MIDHAT, GOVERNOR‐GENERAL OF SMYRNA
The vilayet and town of Smyrna were then, like other provinces of the
Empire, in a state of lamentable disorder. It is quite certain that the
Sultan, who had refused to apply the necessary reforms in Syria, had
never sent Midhat to Smyrna with the intention of putting a stop to the
administrative anarchy existing in that part of his dominions. Midhat,
although well aware that the aim of all these machinations was only to
paralyse his activity, could not forget the duties and responsibilities
which the Governor‐Generalship placed on his shoulders.
There were a quantity of liberated convicts of every foreign
nationality in Smyrna, who daily committed all manner of theft and
crime; the sense of terror in the province was so great that no one
dared venture abroad in the streets after night‐fall. Midhat Pasha
formed a corps of police, in imitation of the European police, a
force which at that time did not exist in Turkey apart from the
_gendarmerie_. He showed the same activity here as in the other
vilayets, and succeeded, after several arrests, in establishing public
security. He widened the streets of the city, and founded a School of
Arts and Crafts, as well as an orphanage, which still exists under the
name of “Islahané.”
On the other hand, the Sultan never renounced his aim of ridding
himself of Midhat, and four or five months after his arrival in Smyrna,
Abdul Hamid decided to strike a mortal blow at him, in once more
raising the question of the sudden death of his uncle, the ex‐Sultan
Abdul Aziz, whose suicide in the Palace we have already related (see
p. 89). This suicide had not only been verified by eye‐witnesses, but
also by the report of all the doctors of the foreign embassies at
Constantinople, and above all by the statement of Dr Dickson, doctor
at the British Embassy, a fact which has been confirmed by Sir Henry
Elliot, who was the then English Ambassador, and who wrote an account
of the deposition and suicide of Abdul Aziz, which appeared in the
February number of the _Nineteenth Century_ in 1888. Now, after a lapse
of four years, the Sultan asserted that his uncle had not committed
suicide, but that he had been assassinated, and that the murder had
been perpetrated by Hussein Avni Pasha, the Minister for War (who was
himself murdered in Midhat’s house, in 1876, by Cherkess Hassan), and
by his two brothers‐in‐law, Mahmoud Djelaleddin and Nouri Pashas, and
that _other personages of high rank_ (an allusion to Midhat, Mehemet
Rushdi Pashas, and to the Sheik‐ul‐Islam—Haïroullah Effendi) were
implicated in the affair. In fact the two brothers‐in‐law, Mahmoud
Djelaleddin and Nouri Pashas, were arrested in Constantinople, and the
news of a fresh trial of the assassins of Abdul Aziz was noised abroad
by the European Press.[24]
The Turkish Press, inspired from the Palace, addressed praises to
the Sultan, and some newspapers—amongst others the _Terdjumani
Hakikat_—actually went so far as to advise Abdul Hamid to arrest every
one who had played any part in the affair of Abdul Aziz.
By this time the Sublime Porte had lost all authority, and the enemies
of the Constitutional Party had increased very considerably. Mehemet
Rushdi Pasha, the former Grand Vizier, and colleague of Midhat, had
been condemned to pass his remaining years on his estates near Manissa;
the Sheik‐ul‐Islam, Haïroullah Effendi, a follower of Midhat, had been
exiled to Mecca. The few Liberals who remained in the capital had all
been sent away into the provinces, either as officials or as exiles.
Only the partisans of Abdul Hamid and those who had changed their
opinions and who now ranged themselves on the side of despotism—such
as Ahmed Midhat Effendi—were to be found in Constantinople. Ahmed
Midhat Effendi, who had been one of Midhat Pasha’s most ardent
followers, now heaped all the lowest slanders upon him, through the
pages of the _Terdjumani Hakikat_, asserting that Abdul Aziz had been
murdered, and that the culprits must be arrested.
Midhat Pasha was in receipt of the most alarming news from his friends
at Constantinople, and also from abroad; he was told that his life
was in great danger. His only reply was: “I have no reason to be
alarmed nor to fly from Turkey. I have laboured for the good of my
country, and I have nothing with which to reproach myself; if others
see reason to blame me, I am always ready to reply before a tribunal.”
He took no further steps than to write a letter to the Grand Vizier,
protesting against the baseness of Ahmed Midhat Effendi, Editor of the
_Terdjumani Hakikat_. The letter is as follows:—
_From Midhat Pasha to the Grand Vizier._
“YOUR HIGHNESS,—The number of the _Terdjumani Hakikat_, dated
5th December, 1296, after stating that the Editor of a newspaper,
published at Athens, and directed against the Imperial Government, is
Essad Effendi, who was exiled to Damascus, but who has since sought
refuge in Greece, goes on to insinuate that in producing this paper
he has my moral and pecuniary support. The same week, explanations
are given in the _Messenger_, both in French and English, of these
calumnies, and this is done in the most peculiar manner, my name
being mentioned. The baseness of the Editor of the _Terdjumani
Hakikat_ is well known to the whole world. As to Essad Effendi,
all who have seen him at Damascus will be able to estimate these
erroneous publications at their true value. I think there is no more
for me to add on this subject, for if I said anything, it would be
according to the rules to bring an action. But these publications
are not only hostile to me personally. It is beyond all question
that the publication, in a foreign land, of a newspaper, directed
against the Imperial Government, with the material and moral aid that
I am reported to have furnished, constitutes a crime; consequently,
how can you leave such a man at the head of so important and
vast a vilayet as that of Smyrna? Such a state of things does
much to destroy the prestige of the State, and all the more so,
because of the confirmation of these slanders by the newspapers of
Constantinople, which are under the orders and surveillance of the
Sublime Porte. It seems to me wiser to send in my resignation, than
to give rise to such a state of affairs, so that the honour and
consideration of the State may be preserved intact. This course is,
moreover, in keeping with the decision, reached by me some time ago.
Nevertheless, I feel it my duty that I should first of all seek Your
Highness’ advice on the subject.—I am, etc.,
“MIDHAT.
“_25th December 1296, O.S._”
(_7th January 1881._)
However, the Sultan, who wished to put an end to Midhat, decided
finally to arrest both him and Mehemet Rushdi Pasha, who was then at
Manissa. The arrival in Smyrna of the aides‐de‐camp, General Hilmi
Pasha and Colonel Riza Bey (at present Minister of War), with their
suites, gave the first warning to the Governor‐General, who ordered
his men to watch the acts and movements of these aides‐de‐camp, and
very soon reached the conviction that these emissaries had come with an
order to arrest him.
Among the men who had been charged by Midhat to get the aides‐de‐camp
to talk about the manner in which the arrest was to be made, was a
police agent, an extremely intelligent man, who, disguised as a rich
merchant, was lodging in the same hotel as Hilmi Pasha, chief of the
mission. Hilmi Pasha, at the end of a good dinner, had allowed to
the pretended merchant that he had come to Smyrna by the Imperial
command, and that his object was to arrest the Governor‐General, but
that he was waiting for further instructions before carrying out his
instructions. Midhat, in order to be prepared for any occurrence,
had ordered a secret door to be made, and one of the steamers of the
Compagnie Joly was retained in the harbour, ready to carry him off
abroad. One evening the above‐mentioned agent came and warned him that
Hilmi Pasha had been called to the Telegraph Office, and that, after
a long conversation with the Palace, he had re‐entered the hotel, had
put on his uniform, and gone straight to the barracks. It was asserted
that among the orders he had received, he had been instructed to kill
Midhat and to massacre his family. Indeed, one of Midhat’s servants,
named Nezir, had been bribed, and it was arranged that before the
Governor’s house was occupied, he should fire off a revolver on the
troops, and thus give the signal for the massacre. In support of this
theory, it is interesting to note that after Midhat Pasha’s exile the
said Nezir entered into the service of the Yildiz Kiosk, and received
a considerable salary. Besides this, one of the chamberlains of the
Sultan Abdul Hamid, Bessim Bey, who died some time ago in disgrace,
whilst still in the service of the Palace, assured a member of Midhat’s
family that Hilmi Pasha was not only entrusted with the arrest of
Midhat, but that the Sultan had given him a positive order to have
him killed in the tumult which was to be adroitly brought about, and
to massacre his whole family, men, women and children. It was on this
account that General Hilmi had bribed Nezir, so that the public might
believe that Midhat had refused to obey, and that he had fired upon the
soldiers.
On the receipt of this news from his agent, Midhat Pasha, without
losing his _sang‐froid_, sought out his family and acquainted them with
the position of affairs. He advised them to be resigned, and informed
them of his intention of quitting Turkish soil from the moment that his
life had been threatened. As midnight struck, three cannon‐shots rang
out from the barracks (in Turkey this is the method employed for giving
the alarm of fire), but Midhat understood only too well that it was
done with the express purpose of distracting the attention of the mob.
At the same moment he left his house by the secret door, accompanied
by his secretary, and stole down to the quay; but perceiving that the
quays were blocked by sentinels, he hailed a carriage, and recollecting
that the English Consul, Mr Dennis, was not in the town, he told them
to drive to the French Consulate, and there begged for protection.
Meanwhile, the soldiers, who had forced their way at the point of their
bayonets up to the doors of the first floor, now demanded to speak
with Midhat Pasha, and were informed that he had just left. This reply
being absolutely unexpected, they were convinced that he was hiding
in one of the rooms. Hilmi Pasha gave orders that the house should be
searched, and that all the servants should be thrown into prison. The
troops entered, breaking down the doors, and recommending the ladies
not to move, they made an exhaustive search, even tearing up the
flooring. At this moment, by way of fulfilling his cowardly promise and
giving reason for a massacre, Nezir, hiding himself behind a mattress,
tried to fire off his revolver, but one of the servants, realising the
peril, tore the weapon from his hand.
After a minute search that lasted for several hours, and during which
no trace of either Midhat nor yet of his papers had been discovered,
Madame Midhat, seeing that the officers and soldiers had no intention
of withdrawing, sent for General Hilmi and informed him that in the
case of the troops remaining in the house, she would open the windows
and call in the help of the people. This terrified the General, for he
had received orders not to give rise to a revolution, and he dismissed
the soldiers, only remaining himself with one or two officers. A few
hours later the police informed General Hilmi that Midhat was at the
French Consulate, and he thereupon went thither, and had it surrounded
on every side. The French Consul‐General, Monsieur Pélissier, had sent
a telegram to the French Ambassador at Constantinople, informing him of
all that had taken place. On seeking refuge at the French Consulate,
Midhat had invited the consuls of all the Great Powers to attend;
had acquainted them with the danger from which he had escaped, and
had begged them to insist on a guarantee that he should be judged by
a High Court. Meanwhile, he received a telegram from Constantinople
begging him to surrender, and assuring him that no injustice should be
done him, but that if he refused to do so, then he would be considered
guilty.
There are two versions given of this memorable occurrence of the spring
of 1881; and these two versions are so much the more important, because
they affect the truth of the fact whether the Government of the French
Republic delivered up Midhat Pasha, who had sought refuge in the
French Consulate, to the Sultan, or whether he surrendered of his own
accord on receiving the telegram from Constantinople. The fact that he
had caused a secret door to be constructed in a hidden corner of his
house, and that a steamer had been kept in readiness in the harbour,
all proves that Midhat had intended flight. Not having succeeded in
his design of reaching the sea, he had sought refuge at the French
Consulate, and he had implored the assistance that France might easily
have rendered him. It is to be presumed that the ambassador, after
having asked for instructions from Paris, and having explained to the
Government the Sultan’s insistence, may have informed Midhat that he
could not effectually protect him. Not having any definite proof on
this subject, it is impossible for us to certify anything. The opinions
of the European Press were very divergent. We reprint the telegrams
sent by the correspondent of the _Times_ from Constantinople, dated
19th May and 21st May, 1881, which give the fullest details.[25]
Midhat Pasha had been perfectly well aware of what would happen. He
knew the plots that had been formed against him, and when his friends
had invited him to leave Turkey, by the boat which had been got ready
to take him aboard, he replied, “I shall never give way before the
insinuations of the Sultan. I shall never allow the world to say that I
fled because I was guilty and that I feared the Sultan. I shall resist
until the last moment, and if I then see that my life is in danger, I
may perhaps have recourse to the means you offer.” It was this same
state of mind which led him to think of embarking, when the soldiers,
under the command of General Hilmi Pasha, surrounded his house, and
by their attitude showed plainly the danger in which both he and his
family were placed. On realising the impossibility of carrying out
this plan, he had taken refuge at the French Consulate, and had asked
the Consuls of all the Powers that their respective Governments should
demand a public trial, and had declared “that he gave himself up to
judgment, trusting to the good faith of the telegram which he had
received from Constantinople.”
For the honour of France, we are inclined to believe that Midhat
surrendered to the Ottoman authorities of his own accord. It is
scarcely credible that France would have delivered Midhat Pasha to the
Sultan, the more so because Gambetta, who was then in power, had been a
great friend of his.
The Sultan had been anxious to have Midhat arrested when he was still
Governor‐General of Syria, but so great was his popularity in that
Province, that Abdul Hamid was reluctantly obliged to relinquish his
design, for fear of provoking a revolution.
The day following the arrest found the town of Smyrna still strictly
guarded by the troops, and no one was permitted to go about the streets
for fear of any demonstration. The terrified inhabitants closed their
shops, and all business was suspended for twenty‐four hours. Midhat
was retained as a prisoner in the barracks, until the arrival of the
Imperial yacht, which brought over the new Governor‐General, the high
judicial dignitaries, and also the Minister Djevdet Pasha. He embarked
quietly in the midst of the general emotion, and duly arrived at
Constantinople. Whilst waiting for the assembling of the High Court,
the little pavilion in the “Yildiz Park” called “Malta Kiosk,” was
assigned to him as his place of residence by the Sultan.