this theory had been read, the President, in a quiet and dignified manner, began to question the prisoners. The first called upon to state what he knew, was Mustapha, the wrestler, a man of ordinary size and not presenting any signs of abnormal muscular development. His face was of a common type and betrayed no symptoms of emotion as he related, in plain, unvarnished terms, how he had cut open the ex‐Sultan’s veins with a knife given to him for the purpose by Mahmoud Damad. His description, accompanied by slight and significant gestures, was brutally graphic, and made a strong impression on the spectators, more than one of the older men in the audience giving vent to their feelings of horror by audible exclamations. Mustapha’s account was fully confirmed by Hadji Mehmed Pasha, who declared that together with the Chamberlain Fahri Bey and Djezairli, he had hold of Abdul Aziz whilst the crime was being perpetrated. Djezairli, who had made a full confession in his preliminary examination, was then questioned, and retracted what he had previously said. Fahri Bey, a young man, with long fair moustache, delicately‐cut effeminate features, and of tall and slender build, was next examined, and denied the statements of the wrestler and his companion. In a tremulous tone, which gathered firmness as he proceeded, he described, from his personal observation, the mental condition of Abdul Aziz after his dethronement, and obstinately insisted that the dethroned monarch had committed suicide. The other prisoners, without endeavouring to explain how the Sultan’s death occurred, successively maintained their own innocence, and found more or less plausible answers for all the questions put to them by the judges. Mahmoud Damad Pasha, a tall