ABDUL HAMID SULTAN
The act of dethronement of Sultan Murad V. was now accomplished. On
Thursday, 1st September 1876, Prince Hamid, surrounded by all the great
Civil and Military dignitaries of the State, descended the Grand Rue
of Pera on horseback, on his way to Top‐Kapou at Stamboul. The people
thronged in large crowds to see the procession, but dazed by the series
of dramatic events that were so rapidly succeeding one another, they
viewed the spectacle with silence and without enthusiasm. There seemed
a feeling of anxiety in the air as of the prescience of future evils.
From Stamboul the Prince passed in a State _caïque_ to the Palace of
Dolma‐Bagtche. Monday, the 15th of the month Chaban, was fixed for
the reception of the Biat (first ceremony of the investiture), and on
that day a deputation of notabilities of Finance, accompanied by the
chiefs of the five non‐Mussulman communities, headed by Jean Lorando,
presented the Sultan elect with an address of congratulation in the
name of the city of Galata, and to this the Sultan made the following
reply:—
“I thank you for your congratulations; I have only one desire, and
that is the progress of our country and peace for all our subjects.
They will perceive by the logic of facts the fulfilment of the
promise of the reforms made to them. They, too, on their part,
must, in order to enjoy these privileges, give proof of the strict
observance of the duties incumbent on them.”
To his Ministers he made a short speech, counselling union and
agreement among themselves as the condition and symbol of union among
all the subjects of the empire, and “counselled and ordered” them to
prove their union by their acts.
The following Thursday, 18th of the month Chaban, was fixed for the
great ceremony of investiture. On the morning of that day Abdul Hamid
embarked in a _caïque_ for Eyoub, the suburb on the Golden Horn, where
the sword of Osman and the other sacred relics are kept, and on his
passage thither he was saluted by the guns of the fleet anchored there,
and the shout of the sailors manning the yards, “Padishahim tchok
Yasha!”
After the important ceremony here was over, and the investiture of the
new Padishah was thus completed, he proceeded, according to usage, to
the mausoleum of Selim I., the founder of the Ottoman Caliphate, and
thence to the mausoleum of Abdul Medjid, his father and the father
of Murad, and lastly to the Palace of Top‐Kapou, where the mantle of
the Prophet and the sacred Banner are deposited; and at night, the
ceremony of this important day being over, he returned to the Palace of
Dolma‐Bagtche, where the ceremony of the investiture was completed.
Girt with the sword of Osman, Hamid II. reigned over Turkey, and the
dark gloom of the Hamidian epoch was now about to settle over the land
of the Osmanli.
On leaving the Palace of Dolma‐Bagtche that night old Mehemet Rushdi,
turning to his colleagues, said to them: “We have been in a great hurry
to get rid of Murad. May we never have cause to repent what we have
done.”
With these quasi‐prophetic words on his lips, feeling no doubt that
a new era of struggles was about to open for which younger men were
required, the veteran Grand Vizier, who had piloted the country
through one _coup d’état_, and had very unwillingly assisted at a
second dethronement, in consideration of his great age and feeble state
of health, requested to be relieved of the duties of Grand Vizier.
His request was granted, but three months after, Midhat, universally
designated for the post, was nominated as his successor. These three
months were passed under the Grand Vizierate of Mehemet Rushdi Pasha,
but it was Midhat who was leader of the Cabinet, and Mehemet Rushdi was
only the mouthpiece of Midhat, until the latter finally replaced him on
the 16th December 1876.
The first audience accorded by the new sovereign to foreign envoys
was to Count Zichy, the Austro‐Hungarian Ambassador, accompanied by
the Secretary of his Embassy. Safvet Pasha, the Minister of Foreign
Affairs, was present. The audience lasted one hour, and turned
exclusively on the affairs of Herzegovina, the ambassador laying
stress on the gravity of the events passing there, the anxiety and
expenses that disturbances on its borders caused the Dual Empire,
and exhortations to the new sovereign to listen to the advice of the
friendly Powers. All this was, as we have seen, in the strictest
conformity with the _rôle_ that Austria had been playing for two years.
Having set light to the gunpowder in her neighbour’s house, she quoted
to that neighbour the familiar proverb, “Proximus ardet Ucalegon,” and
warned him of the consequences.
The next audience was granted to the Russian Ambassador, General
Ignatieff, recently returned from St Petersburg with the last
instructions from his Court. The tone that the ambassador and envoys of
Russia, the Strogonoffs, and Mentchikoffs, and Ignatieffs, had rendered
familiar to the Porte on its communications on critical occasions, was
not absent on this occasion:
“His Majesty the Emperor, my master, officially informed of Your
Majesty’s accession to the throne, has conferred on me the signal
honour to represent him at Your Majesty’s court. The friendly
relations of the two countries may continue on the condition of the
interests of both being assured. His Majesty the Emperor cannot
view with indifference what is passing in the Ottoman Empire,
possessing, as it does, the commercial routes of the Black Sea and
the Mediterranean, and a portion of the inhabitants of which is of
the same religion as his own.
“It is to the interest of our country that peace should reign in
Turkey, and my country desires that late sad events should not be
renewed, and that peace should be assured. His Majesty the Emperor is
aware of the difficulties and critical moments that accompanied the
accession of Your Majesty, and is convinced that the troubles will
disappear, and that the re‐establishment of peace in the interior
will be secured. His Majesty the Emperor prays for the success of
Your Majesty.”
To this speech the Sultan made answer in a few appropriate words:
“More even than the Emperor of Russia ... I desire the progress of
Turkey, peace in my provinces, and my most ardent desire is to secure
the happiness of my people.”
Hardly had Abdul Hamid mounted the throne than the conflict between
the two parties already described, commenced. The first act of the new
reign was to appoint the _personnel_ of the Imperial Household. Damad
Mahmoud Djelaleddin Pasha was named Grand Marshal of the Palace, and
Saïd (Ingless) Pasha, first aide‐de‐camp to the Sultan. To these no
objections had been raised or conditions imposed. Their duties had
reference to what might be considered the more strictly household
functions of the Palace, and their appointment lay within the exclusive
domain of the sovereign’s personal choice. But it was very different
with the office of First Secretary to the Sultan (or his successor)
inasmuch as this important functionary has always been the right hand
and mouthpiece of the sovereign, and the person by whom and through
whom all communications pass between Ministers and the Sultan; and
through the confidential character of his office, and his ready and
continual access to the person of the sovereign, has always enjoyed a
position of exceptional importance, hardly second to that of the Grand
Vizier himself. It was for this reason that Midhat, attaching such
importance to the worthy occupancy of this post, had not only laid
stress on the necessity of its being filled by a functionary in harmony
with the views of Ministers, but had actually laid down as one of the
three conditions to which Prince Hamid was required to subscribe at the
interview at Muslou‐Oglou, that Sadullah Bey, Zia Bey and Kemal Bey
should be chosen as occupants of the post of Secretary respectively. In
spite of his formal acceptance of this condition, the Sultan informed
Midhat Pasha on his very first visit to the Palace, that he had
appointed Saïd Bey (Mahmoud’s man) as his First Secretary. Astounded at
this breach of faith, and aware of its significance—although perhaps
not recognizing the full import of it—Midhat strongly remonstrated
with the Sultan and urged a reconsideration of the appointment; but in
spite of the remonstrances and prayers of his Ministers, the Sultan
remained unmoved, and Midhat eventually acquiesced.
It is easy enough to be wise after the event and to see that Midhat
ought to have put his foot down on this question and accepted the
decisive battle thus offered him by the Sultan; that it ought to have
been clear to him that this was only the first contest in a campaign
that would decide the fate of Turkey during the whole of the coming
reign, and that the first blow would probably decide the issue in the
campaign. But our perspective of things is of course better than was
Midhat’s. By the light of all the subsequent events that have unrolled
themselves before our eyes, we now know the character of all the actors
in the drama which was commencing, especially of the principal actor,
and of this very First Secretary, who was the appropriate subject of
the first contention. We can now appreciate the character of Damad
Mahmoud Djelaleddin, the backbone and arm of the reaction; of some of
the Ministers who had been feigning for months past to support Midhat’s
views and were only waiting the moment to betray him; and can recognise
the existence of a matured and carefully laid plot to upset reform by
crushing the reformers—all these things are palpable and clear to us
in the broad daylight of subsequent events; but they were scarcely
surmised or imagined at the time we are now dealing with. The important
citadel of the Palace was delivered, with all its defences, into the
hands of the conspirators, and the Palace as a whole was organised
for the express purposes of the reformers. This strong position being
once firmly secured, the new Sultan could afford to show his hand with
little disguise. He could not yet afford to treat with Midhat; it would
have been clumsy to do so at once, for Midhat in opposition would have
been a force with which he would have had to reckon, and, moreover,
he and the Constitution were both necessary as a means of combating
the conference that was assembling; but short of a rupture with his
Grand Vizier, which was to be studiously avoided, he could afford to
emphasize more and more his opposition to the policy of Midhat, so that
when the moment arrived he could strike a decisive blow with effect,
and with less fear of the consequences.
Subjects of contention between them were not far to seek. The speech
from the throne, written by Midhat, which was a _pronunciamento_
of the policy of a new reign inaugurated under such exceptional
circumstances, and looked for with great eagerness, was revised by
the Sultan beyond recognition; the essential sentences were omitted,
others of quite incomprehensive character substituted in their place.
The keynote of the original was “a new Regime, the Constitution, and
Reform”; this was changed, and meaningless colourless phrases took its
place.
In order to give the reader an exact idea of the art displayed in this
transformation, the speech actually delivered on this occasion is
here appended, and the omitted sentences of the original, placed in
parentheses:
“HATTI HUMAYUN.
“_On ascending the Throne_.
“My illustrious Vizier, Mehemet Rushdi Pasha,—
“By the Divine will my elder brother, Sultan Murad V., vacated the
throne, and according to the law of succession We have mounted the
throne of our Ancestors.
“Appreciating your great qualities, your ability and experience
in the affairs of State, We confirm you in the functions of Grand
Vizier and of President of the Council of Ministers (avec le titre
de Premier Ministre), and direct all Our Ministers to keep their
respective posts. Confident in the assistance of the Almighty, We
will pursue Our object of strengthening Our Empire, and of making
all Our subjects, without exception, participate in the blessings of
liberty, peace, and justice; We trust that Our Ministers will help us
in the realisation of Our wishes (for Turkey ranks among the great
Powers, and in order to attain this object and to march on a footing
of equality with its neighbours in the progress of the sciences,
she must needs follow the same methods; and as the Constitutional
system is one of the principal causes of the progress of Nations, _We
hereby declare this system of Government to be adopted by Us_, whilst
holding strict account of the laws of the Cheri and the customs of
Our people.) No one who casts a glance at the causes of the critical
condition of affairs to‐day, can fail to recognise among the various
and numerous factors two principal ones, viz. the non‐observance of
the strict laws of the Cheri, and the capricious and wilful actions
of men. If the disorganisation that has for some time reigned in the
affairs of State has latterly greatly increased; if our financial
operations no longer inspire confidence; if our Courts of Justice no
longer command respect, if Our Empire, with its vast capacities for
commerce, industries and agriculture, and of every kind of progress,
has profited by none of these things—if, in fine, all the efforts
that have been made to insure liberty and peace for Our subjects
have remained fruitless, this comes from the non‐observance of the
laws and regulations; hence the necessity, whilst pursuing the noble
object of assuring the happiness of Our subjects of commencing in
the first place by the strict observation of existing laws, and of
those which shall be elaborated and proclaimed in strict accordance
with the laws of the Cheri and the wants of Our subjects, and by
keeping a strict eye on the expenditure and revenues of the State, in
order so to gain public confidence. (Each administrative department,
therefore, must act prudently and abstain from useless expenses; and
likewise with respect to the Household and other expenses of the
Imperial Palaces, these shall be diminished and reduced to what is
strictly necessary; and the Civil list of the Princes of the Imperial
family shall also be reduced, and their amount shall be paid directly
by the Minister of the Finances; and We make over to this same
Minister, as reduction from our Own Civil list, the sum of £300,000,
and We hereby fix the expenses of our Palace at the sum of £30,000
per month).
“The necessity of convoking a general assembly compatible with the
habits and customs and capacity of Our population being more and more
recognised and felt, Our Ministers will carefully and minutely study
this question and submit their report on the subject to Our sanction.
(In order to elaborate the Constitutional laws in conformity with
the needs of Our population and their customs and usages and the
law of the Cheri, We command our Ministers of State, the learned
doctors of the law, and all those whose knowledge and experience can
contribute to the perfection of the common work to unite in Council
to express their opinions on the subject, and that on their report
being approved by the Council of Ministers, it shall be submitted for
Our approbation.) Further, the confusion in the affairs of State,
resulting as it does from the incapacity of certain functionaries
in their posts, and from the frequent and unnecessary changes in the
personnel, it is Our desire that from the present time, according to
their different ranks, all office‐holders shall be chosen according
to their merit and capacity, and shall be irremovable without
serious reason, and that each of these shall be responsible for the
proper execution of his allotted duties. Moreover, Our attention
is directed to the question of public instruction, and seeing that
European nations have acquired the prosperity that they enjoy by
means of public instruction, We desire that all Our subjects, without
distinction of classes, shall be able to profit by the benefits of
knowledge, each according to his personal capacity; (and in order
that the progress of the country may produce the happiness of all
its subjects alike, and in order to inculcate these ideas, We decree
the foundation of schools in which instruction and education shall
be common to all), and with this object We desire that the credits
allotted to public education shall be increased, in order that
without loss of time we may endeavour to realise this programme.
In order, too, that the civil and financial administration of the
Provinces may be restored to their normal condition, We must without
loss of time endeavour to institute an organisation in the Provinces
resembling as much as possible the Central organisation.
“(It is also absolutely necessary that the laws regulating the
levying of tithes, taxes and indirect contributions shall be placed
on a just and equitable basis, and all Our efforts will be directed
to prevent any derogation or abuse in the execution of these laws.
The buying and selling of slaves being contrary to the prescriptions
of the Sacred Law (Cheri), We hereby enfranchise the slaves and
eunuchs of Our Palace, and declare that henceforth all trade in
slaves, whether purchase or sale, is hereby formally forbidden in Our
Empire, and a date will be fixed for the gradual emancipation of all
existing slaves, and special measures will be adopted to prevent any
return of slavery.)
“Since last year, owing to malevolent instigations, Bosnia and
Herzegovnia have been in a state of insurrection, and the revolt
of Servia is now added as an outcome of this insurrection, so that
the blood of the children of our common country is being spilt. The
continuation of such a state of things is a subject of profound
sorrow to Us, and Our most sincere desire is to put an end to it by
the employment of the most energetic measures.
“Our treaties with foreign Powers having been renewed and recognised
by Us, it will be Our aim to cultivate still further the friendly
relations already existing with them.
“May the Almighty, our common Ruler and Master, grant through His
mercy and goodness, success to our efforts.
“_Saturday_, 22 _Chaban_, 1292, _Hegira_.”
(9_th September_ 1876.)
The points of contention between the Palace, or the Sultan (which now
become synonymous expressions), and Midhat were all contained in germ
in the foregoing variations in the first speech from the throne.
(1) In the very first sentence of the Hatti Humayun of inauguration
the Sultan had cut out a passage which would have introduced a change
to which Midhat attached some importance—“my Grand Vizier with the
title of Prime Minister.” Midhat desired to abolish the title of Grand
Vizier and to substitute for it that of Prime Minister, a change
which would have entailed as a consequence the collective, instead of
the individual, responsibility of Ministers. What the first Minister
would lose in dignity and personal influence would be acquired by the
Ministry collectively, and would thus consolidate the component parts
of the Constitution. Midhat was well aware that this post of Prime
Minister would require strengthening and developing for some time in
Turkey, in view of the power and influence which the Throne derived
from the very nature of the traditions and sentiments of the Ottomans,
and the position of Islam in the world.
The purport and tendency of the proposal did not escape the new
sovereign, and, faithful to his own views and interests, he simply
cancelled the sentence and rejected the proposal.
(2) Midhat had placed in the mouth of the Sultan the following phrase:
“As the Constitutional system is one of the principal causes of the
progress of nations, we hereby declare this system of government to
be adopted by Us, whilst holding, etc.”—instead of which, after some
colourless commonplace sentences about the non‐observance of laws and
regulations and pursuing the noble object of assuring the happiness
of our subjects, he speaks of the necessity of convoking “a general
Assembly compatible with the habits and customs and capacity of our
population” (which might mean anything or nothing according to the
estimate of their capacity), and he orders his Ministers carefully and
minutely to study this question (which they had done for a year past),
and submit the report to his sanction.
(3) In connection with the same important subject Midhat had proposed,
for the purpose of elaborating the Constitutional laws, the convention
of a Grand Council composed of the Ministers of State, the Doctors of
the Law, and all those whose knowledge and experience entitled them
to a voice in the country, to express their opinion on the subject,
and that on their report being revised by the Council of Ministers it
should be submitted to the approbation of the Sultan.
This proposal evidently meant business, and would not only have fixed
a limit of time for the inauguration of the new Constitution, but
would have given it the _imprimatur_ of all that was enlightened and
worthy of respect and attention in the empire. The Sultan rejected the
sentence _in toto_.
(4) Midhat, who was deeply concerned by the actual condition of Turkish
Finances, and thoroughly convinced that the first step in setting
this right must be the exercise of rigid economy in all branches of
the administration, and who, moreover, had experience of all that had
taken place in the reign of Abdul Aziz, did not hesitate to propound
to Abdul Hamid what his predecessor Murad had unhesitatingly accepted,
viz., that the expenses of the household and of the Imperial Palace
should be diminished and reduced to what was strictly necessary, and
the Civil list of the princes of the Imperial family should be in like
manner reduced, and their amount paid directly by the Minister of
Finance, and he left it to the sovereign to make over a sum that he
should fix himself for the monthly expenses of the Palace.
The Sultan omitted the whole paragraph.
(5) Midhat attached the greatest importance to the question of mixed
schools in the provinces where Christians and Mussulmans lived
together. The reader will recollect (p. 40) that when Governor of
the provinces of the Danube he desired to establish this system in
Bulgaria, and it was this very proposal which excited the anxiety and
stirred the energies of the vigilant Ignatieff to defeat the proposal
and obtain the dismissal of the Vali.
The Governor of Bulgaria—who now became for the second time the Grand
Vizier of the empire—desired to make this cherished scheme general in
all the provinces of the empire, and in the inaugural speech he had
placed in the Sultan’s mouth words that signified the adoption of this
measure and its inauguration in the empire, “in order that the progress
of the country may produce the happiness of all its subjects alike; and
in order to inculcate these ideas, _We decree the foundation of these
schools_, in which instruction and education shall be common to all.”
Instead of this categorical declaration the Sultan substituted the
colourless proposal: “We desire that all Our subjects, without
distinction of classes, shall be able to profit by the benefits of
knowledge, each according to his personal capacity,” which will bear
the exact sense that anybody may choose to attribute to it.
We shall very shortly see what practical sense the Sultan himself
attributed to it.
(6) Midhat desired to abolish the slave trade, which he considered
a scandal and a disgrace to the empire, and incompatible with its
pretensions to a high place in the ranks of civilised nations.
He proposed, therefore, in this inaugural speech to proclaim its
abolition, and that the Sultan should inaugurate the change by
enfranchising all the slaves in the Palace. The Sultan cut out the
whole paragraph.
With such a radical difference in the whole point of view from which
the Palace clique and the new Grand Vizier regarded the situation, it
was clear that occasions for serious conflict would not be wanting, nor
would be long in manifesting themselves. They arose indeed at once,
and it will be seen that each subject of contention was implicitly
contained in the divergence of views manifested with reference to the
speech from the throne that has just been analysed.
The question of the Constitution naturally occupied the foreground
in these disputes. The Sultan, as has been seen, refused to submit
its provisions to a Grand Council to be summoned _ad hoc_, lest it
should receive, as it undoubtedly would have received, this important
sanction. He preferred that Ministers should be its sole sponsors,
which would leave him free to deny subsequently that its details had
been stamped with the seal of national approval. From the very first
days of his accession he had shown the greatest anxiety on this subject
of the Constitution, and no wonder: it was what the Magna Charta was to
John of England—the curb and limit of arbitrary power and exaction.
Knowing that Midhat was its chief champion, it was with him that
he entered into negotiations on the subject, even before the actual
resignation of Mehemet Rushdi Pasha. The following significant letter
signed with his own name (instead of through the usual vehicle of the
First Secretary’s signature) was the warning shot fired across the
enemy’s bows:—
_Letter addressed by the Sultan to Midhat Pasha on the eve of his Grand
Vizierate._[1]
“_To my illustrious Vizier, Midhat Pasha_.
“We have made ourselves acquainted with the Constitution which you
unofficially forwarded to us, and we have noticed in it passages
incompatible with the habits and aptitudes of the nation. Our desire
is to assure the future of the country by just administration, and we
cannot but appreciate all efforts towards that end. And one of the
objects to which we attach much importance is that of _safeguarding
the Sovereign rights_ by a new organisation drawn up with regard to
the needs of the people. We desire therefore that the Constitution
should be discussed by the Council of Ministers, and should be
revised in the manner referred to above. Communicate our greetings to
our Grand Vizier and show him this order. In any case we expect from
your patriotism that your efforts shall tend towards the object we
have in view, and demand that this Irade shall be kept secret between
our Grand Vizier and yourself.
“ABDUL HAMID
“9 _Zilkade_, 1293, _Hegira_.”
(25_th November_ 1876.)
_Reply._
_To the First Secretary of His Majesty._[12]
“EXCELLENCY,—As it was impossible for me to thank His Majesty for
the favours and the many proofs of goodwill with which he overwhelms
me every day and every moment, I am entirely unable to testify my
gratitude for the signal honour, so disproportionate to my deserts,
which I have received in the reply of an autograph letter from His
Majesty, inviting me to furnish certain explanations of the text
of the Constitution unofficially forwarded to His Majesty. As to
the contents of the report which has been submitted, I myself also
recognise that the majority of the articles require to be modified
and changed, and I think it is not necessary to say that if this
text has been submitted to His Majesty as an incomplete rough draft,
it was simply with the intention of correcting it later according
to the views and wishes of His Majesty. This report has been drawn
up and completed by the Commission convened for the purpose by
Imperial command, and, as the time has come when the text should
be studied by the Council of Ministers, the terms of the Imperial
Irade have been communicated to His Highness the Grand Vizier. Now,
urged by fidelity to my Sovereign and my love for my country, I feel
it incumbent upon me, and have the courage to be of opinion that
there are two methods of extrication from our present position. The
first consists in putting into execution, before the meeting of the
Conference, the reforms for our home government that were promised
and proclaimed to all the Powers, and the time needed for so doing
would be three or four days at the outside. The second method is to
accept the proposals formulated by the Powers, and to make up our
minds to live henceforth and for ever under their tutelage. If the
first method is not adopted, or even if its promulgation is delayed
and retarded until after the meeting of the Conference, the second
becomes inevitable. My attachment to my Sovereign and my love for my
country force me to give utterance to these ideas.
“I am....
“MIDHAT.
“11 _Zilkade_, 1293, _Hegira_.”
(27_th November_ 1876.)
The inner meaning of the words “safeguarding the Sovereign rights”
contained the pith and kernel of the conspirators’ views and
intentions. It had direct reference to a clause which the Sultan
desired to have inserted in the text of the Constitution, or rather
(and the difference is very material) to a rider which he desired to
be added to a clause (the 113th), referring to the declaration of a
state of siege in disturbed districts. The purport and intention of
the clause would naturally govern its different branches. It could not
possibly be supposed to apply to Ministers themselves, inasmuch as the
Constitution specially and elaborately provided for their trial and
punishment in clauses 31, 32, and 34 of the text. In spite, however,
of the provisions and safeguards which were to hedge and limit the
exercise of this prerogative, Midhat had long combated the insertion
of this rider to the 113th article. Anxious above all things, however,
to get the Constitution promulgated not later than the first sitting
of the Conference, and not as yet fully grasping the character of the
man he was dealing with, he listened to the explanations and glosses
offered with reference to this rider, and finally, though reluctantly,
consented to its insertion in the text of the Constitution.
It is easy to see now that this was the second error of tactics
committed by Midhat. “Put not your trust in princes” is an especially
wise injunction when you do not know the character of the princes you
are dealing with. If Midhat had forced the Sultan Hamid—as he might
have done, if he had been less trustful and more strenuous—to observe
strictly the terms of the treaty of Muslou‐Oglou that Prince Hamid had
agreed to as a condition of his mounting on the throne at all, Midhat
would never have been banished, and the Constitution would never have
been strangled. Good men are rarely as determined and strenuous as bad
men. It is a pity, for half the political ills of the world come from
this weakness on their part.