On the other hand, the agents of the reactionary party—the party of those who had fattened under the old _régime_ of plunder and were loth to see the profitable abuses swept away—worked hard to influence the electors, but apparently with little effect in European Turkey and Asia Minor. Certain foolish agitators who were infected with some of the socialistic doctrines of Western Europe unwittingly helped the cause of the reactionaries by raising the election cry of “No more taxes for the people” and “Down with all monopolies.” I have explained that the more ignorant people thought that with the suppression of the late _régime_ there would be an end of all authority. When they were enlightened on this matter by the Young Turks, and discovered that they would be compelled to pay their taxes as heretofore they felt some disappointment, and this afforded an opportunity to the reactionaries to point out to them that they would be no better off under the Constitution than they had been before, and that, at any rate, Turkey, under the old _régime_, had been a Mussulman State, whereas under the new order of things the government would be in the hands of bad Mohammedans, Christians, and Jews. In Arabia and in other parts of Asia the efforts of the friends of the old _régime_, as might be expected, were attended with some success. The fanatical Arabs, who have never been reconciled to the Turkish rule, were impressed by the preachings of those who in the mosques denounced the Constitution, and declared that the Turks, who had ever been indifferent Mussulmans, had now abandoned the essential doctrines of Islam and were worse than the Christians and Jews with whom they associated. But with the other races of the Empire it was still—in those early days of liberty—harmony, fraternisation, and enthusiasm; the racial and religious differences appeared to be forgotten for a while; one read of elections in which Christians were voting for Mussulman candidates or Mussulmans for Christian candidates. The optimistic Minister of the Interior, Haki Bey, made the following statement: “In our Parliament there will be no Turkish, Armenian, Greek, or Jew Deputies; they will all be Ottoman Deputies.” If one judged from the appearance of the surface one would have concluded that the proclaimed ideal of the Young Turk party—the union of people of all races and creeds within the Empire—was in a fair way to being realised.