The Sublime Porte, or in Turkish Babi-Ali, is the cabinet of the
Turkish government, as follows:--
1. The Grand Vezir, or Prime Minister.
2. The Minister of the Interior.
3. The Minister of Foreign Affairs.
4. The Superintendent of the Cabinet Council.
5. The Commander-in-chief, or Minister of War.
6. The Minister of the Navy.
7. The Minister of Finance.
8. The Minister of Commerce and Public Buildings.
9. The Minister of Sacred Properties.
10. The Minister of Education.
11. The Sheik-ul-Islam, or religious head.
There is no election in Turkey; all officers are appointed by the
Sultan, who can dismiss any of them at any time, and appoint some one
else, and I have already explained why he almost always appoints bad
ones. The Sublime Porte has no power to decide anything; it is simply
a farce council to cheat the European powers; a dumb tool in the
hands of the Sultan. For instance, the Sultan calls the Grand Vezir,
the president of the Sublime Porte, into his presence, and tells him
such a question is to be discussed in such a way, and this or that
conclusion reached. "Very well, my Lord and Master," says the Grand
Vezir; he goes to the Sublime Porte palace, and says to the council:
"To-day I was permitted to come into the presence of His Majesty the
Sultan, and he instructed me that I must bring such a question before
you, and after we discuss it in such a manner, we must come to such
a decision." Then all of them stand up and say, "Sultan's will be
done," and that is all; their "decision" is announced to the Sultan,
and he "sanctions" it. There is no discussion for days or weeks, as
in England or here; it is all cut short. The Sublime Porte can decide
any question in a few minutes. This is the sort of thing Mr. Carlyle
wanted. You have seen the beautiful effects of it.
The question naturally arises, Why does the Sultan keep a Sublime
Porte, since he decides everything himself?
There are three reasons.
First, it is the old custom. All the other Sultans have had one,
and he might offend the Turks if he abolished it.
Second, as the Sultan can do no wrong, there must be somebody else to
lay blame on. He is the representative of God and Prophet Mohammed. If
there is any mistake in any decision, he is not responsible for it;
the Sublime Porte is responsible.
Third, because he has relations with the European powers, and if any
decision needs to be reversed, it can be if it is that of the Sublime
Porte; but if it were the personal decision of the Sultan it could
not be changed, because he is considered immutable, just as God is.
When people read about the Sublime Porte after this, I hope they will
understand that there is not really any Sublime Porte; that it is a
mere name, an echo, a farce, a show to bunco the world with.
Some newspaper and other writers think it is "impartial" to say that
the Sultan means well, but he has a "corrupt ministry"; that it is the
Sublime Porte that ruins the Turkish Empire; if it were left to the
Sultan, he would reform the country; he would not let the Armenians be
massacred. Put no faith in such ignorant rubbish. The Sultan dictates
everything; and if any minister has the sense and courage to suggest
any improvement, the Sultan dismisses him, saying that it is his own
business to consider the improvements of the country and not that
of any one else. The governors would not dare to order the Kurds
and the Turks to wreak their worst and vilest will on the Armenians
without direct orders from the Sultan. The Sultan originates all these
cruelties. The recent Grand Vezir, Said Pasha, at one time was a very
decent Turk. When he differed with the Sultan about massacreing the
Armenians, the Sultan threatened to kill him, and he had to fly to
the English embassy for protection. Murad Bey was another good Turk
who remonstrated against the cruelties; his life was threatened, and
he fled to Europe; now he is in Egypt, denouncing the Sultan in the
press and in letters. The Sultan sentenced him to death, and asked
the British government to hand him over to the Turkish officers; but
the representative of the British government in Cairo refused. Just
before the Armenian atrocities in Constantinople, the members of
the Sublime Porte tried to have the Armenian grievances redressed,
and the people pacified; the Sultan would have no such pottering,
and ordered the soldiers to kill the Armenians in the streets. But
this was a rare piece of virtue in the Porte. Mostly they are as bad
as the Sultan himself, for he appoints men of his own stripe. Good men
would not be useful tools. The Sultan has another trick of management;
before making any one a member of the Porte, he tries to find out
whether he is a friend to any of the ministers already in; if so,
he will not appoint him. On the other hand, if the man happens to be
an enemy to one of the members, he is almost sure of appointment. The
Sublime Porte, therefore, is a group of mutual enemies, hating one
another, and ready to betray one another at any time. He thinks if
they are friendly, they may unite and depose him some day. Besides
this, there are more detectives in the Sublime Porte, watching the
ministers on behalf of the Sultan, than there are members. They keep
the Sultan informed about the situation. If any minister or officer
acts contrary to the wishes of the Sultan, he is marked for death.