The very existence of the rayas has rendered the Osmanlis proud and arrogant in their peculiar right as Mussulmans; and, though holding all high places themselves, they have been willing to call in the assistance of their subjects in secondary employments. The rayas thus employed, are, of course, but a small proportion of the whole; to all the rest life dwindles into a tinkering, jobbing affair. This mushroom aristocracy, which was formerly ephemeral, like Jonas' gourd, springing suddenly into existence, coming to maturity in an incredibly short space of time, then perishing ere the sun of its glory arrived at meridian height, has now, by virtue of the Tanzimat, which secures the enjoyment of life and property, attained a sort of permanency. These officials being originally of the people, it may be supposed, would feel some sympathy for them; but the moment they come into power, they become an exclusive class. Because in Turkey the patriarchal idea that everything belongs to the sovereign, has led them to regard the government as not made for the people, but the people for the government; they think, therefore, that all advantages should accrue not to the governed but to the governing, thus reducing the mass into the state of individual nonentities, or mere conduits for the resources of the empire. The persons in authority seek, therefore, only the prosperity of the government, and constitute, as it were, a sort of fiscal administration, rather than one mindful of the good of the commonwealth. Hence, whenever a project of public utility is proposed, the first idea that crosses the mind of a Turkish functionary, is what direct advantage may accrue to the government? With such perverted ideas, the aristocracy, who are termed par excellence the Kibars, though few in numbers, are like leaven to the whole mass; domineering, exciting, and often corrupting the best materials; and as men are creatures of circumstances, their moral and temporal conditions are but the results of the good or bad government under which they live. The evils, corruptions, and miseries existing in a community, are not therefore to be attributed to the mass indiscriminately, but rather to the influences that surround them. Baluk bashdan Kokar is a common proverb with the Osmanlis, or as is the fountain so will be the streams which flow from it; therefore a government which exercises its prerogatives to revenge, not to punish; to remove the offender, not to benefit others by making an example of him; to deal death-blows to all who stand in the way; to encourage self-aggrandizement rather than study the wants of the community; to prefer the intriguant before the patriot; to patronize the buffoon rather than the statesman; such a government cannot fail to stamp its sanguinary and arbitrary character upon its subjects.