Usury laws in Turkey—An Armenian in prison for debt—The
Caimacan—The Turkish creditor—Hanistan Ereek's father—A
Government cannot be imprisoned for debt—The redif
soldiers—Their unwillingness to serve—The Armenians not to be
trusted—Yanoot—A picture of desolation—A Jordan road—Turkish
soldiers do not grumble—Arabkir—A silk-merchant—My host—His
library—Pretty covers—A Russian servant—He was taken prisoner
during the Crimean war.
I was now to learn that the usury laws in Turkey are also used against
the Christians. On returning to my house, a servant informed me that an
Armenian was downstairs, and wished to see me.
He had been in Paris, and could speak a little French. This he so
interlarded with Turkish that it was rather difficult to follow him.
The man's name was Hanistan Ereek. At length I discovered that, twelve
years ago, his father had borrowed 300 piastres from a Turk. Soon
afterwards the father died, and the son, leaving Divriki without paying
the debt, had gone to Europe. On his return, the creditor had him
arrested for the sum of 6000 piastres. This Hanistan Ereek refused to
pay; he had been imprisoned for three months in consequence.
The Caimacan was in the room at the time the man made his complaint.
"It seems a hard case," I remarked.
"It is our law," was the reply; "if he had been a Turk, the same thing
would have happened."
"No, it would not have happened! 300 piastres could never have amounted
to 6000 piastres!" cried the Armenian indignantly.
It appeared that the case was one of hard swearing. The Turkish
creditor had produced a piece of paper, on which was written that
he had lent a larger amount than 300 piastres to Hanistan Ereek's
father—the document in question bearing the latter's signature. This
the son swore was a forgery. However, the Turk had been believed, and
the Armenian had been sent to prison.
"What would have been done if this case had happened in your country?"
asked the Caimacan; "would you not have put the man in prison for
debt?"
"No; a son is not liable for his father's debts."
"Well, each country has its own laws, which doubtless are good for the
respective inhabitants," observed the governor; "but if my father had
died owing a sum of money, I should have thought that it was my duty to
pay it."
"A very proper resolution," I remarked; "but supposing that a
Government has contracted a debt, do you not think that its successors
are bound to pay the interest of the loan?"
The Caimacan stroked his beard and looked at the Cadi, who presently
answered,—
"We could not put a Government in prison."
"No," I observed, "but your nation owes my nation more than a hundred
millions of liras, and not only you do not pay us any interest, but you
have even proposed to repudiate the debt altogether!"
"How can we pay?" said the Cadi; "we have no gold, only caime, and your
people will not take that. When the Russians leave us alone, then we
shall be able to pay."
"And in the meantime I suppose I am to go back to prison?" said the
Armenian.
"We shall see," said the Caimacan gravely; "the law must be carried
out."
I have, perhaps, given the above case more prominence than it deserves,
but I have done so because in this instance the governor of Divriki
and a Christian were confronted in my presence, and the Armenian made
his complaint without the slightest hesitation or fear. Now if the
Christians had been so ill-treated as some of their co-religionists
would have had me believe Hanistan Ereek would not have been likely to
have dared to come forward and find fault with the Cadi of his town,
who had adjudicated upon the matter.
According to the governor, the people in his district had not shown
much readiness to go to the war. In some of the villages, the redif
soldiery were very reluctant to leave their homes, and could only be
made to do so by the Zaptiehs of the province, who were most of them
engaged at present in this duty.
"Why do you not give the Armenians arms?" I inquired.
"They would turn them against us, and join the Russians," was the
governor's reply. "In some districts which are very near Russia, and
where the Armenians have the opportunity of seeing the Russians as
they are, and not as they pretend to be, the Christians prefer being
under the Turkish rule; but the Armenians in our central provinces are
constantly being tampered with by Russian agents. If we were to give
the Christians arms, Allah only knows what would take place!"
I left Divriki at daybreak the following morning, and continued the
march towards Arabkir.
We ascended once more into the clouds, and, after a four hours' ride,
halted to bait our horses at the village of Yanoot—if, indeed, it
deserves the name of village—for it consists of a few huts, and about
twenty-five inhabitants make up the entire population.
Now a curious phenomenon presented itself before us. We were passing
a chain of hills which traversed our track from north to south. The
northern side of every height was covered with deep snow, on the
southern declivities some igneous rocks were exposed to view and glared
in the sun. Here the rays were so fierce that not only there was no
snow, but the weather became oppressively warm. A few hundred yards
further, and winter attacked us again in all its rigour. Our horses
were tried to their utmost in forcing a way before them.
The road became very rugged. An immense quantity of loose sharp pebbles
were lying on the track. Our horses could not see them and were
constantly falling on their knees. Not a village or solitary house
was met with during our march. It was a picture of desolation. A few
magpies, which from time to time flew mournfully across the path, were
the only living things besides ourselves.
"Well, sir, this is a Jordan of a road," remarked my servant Radford,
referring to some popular song, as the horse he rode fell down for the
fifth time that morning. "That cemetery in Constantinople, where we
tried the 'osses, was a bad place for riding, but it was nothing to
this. Mohammed, he don't seem to take any account of it whatever. I
never see such fellows as these Turks; they don't seem to be able to
muster a grumble amongst them, no matter what they may have to undergo!
Why, sir, some of them soldiers as we saw at Sivas had not received
a day's pay for twenty-five months, and they seemed quite content
and happy like; whilst, as for rations, it is true that the men fill
themselves to bursting when they have the chance, but when they have
to go without their grub they don't grumble! I wonder, sir, what our
soldiers at Aldershot would say if they had not received a ha'p'orth
of pay for two years, and had to march sometimes from morning to night,
with nothing inside them save a whiff or so of tobacco?"
Radford was right in his remark about the track being a Jordan
road—that is, if a Jordan road is the quintessence of everything that
is stony and disagreeable. We had to lead our horses. Hour after hour
sped by; we still seemed to be no nearer to any signs of Arabkir. Now
we were up to our waists in snow and quagmire, and then we were lying
between our horses' heels, the result of a slip from some half-hidden
boulder.
At last we arrived at a spot close to the town. Here the rocks were of
a crimson hue, their sides were covered with pebbles of ebon blackness.
We mounted our horses, and, riding along a precipice-bounded path which
leads into the long straggling city, presently halted at the house of
an Armenian gentleman, who was kind enough to offer us a lodging for
the night.
My host was a silk-merchant. He had started in business a very few
years previous. This district being suitable for breeding silk-worms,
he had speedily amassed a fortune. He was now one of the wealthiest
men in the province, and not only supplied the Arabkir district with
textures of his manufacture, but sent them by caravans to the limits
of Asia Minor. He was very much respected by the Mohammedans in the
town, and was on the best of terms with the Caimacan. The latter, when
he heard of my arrival, called, and, after salaaming my host, told him
that he should stay to dinner.
The apartment set aside for my use was hung round with engravings of
all the sovereigns in Europe. A book-shelf in one corner was filled
with French books, none of which my host could read.
"Do you know French?" I inquired.
"No!"
"Then what is the good of those volumes to you?"
"I am sorry for my ignorance," replied the man, "but I mean to have
my child sent to Constantinople; there he shall learn French, and
afterwards he will be able to read to me what is inside these books.
Pretty covers, are they not?" he continued, pointing to the binding. "I
bought them when I was residing at Erzeroum, and the merchant told me
that they were full of wisdom. I have a European servant," he added.
"A Frenchman?"
"No, a Russian."
"A Russian!"
"Yes. You may well be surprised," he said, "for there is not much love
lost between the Russians and ourselves. This man was taken prisoner
during the Crimean war. When it was over he preferred remaining with us
to returning to his own country."
END OF VOL. I.
ERRATA.
VOL. I.
Page 24, last line, _for_ Appendix A. _read_ Appendix A.
(I., II., III.), vol. ii. pp. 323-329.
" 27, line 8, _for_ Kara Bourna _read_ Kara Bournu.
" 31, line 11, _for_ Kara Bourna _read_ Kara Bournu.
" 33, last line, _for_ Appendix B. _read_ Appendix B.
(XVI., XVII.), vol. ii. pp. 388-399.
FOOTNOTES
[1] Buckinghamshire.
[2] _Vide_ Correspondence of the late Duke of Wellington,
letter to the Earl of Aberdeen, _dated_ Walmer Castle, July
29th, 1829.
[3] Probably referring to the treatment of the people
professing the United Greek faith. See Appendix A. (I., II.,
III.), vol. ii. pp. 323-329.
[4] See Appendix B. (XVI., XVII.), vol. ii. pp. 388-399,
on the defence of Constantinople.
[5] These statements of the Pacha are confirmed to some
extent by two Official Reports.—_See_ Appendices IV. and V.
vol. ii. pp. 337, 344.
[6] For routes which cross the Sakaria, and traverse Asia
Minor, see Appendix XIV. vol. ii. pp. 368, 370.
[7] Opinions are divided about this: some people assuring me
that it happened at Ayash, others at Istanos.
[8] For military importance of this district, see Appendix
XIV. vol. ii. p. 370.
[9] This is refuted by an Official despatch recently received
from H.M.'s Ambassador at Constantinople, see Appendix IV.
vol. ii. p. 342.
[11] This is authenticated to a great extent by an Official
Despatch. See Appendix V. vol. ii. p. 344.
[12] The Armenian women have more liberty in Angora than in
many other towns in Asia Minor.
[13] For treatment of the Turkomans by the Russian soldiers,
I refer the reader to Mr. Schuyler's highly interesting work,
"Turkistan."
[14] For importance of Yuzgat from a military point of view,
see Appendix XIV. vol. ii. p. 370.
[15] Whilst writing these lines I have come across some
verses written by a Bishop who calls himself a Christian, and
an answer to them by an American writer. The Bishop seems to
have forgotten that his mission is one of peace. His verses
will be found in Appendix XI. vol. ii. pp. 361, 362.
[16] This statement, coming from a Circassian, may be deemed
by some people in England, like the Right Hon. Robert
Lowe, M.P., who believe that Russia is the protector of
the unprotected, and the refuge of those who have no other
refuge, as hardly worthy of credence. Unfortunately for
humanity it is confirmed, so far as the massacre of pregnant
women and of children is concerned, by the official report of
a British Consul. See Appendix VII. vol. ii. p. 349.
[17] For statement made by Circassians on this subject, see
Appendix X. vol. ii. p. 353.
[18] I wrote this anecdote down at the time. It is given
precisely as the Armenian narrated the story. I have not
been able to find a corroboration of the statement in any
historical document. Very little is known of what took place
during this war.