The life of Midhat Pasha 34

The life of Midhat Pasha 34

“To this disorder must be added the difference which exists between

the civil and military authorities, which have ended by becoming

hostile to each other. A country such as Syria, which is full of

troubles and intrigues, both internal and external, is in crying

need of a military force, yet every time that we demand an armed

force we meet with a deliberate refusal, or the troops which have

been sent are withdrawn without reason, or else our official

letters remain unanswered. Now, although it is possible that this

results from the inimical system which has been adopted against me

personally, yet, undoubtedly, the Government and the country are

the principal sufferers from it; and when it comes to six months

passing without the governor and the marshal of a vilayet meeting,

one can imagine the state of affairs in the province. Again, the

grant for the gendarmes and the salaries of the officials having

been reduced, these measures have struck a blow at the security of

the country, and have driven the officials to corruption, whilst

the judicial system which has been adopted by the tribunals towards

criminals has weakened public confidence. This state of things being

well known, the orders which arrive daily never fail to put all the

responsibility on the Governor. Now, it is impossible to accept this

situation, nor can I, in a telegram, give an explanation of all

these difficulties, but, in conformity with the Imperial Irade, a

confidential official is on the point of starting, commissioned to

give you the amplest information. I shall strive for patience until

his return.—I am, etc.,

 

“MIDHAT.

 

“_25th May 1296, O.S._”

(_7th June 1880_).

 

 

Quite apart from all this question, the Sultan Abdul Hamid was far

from being satisfied with Midhat Pasha’s sojourn in Syria. The Syrians,

realising the good that he had done to the country, were loud in their

__EXPRESSION__s of gratitude, which gave offence to the Sultan. The cries

of “Long live Midhat Pasha!” in the streets, and the interviews of the

British Ambassador, Sir Henry Layard, with the Governor‐General during

his travels in Syria, all augmented the fears of the Palace. Midhat’s

enemies then put into circulation the rumour that Syria would soon

become an autonomous principality, and that Midhat Pasha would receive

the title of Khedive.

 

Abdul Hamid then informed Midhat that he declined to accept his

resignation, that he wished to see him continue his services to the

State, and that he appointed him Governor‐General of the vilayet of

Smyrna. The Syrians addressed a petition to the Palace, begging that

Midhat might remain at Damascus, but the Sultan paid absolutely no

attention to this act on the part of the Syrian population, and Midhat

found himself compelled to start off for his new post on board the

Imperial yacht _Izzeddine_, which had been sent for that purpose.

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER X

 

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.