As the concluding passage of this letter shows, the Sultan, whilst banishing Zia Bey, determined, _pour encourager les autres_, to proceed with all possible vigour against the Press. There was to be no faltering in so grave a matter. For this purpose the _Istikbal_ was to be suspended, and a Draconian law against the Press prepared “within three or four days,” although by Article 12 of the Constitution this matter ought to have been left to be dealt with by the Parliament. The following letters speak for themselves:— _To Midhat Pasha, Grand Vizier._ “HIGHNESS,—His Majesty, after having made the remark to me that the contents of the article ‘The Future of Islam,’ published by the _Vakit_, and especially the words underlined, were calculated to lead astray public opinion, and referring to an interview with your Highness yesterday evening on the subject of the Press, orders your Highness to inform him of the measures you intend to take against the Editor of this particular paper, for having published facts calculated to make a bad impression, and, moreover, to propose to him a competent person ... as Director of the Bureau of the Press, in the place of the present functionary, who has been guilty of inattention and negligence, and must be nominated to some other post. “As the Press, basing its pretensions on the liberty it enjoys under the Constitution, does not cease to publish all sorts of things, His Majesty, with a view to putting an end to abuses, and placing a curb on the license of the newspapers, commands your Highness to give the necessary orders in the proper quarter to complete within the delay of three or four days, the law on the Press, referred to in the Constitution. “I have the honour to be “(Signed) SAÏD. “15 _Zilhidje_, 1293, _Hegira_.” (31_st December_ 1876.) _To Midhat Pasha, Grand Vizier._