CONTENTS

 

I. 

HISTORICAL:

Earliest History — Ethnological Characteristics—Supposed Relation to lost Tribes of Israel — Tiridates and St. Gregory — Introduction of Christianity among the Plain-dwellers — Animal Sacrifices —Monophysite Doctrine — Mass Ignorance and Bigotry of Clergy — Mountaineers remaining Pagans —Decline of the Kingdom — Seljuk Invasion — Mountaineers converted to islam — Lesser Armenia — Incorporation in Ottoman Empire   ........................................................................................................................ 9                                       

II. 

GEOGRAPHICAL:

Physical Features — Divisions of Population — Sedentary Plain-dwellers: chiefly Armenians — Semi-Nomads : Kurds — Nomads: Kurds and Half-Arab — Four Agricultural Mountain Strongholds  ........................................................................................................................15                                  

IlI. 

ARMENIAN QUESTION: 

Kurds and Armenians : Equal Historical Rights to Consideration — Mohamed II. grants Religious Freedom — Millets — Root-Evil of all Subsequent Troubles — Sir Charles Wilson's Explanation — ' Odysseus ' on Excellent Relations between Turks and Armenians — Mr. Geary's Corroboration of Turkish Tolerance — Armenian Population scattered — Disturbing Factors : Foreign Missionaries, Treaty of Berlin, Revolutionary Societies — Blackmail and Murder — Growing Popular Distrust of Armenians ........................................................................................................................ 19                             

IV. 

ARMENIAN CHARACTER:

Lord Bryce's Idyllical Representation — Competent Opinions by Others : — Sir Charles Wilson—Lord Salisbury — Mr. Grattan Geary — ' Odysseus ' — Captain Burnaby — Sir Mark Sykes ........................................................................................................................ 25

 V.

 PAST RISINGS:

Family-Likeness between so-called Armenian Atrocities and Past Bulgarian ditto — Gross Exaggerations — Sir Henry Layard's Despatch—Thc Zeitoun Rising in 1895 — A Graphic Account —The Malatia Massacres Exception to General Rule — Constantinople Riots in 1896 — Mr. Henry Whitman's Observations —Partisan Correspondents —The Predicament of Mr. Meltun Prior          ........................................................................................................................  31         

 VI.

RECENT TROUBLES :

Unfair Exploitation of One-sided Reports — Standards of Proof declining in Times of Trouble — Captain Fortescue on the Looting of Pera Palace — Sir William Osler on Emotional Instability — A "Well-known Hand " — Sources of Lord Crewe's information — Improbability of Unprovoked Turkish Action : — Military and Political Situation — Habitual Calm and Tolerance of the Turk — Conditions Favourable to Armenian Rising  —  What Actually Happened — Armenians Capture Van Butcher the inhabitants -— Further Risings — Necessity of Repressive Measures  —  Moslems alarmed for own Safety  — Panic and Retaliation ........................................................................................................................  41                        

VII. 

FIGURES AND FANCIES :

Exaggerated Estimates —-Over One Million Victims out of 900,000 Inhabitants ! —The Mystery of Mersina —The Drownings at Trebizond vouched for by Italian Consul — Different Story by the same Authority —The Curious Case of Canon McColl — Unfounded Armenian Claims to Independence —The Armenians Minority of Population ........................................................................................................................  49                                     

VIII. 

BRITISH POLICIES AND RUSSIAN AIMS :

Object of Agitation to influence British Policy — Kurdistan the Key of Mesopotamia -— Sir Henry Layard's and Mr. Grattan Geary's Opinion —The Danger to Egypt —Cyprus Convention — Russian Opposition to Reforms  — Anglo-Russian Entente followed by Reversion of British Policy —Turkish Request for British Administrators Refused — Russian Proposals — Turkey Appeals to Germany — An Impossible Compromise — Band-Warfare and Propaganda ........................................................................................................................ 54     

 IX.

 CONCLUSIONS ........................................................................................................................ 59                      

  

 

THE ARMENIANS

I.

The earliest history of Armenia, as Kurdistan was called previous to its conquest by the Osrnanli Turks, is lost in the mists of mythology. But even in the pro-Persian era we find Armenia existing as a separate state, populated by a number of fierce and diverse tribes who were continually contending amongst themselves, the victor for the time being imposing its own chieftain as suzerain over the remainder. These tribes differed greatly in their racial characteristics, the main divisions being the Kurds, who were then called Karduchians, the Chaldeans, from whom the Nestorians are probably descended, and the Haikians. The latter race, who are known to us to-day as Armenians, although they still retain the name Haik amongst themselves, do not appear to have had a common origin. They may be divided, at the present time, into two distinct groups: the round-headed and the long-headed. Both, as a rule, are of short stature, with thick necks, and rather solidly built. Many of them possess peculiarly semitic features, amongst these the prominent nose which is generally considered a characteristic of the Jew. This fact has led some ethnologists to advance the theory that one of the lost tribes of Israel wandered to the shores of Lake Van and settled there, intermarrying with the Haikian inhabitants, while others assign these physiological characteristics to the incursion of certain Afghan tribes. It is worthy of note in connection with this latter theory, that. the Afghans are likewise, by some writers, believed to be descendants of one of the lost tribes.

if the theory that the Armenian race is descended from one of the missing tribes be correct, it is not improbable, judging from their aptitude in financial affairs and the manner in which they have made usury and money-changing a fine art, that these people may be the lineal descendants of the money-changers whom Christ scourged and drove from the Temple at Jerusalem. Even at the present day most of the sarafs, or money-lenders and changers, in the Ottoman Empire are Armenians, and their sharp practice and unscrupulousness in commercial pursuits is so notorious that it has given rise to the saying: " It takes ten Turks to cheat one Jew, ten Jews to cheat one Greek, but twenty Greeks assisted by seven Jews and five Turks to cheat one Armenian."

It would be a tedious endeavour to follow the changes in the rulers whom the alternate ascendancies of Persia, Parthia, Greece, Rome and Byzantium subsequently imposed upon the territory of Armenia. The court, which at one time was modelled on that of Persia, became a centre of intrigue. The rulers of the contending Empires controlled the destinies of the kingdom by political rather than by forcible means, finding it easier, as a rule, to remove an unamenable king by assassination, bribery, or by fomenting revolution, than by sending armed fortes into an inaccessible country populated by fierce tribes. For this reason the Kings of Armenia practically became puppets in the hands of their more powerful neighbours.

The most important event in the early history of Armenia came with the accession in 284 A.D. of Diocletian as Emperor of Rome. Dioclotian, desirous of establishing his influence there, sent from Rome a young Armenian by name Tiridates, the last living representative of the Armenian branch of the Arsacid dynasty, which was originally of Persian origin. Tiridates rallied the nobles, and supported by them and a few Roman troops who had accompanied him, drove out the Persian governors. A decade or so after being proclaimed king, Tiridates became a convert to Christianity, and with the help of his cousin, St. Gregory the Illuminator, established the Christian faith in Armenia,

The priestly families, when they heard that the new religion required no sacrifices, were much perturbed and threatened violent opposition. But astute St. Gregory was equal to the occasion. He not only promised that the sacrifices should continue, but that the priestly share of the slaughtered animals should be greater than ever before, and he furthermore assured to them the hereditary succession of the priesthood. Thus thoroughly satisfied, the priests unanimously adopted the new doctrines and became servants of the new religion.

The change was nominal rather than real; the new religion was grafted on to the old, and ancient rites were maintained under fresh names. In order to ensure to the priesthood their full share of the slaughtered animals, it was ordered that no animal except those slain in the chase should be killed by anyone but the priests themselves. Animal sacrifice still forms an important part of the ritual of the Gregorian, or, as it. is called, the Armenian Church. Even to-day the priests are able to terrify recalcitrant members of the church by threatening to withhold the matal or sacrifice made for the ablution of sins after death.

In the cities and plains, where the population was engaged in commerce, agriculture and other peaceful pursuits, St. Gregory, with the aid of his newly converted priests, had little difficulty in imposing the new religion. The people, freed by the apostacy of the priesthood, were glad to rid themselves of the Zoroastrian religion, which they disliked because it had been imposed upon them under the domination of the Persians.

(Pg. 11)

 It should be noted that what is termed the Orthodox Armenian Church stands apart and distinct, both in its doctrines and ritual, from either the Greek or Protestant Churches. It was not represented at the Council of Chalcedon and never signified its acceptance of, or adherence to the doctrines there promulgated. it holds to a certain extent what is known as the Monophysite doctrine: that the mortal body of Jesus was incorruptible. Many of the Orthodox Armenian clergy still cling to the tradition that after the entombment of Jesus His body was conveyed by angels to Mount Ararat and deposited beside the remains of Noah's Ark, which, according to them, are still to be found there. During the period when He made Himself visible to His disciples, as related in the New Testament, Christ again assumed this earthly body, which after His ascent to Heaven was re-conveyed by the angels to Mount Ararat, where it still lies in a secret tomb, uncorrupted and ready to be re-assumed once more at His second coming upon earth.

Mass is celebrated in the Armenian Church with a very elaborate ritual entirely distinct from and much more ornate and oriental than that of either the Latin or Greek Churches. During the celebration the assistants at the ceremonial rattle a curious instrument, not unlike the ancient Egyptian sistrum, composed of a huge cross set with jangling brass rings.

The head of the Church is styled in Armenian Katoghikos (Catholicos). The Armenian clergy is none too well educated, and is extremely superstitious and bigoted. All other forms of Christianity are denounced by them as heretical, and they have not scrupled to persecute those of their flock who have listened to the persuasive appeals of Protestant missionaries.

Mr. Grattan Geary, when at Mosul, found that each of the churches belonging to the warring sects had a guard of Turkish soldiers to keep the peace. Camp bedsteads were placed outside the church doors, on which these soldiers slept at night, and the sentries pacing up and down presented arms as he entered, When he endeavoured to get some definite knowledge respecting the various antagonistic sects oh native Christians, the one distinctive idea which he derived from their answers was that, in the opinion of each sect, all the others were hopelessly perverse, besotted, ignorant. and dishonest, and that, in a word, they were somewhat worse than Mussulmans. He tells us (in his book '' Through Asiatic Turkey ") that


The hatred, malice and all uncharitableness, characterizing the different native sects in their inter-relations could not be easily exaggerated ; and I am sorry to say that in the opinion of men who have had ample opportunity of judging from personal observation, there is only too much foundation for the bad opinion which each of those sects entertain of the other. "When a Mohammedan gives me his word," said a gentleman who had a long experience of the country, "whether he be a Turk or a Kurd, I can always rely on it. I have never been what is called ' done ' by a Mussulman, although I have had transactions of all kinds with Moslems for years ; but when a native Christian tells me anything, I have cause instinctively to ask myself where the deception lies — in what direction I am going to be tricked. There are exceptions, of course; but if anyone has many dealings with Mussulmans and native Christians in these parts, he will soon learn that the one may be depended on, and the other will almost to a certainty deceive and cheat you if you give him a chance."

In the meantime, while the Armenian of the plains had accepted St. Gregory's teaching, the mountaineers, who had never adopted the religion of their alien rulers, continued to remain pagans. This circumstance was an important factor in accentuating the natural cleavage between the cultivators of the plains and the pastoral mountaineers, a cleavage due, in a great measure, to the physical conditions of the country, the plains being wide and extensive and the mountain distant and not very accessible, with the result that the population of Armenia at that time was more acutely divided than the Highlanders and the Lowlanders of Scotland a few centuries ago.

So far as archaeological remains are concerned, practically no trace is to be found of this early Armenian kingdom. (end, pg. 13)


Whatever towns there may have been were probably constructed chiefly of wood or mud, and the cultural level of the inhabitants seems to have been far below that of their neighbours. This is not to be wondered at when we take into account the climatic conditions of the country, the lack of communications and the state of anarchy into which it was so frequently plunged. Although for a brief period under Tigranes II. Armenia in alliance with. Mithridates, king of Pontus, became a kingdom of considerable importance, it reverted to its former dimensions after his defeat by Lucullus in the year 69 B.C. To speak of " the glories " historical or material, of ancient Armenia is simply a misuse of words.

After the abdication in the year 430 A.D. of King Bahram, who was the last really independent ruler, although the kingdom was nominally divided between the Eastern and Western Empires, the condition of Armenia became worse than ever before. Anarchy and disunion reigned supreme. The nobles, jealous, intriguing, covetous and mercenary, continually transferred their allegiance from one side to another, or, when not busy fighting as partisans for Rome or Persia occupied their time congenially in warring amongst themselves and ravaging each others' territories.

In the year 1079 the Seljuks swept through the land, and with the fall of King Hagig II. the last remaining semblance of an independent Armenia disappeared. The Seljuks respected the Christian religion of the plain dwellers but converted the mountaineers to the Islamic faith, thus still further accentuating the line of demarcation between what. may fairly he described as the Highlanders and Lowlanders of the district.

The rule of the Seljuks, who showed their tolerance by allowing the Lowlanders to remain Christians, was mild and liberal. They greatly improved the condition of the country, restored law and order and erected many public buildings and mosques, traces of which are still visible. On the other hand the country suffered grievously during the subsequent invasions of the Mongol hordes.

The year following the invasion of the Seijuks the Pagatrid Rhupen founded a small principality in Cilicia, which by gradually extending its boundaries became known later as the kingdom of Lesser Armenia. Internal disputes between the Catholics and Gregorians weakened this little State and facilitated its conquest by Egypt in 1375.

In 1414 Selirn I., Osmanli Sultan of Constantinople, drove out the Mongols, and with their disappearance Armenia was incorporated in the Ottoman Empire under the name of Kurdistan.

 Mr. Grattan Geary, who travelled through Asiatic Turkey in 1878, describes the Kurds as "fine, strong fellows, with well marked features, which are, however, often marred by a sinister expression and a furtive glance, for which it is not easy to account in the descendants of a race of martial mountaineers who have never bowed the neck to any yoke. They have a reputation for treachery and cruelty, which I am afraid is not undeserved." Mr. Geary during his journey found that the outlying Christian and Moslem villages were again being plundered by the Kurdish mountaineers although


the raids and disturbances which distracted the country before the Sultan's authority was made real in the more hilly parts of Kurdistan, had been reduced to very small dimensions before the war with Servia, and afterwards with Russia, caused the Turkish troops to be withdrawn.

 

but in the opinion of those with whom he spoke on the subject


the whole slate of things in Kurdistan might he changed in the course of a twelvemonth by a little firmness and energy on the part of the officials representing the Government. The power of the Kurds for organized resistance has been completely broken, and the military strength of the Government can be no longer contested by them, The change has, even as it is, greatly ameliorated the lot of the Christian and the Jewish population : but to complete the work a sufficient force of mounted native police should be organized and properly paid, and the administration of justice improved. *



The success of General Hawker, an officer of the Guards placed by the Turkish Government in command of a well equipped and regularly paid gendarmerie (an appointment which he held until the outbreak of the present European war) has amply verified the correctness of these views,

It is worthy of observation that as a means of "civilizing" the Kurds, and accustoming them to discipline, and at the same time suitably utilizing their warlike propensities as a frontier guard against Cossack raids, Sultan Abdul Hamid formed nearly 10,000 of these Kurds into cavalry regiments, styling them the" Hamidieh Cavalry." The bravery, hardihood and energy of these men rendered them particularly fit for such   (end, pg. 17)

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* "Through Asiatic Turkey."

III.

Having thus sketched as briefly as possible the early history, ethnology and physical features of the country, we shall be better able to understand what is commonly known as the Armenian Question.''

When the Ottoman rule was established, the plain-dwellers and the pastoral tribes of the mountain slopes still preserved their national customs, language and vices, and they have retained these to this day. The waves of conquest had swept over the cold, inhospitable plateau into the richer and warmer plains beyond; but while the conquerors had established governors and garrisons, they had never planted colonists; this is the principal reason why there has been so little change in this strange country. When we hear of the aspirations of tlie Armenians for independence or absorption by Russia, we must always remember that from all accounts the mountaineers, or Kurds, have been as long established in Kurdistan as the plain-dwellers, usually called by the name of Armenians, and have consequently an equal right to a voice in the matter.

How then is it that the Armenians have developed a national sentiment, whereas the Kurds, who equally retain their former customs and language, are bitterly opposed to any alteration in their present condition?

We all know that Constantinople was captured by the Osmanli Turks in the year 1453. Their sultan, Mahomed II., a liberal and wise ruler, granted religious freedom to the conquered races in his dominions and, in order not to be troubled with their continual disputes, organized all the non-Moslems into communities or "millets" under their own ecclesiastical chiefs, with absolute authority in civil and religious matters. There was already at this time a large number of Armenians in Stambul, who in due course were formed into a community of this kind under their own Ecelesiastikos or Patriach. When Selim I. conquered Armenia the Gregorian Christians of that country were by an imperial iradé incorporated under the Armenian Patriarch at Constantinople, while the Kurds, who had embraced Islam under the Seljuk rule, received no special treatment since they were of the same religion as their rulers.

The formation of the conquered races into separate communities under their own ecclesiastical chiefs, though inspired by the most benevolent principles, has, by fostering centrifugal aspirations, been the root evil of all the subsequent internal troubles in the Ottoman Empire. Sir Charles Wilson in his article on Armenia, in the ‘ Encyclopaedia Britannica” explains how this happened in the case of the Armenians:

This imperium in imperio secured the Armenians a recognised position before the law, the free enjoyment of their religion, the possession of their churches and monasteries, and the right to educate their children and manage their own municipal affairs. It also encouraged the growth of a community life, which eventually gave birth to an intense longing for national life. On the other hand it degraded the priesthood. The priests became political leaders rather than spiritual guides, and sought promotion by bribery and intrigue. Education was neglected and discouraged, servility and treachery were developed, and in less than a century the people had become depraved and degraded to an almost incredible extent. After the issue, in 1839, of the hatt-i-sheriff of gul-Khaneh, the tradesmen and artisans of the capital freed themselves from clerical control. Under regulations, approved by the Sultan in 1862, the patriarch remained the official representative of the community, but all real power passed into the hands of clerical and lay councils elected by a representative assembly of one hundred and forty members. The "Community," which excluded Roman Catholics and Protestants, was soon called the “Nation," "domestic" became "national” affairs, and the "representative” the "national assembly.”

But there the process of evolution stopped, for although the national idea became familiar to the Armenian population, there was no real aspiration for a national or separate existence. A well-informed and acute writer, 'Odysseus,’ in his book "Turkey in Europe" tells us that until the years succeeding the Russo~Turkish war of 1877-1878:


the Turks and Armenians got on excellently together. The Armenians looked upon Russia as their enemy, and a large Armenian population from the country migrated into Kurdistan. The Russians restricted the Armenian Church, schools and language; the Turks on the contrary wee perfectly tolerant and liberal as to all such matters.

They did not care how the Armenians prayed, taught and talked, and in many ways found them the most useful and loyal of their Christian subjects. The Greeks were always inclined towards Hellas. But there was no Armenia.

The Armenians were thorough Orientals and appreciated Turkish ideas and habits. While the wealthier members of the community lived in accordance with Turkish custom, the poorer found employment as domestics in Moslem houses. With the exception of those who settled abroad for commercial purposes, the Armenians were quite content to live among the Turks and spend their money in Turkey.

The Armenians even went so far as to speak Turkish among themselves, and their present language contains numerous Turkish words (to the extent of almost forty per cent.), and though Kurds and Zaptiehs perhaps rendered life at times a little too eventful, on the whole the "Sarafs '' or money changers gained more than brigands and tax-collectors combined. The balance of wealth certainly remained with the Christians. The Turks treated them with good humoured confidence and the phrase "rnillet-i-sadika," the loyal community, was regularly applied to them.

The toleration of the Government and the friendly relations which existed at that time between the Turks and the Armenians, as described by 'Odysseus,' is fully corroborated by the following passages from Mr. Geary's book "Through Asiatic Turkey":



The Chief of the Dominican Mission, a very enlightened man who has been for some years resident in Mosul, did not share these misgivings. He did not consider that he ran any risk of losing his life through Mahommedan fanaticism. As for the Government, he said that the religious toleration enjoyed under it was complete. It never in any way interfered with what the Christians did or taught in the schools or the churches, it was impossible to desire more absolute liberty of worship or teaching. But in civil administration there was great scope for improvement, and, indeed, an absolute necessity for it. The laws were good, but they were not steadily applied. The laxity and want of thoroughness which characterised every department were inexplicable and allowed even the best conceived measures to result in mischief.... We found the village of Krelani to be one of considerable size: the inhabitants being half Christian and half Mohammedan. Religious differences seemed to be completely disregarded, Christian and Moslem being on the most friendly terms. The chief men of both sections were sitting in a little circle in front of tihe Kahia's house when we arrived, and they rose and saluted we very civilly. . . . I can only say, that if there be any bigotry amongst these people, I saw no manifestation of it throughout my long journey : I could not have been received with greater courtesy if I had been myself a True Believer . . . He is a very strict Mussulman, though, like most Turks, whether strict or not, he is very tolerant.''



It should be observed that the Armenians as a race are considerably scattered. The original territory known as Armenia having been annexed by Russia, Persia, and Turkey, the bulk of the Armenian population is divided between these three Powers. They are estimated in number in Russia about 1,000,000, in Persia 150,000, and in Turkey, including Salonika and the lost European Provinces, 1,500,000. In addition to these there are about 250,000 Armenians scattered through Europe, America, the East Indies and Egypt. As we shall subsequently see, all the troubles originated from outside and not in Kurdistan itself. The first disturbing element, in the opinion of 'Odysseus,' was the arrival of a number of Protestant and other foreign missionaries. 'This judgment, disappointing as it must be to many who are deeply interested in the religious side of missionary work, is amply corroborated by Sir Edwin Pears, who admits in his book, Forty Years in Constantinople,'' that " In a very real sense it may be said that the fomenters of political agitation in Armenia, as in Bulgaria, were the schoolmasters and the missions, Catholic or Protestant" These good men, as we are told by Sir Mark Sykes, in his interesting and most important work entitled " Dar-ul-Islam,'' soon found that



It was as impossible to turn an Oriental Moslem into a Christian, as it would be to transform an English Christian into a Jew ; hence their missionary effort was confined to turning one kind of Christian into some other kind. * Large sums of money were spent in transforming a

(end, pg. 22)
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* "Three American missionaries called : they had been settled for several years in Anatolia, and had succeeded in making some converts amidst the Armenians, but they had not in any one instance induced a Mohammedan to change his faith. One of them observed that the Turks were by no means a cruel race.' (Col. F. Burnaby : "On Horseback through Asia Minor.")

 Jacobite into a little Bethel Peculiar Anabaptist, in converting the little Bethel Anababaptist né Jacobite to Roman Catholicism, and in reforming the Roman Catholic late little Bethel Peculiar Anababaptist né Jacobite into an American Keswickian Presbyterian.


But the process of turning a Jacobite into an American Keswickian Presbyterian spoilt a good Oriental and made him a discontented and semi-europeanised Asiatic.

The first Armenian converts to Protestantism were subjected to fierce persecutions by their fellow Armenians who clung to their old form of faith, and for their protection from this persistent annoyance and cruelty the Sultan about 1857 issued an iradé recognizing the Protestants as a separate religious community independent from the Orthodox Armenian Church and free from any interference by its officials.

The second disturbing factor were the clauses inserted, at the request of Russia, in the Berlin Treaty of July 13th, 1878, whereby the six signatory Powers acquired the right of superintendence and interference in the internal affairs of Kurdistan. The clauses of this treaty imbued the Armenians with the idea that they were entitled to the grant of special privileges from the Porte, and this was easily fomented into the notion of founding an Armenian kingdom, or at least an Armenian autonomous state. These ideas were further encouraged by the formation of the Bulgarian Principality and by the foundation in London in the year 1890 of the Anglo-Armenian Society '' Whose laudable object was hampered by their invincible ignorance of the spirit and methods of the East." *

The third disturbing element was the development, after the Russo-Turkish war, of the Nihilist movement in Russia. The persecuted Armenians of the Caucasus readily entered into the conspiracy, the Armenian branch of which had its head-quarters at Tiflis.

(end, pg. 23)
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*" Odysseus" : "Turkey in Europe."

IV.

 We shall better understand the question of these massacres if we first study the Armenian character, at the same time noticing the aptitude and fitness of the race for self-government.

The Pro-Armenian societies in this country would have us believe that the native Armenians are as a race poor, gentle, honest, agricultural folk, persecuted by wicked officials, robbed of their hard-earned savings by the wild Kurds and cruel Circassians, and periodically martyred for their Christian faith; and to give vividness to this pleasant picture one or two europeanized, highly-veneered Armenians are usually produced on our public platforms as living specimens of this " harmless, inoffensive" people. In this manner Lord Bryce, speaking recently at Manchester, pictured the life of mingled simplicity as and refinement lived by this Christian race in Moslem Turkey, and went on to say that the Armenians ware amongst the most orderly subjects of the Turks, well educated and accustomed to the refinements of civilization as much us ourselves. If this were true it would imply that civilization, as we understand the word, must have made tremendous progress in Kurdistan within recent years under Turkish rule, but this Lord Bryce will probably not admit.

Lord Bryce proceeded to add that for the past sixteen centuries the Armenians had been a Christian people, clinging to their religion in spite of constant persecution, while all the time they might have secured complete immunity from such by renouncing their Christian faith.

It is fair to presume that Lord Bryce struck this anti-Moslem note in order to command sympathy by appealing to the religious prejudices of his audience, for the observation was not only inopportune but entirely unnecessary, in as much as later in the same speech he stated that ''there was no fanaticism about the massacres and no outbreak of Moslem fury on the part of the people."

How utterly false is his estimate of the character of the native Armenian will be shown by the testimony of competent and observant travellers and orientalists, who have studied this people in their own homes. Let us see first what SIR CHARLES WILSON, the great traveller and Orientalist, author of the article on Armenia in the Encyclopaedia Britannica, says:


The Armenians are essentially an Oriental people, preserving like the Jews whom they resemble in their exclusiveness and widespread dispersion, a remarkable tenacity of race and faculty of adaptation to circumstances. They are frugal; sober, industrious and intelligent, and their sturdiness of character has enabled them to preserve their nationality and religion under the sorest trials. They are strongly attached to old manners and customs, but have also a real desire for progress which is full of promise. On the other hand they are greedy of gain, quarrelsome in small matters, self-seeking and wanting in stability, and they are gifted with a tendency to exaggeration and a love of intrigue, which has had an unfortunate influence on their history.

They are deeply separated by religious differences, and their mutual jealousies, their inordinate vanity, their versatility and their cosmopolitan character must always be an obstacle to the realization of the dreams of the nationalists.



LORD SALISBURY, in a letter to Sir Henry Layard, British Ambassador at Constantinople, dated May 30th, 1878, gives expression to the following opinion:


Asiatic Turkey contains a population of many different races and creeds, possessing no capacity for self-government and no aspiration for independence, but owing their tranquility and whatever prospect of political well-being they possess entirely to the rule of the Sultan.


This letter confirms the contention that at that Unto there was no real demand for independence.

MR. GRATTAN GEARY, in '' Through Asiatic Turkey," says:


A few of the more educated Armenians hope to secure in some way the autonomy of the country in which they by no means form the majority of the population. Whether they could keep the Mussulman majority of the population in order we need not inquire; granting that a flock of doves could, if well organized and assured of diplomatic support from distant eagles, keep a much larger number of hawks in subjection, the fact remains that even the Armenians, by far the most capable and the most numerous of the Christian races in Asiatic Turkey, have no aspiration for anything further than a provisional autonomy. They do not regard themselves as the heirs of the Empire, and never in their wildest flights think of superseding the Osmanlis, and themselves welding the Empire together for the common good. The only race among them all which has any real desire to govern is the Turkish. The others either desire, like the Kurds and the Arabs, to be simply freed from the shackles of government. altogether, so that, they may pillage in peace; or, like the Christians, to be protected from without, or at most to acquire a local predominance. If we want to find an Oriental equivalent for patriotism or love of country, in Asiatic Turkey, we need look for it in the Turkish section of the population alone.

The autonomy of the Asiatic provinces is out of the question. How could Mesopotamia or Kurdistan become autonomous? The Arabs and the Kurds are too "autonomous" already, and the first thing to be done with them is to place them under a régime of well-armed police. Asia Minor is Turkish and does not ask for Autonomy. The elements of self-government do not exist in Armenia. The Armenian Christians are the minority of the population and are deficient in the military virtues; they could not hold their own against the warlike Kurds.

(pg. 27, near-end)

 If the object of English philanthropists and the roving brigands (who are the active agents of revolution) is to subject the bulk of the Eastern provinces to the tender mercies of an Armenian oligarchy, then I cannot entirely condemn the fanatical outbreaks of the Moslems or the repressive measures of the Turkish government. On the other hand, if the object of Armenians is to secure equality before the law, and the establishment of security and peace in the countries partly inhabited by Armenians, then I can only say that their methods are not those to achieve success.

His description of the Armenians of the Mush Plain is instructive arid interesting:

The Armenians of the Mush Plain are at. present an extremely difficult people to manage. They are very avaricious and would object to pay the most moderate taxes; they are also exceedingly treacherous to one another, and often join the revolutionaries to wipe off scores on their fellow villagers. As for the tactics of the revolutionaries, anything more fiendish one could not imagine -- the assassination of Moslems in order to bring about the punishment of innocent men, the midnight extortion of money from villages which have just paid taxes by day, the murder of persons who refuse to contribute to their collection-boxes, are only some of the crimes of which Moslems, Catholics, and Gregorians accuse them with no uncertain voice.

The following pen picture of the young Armenian who wept over the punishment of his great nation is a study in itself:

We were saluted by a brisk young Armenian, who said (it afterwards proved false) that he was employed as a tutor to the Shaykh’s sons. He accused Prof. Rendel Harris of having promised him assistance, and then breaking his word. He longed to embrace Mr. Bryrce (I should havo experienced some pleasure in seeing him accomplish this wish) ; he had a great. admiration for Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman ; he said he was studying to be an ethnologist, psychologist, hypnotist and poet; he admired Renan, Kant, Herbert Spencer, Gladstone, Spurgeon, Nietzsche and Shakespeare. It afterwards appeared that his library consisted of an advertisement of Eno's Fruit Salt, from which he quoted freely. He wept over what he called the “ Punishment of our great Nation,’’ and desired to be informed how in existing circumstances he could elevate himself to greatness and power.

It would be unfair to suggest that these very unfavourable descriptions are intended otherwise than as generally characteristic of the Armenian race. The experience of every traveller is that there are both good and bad people to be found in all races, but unfortunately in some races the good are few and the bad are many.

Armenians, as we know, have risen to the highest positions as soldiers, statesmen and financiers both in Turkey and Russia, and have proved themselves good and devoted subjects of their respective governments. Armenian soldiers fought bravely and loyally on the Turkish side in the Balkan war at the very time when their compatriots were pillaging the shops of their Moslem fellow citizens in Adrianople. The near East is full of these strange contradictions. In Kurdistan Armenians have risked their own lives in protecting Moslems from assassination.

 It is Important to notice that the so-called Armenian Atrocities have a remarkable family likeness to the "Bulgarian Atrocities,” over which a large number of sentimental people in England developed a frenzy of indignation.

A comparison of Sir Henry Layard’s despatch to Lord Derby on the "Bulgarian Atrocities.’’ dated 1877, with Sir Mark Sykes' account of the happenings which commenced with the disturbances at Zeitun in 1895, show exactly how both these events originated and were grossly exaggerated. The history of every alleged massacre in Turkey is almost the same, whether we consider the Bulgarian “atrocities” in 1876, the disturbances in Sassun in 1896, those in Constantinople in the same year, or those at Van in 1915. In every case we find the same charges of connivance by local officials acting under orders from Constantinople, the same gross exaggerations and the same stories of bestiality, in which the traducers of the Turks seem to take a special delight. And it is these same people, as the Near East said in a leading article, who compel the Turks “ to listen to sermons about disorders which were deliberately fomented by the preachers themselves or by men preaching in their name.”

Referring to these ‘‘hellish ‘‘ and “unutterable” forms of torture of which the Turks are so freely accused, ‘Odysseus’ says:

These are often spoken of as being en terrible that the details cannot be given in print, but. I believe them to be largely the invention of morbid and somewhat prurient brains. Medical testimony makes it certain that no human being could survive the tortures which some Armenians are said to have suffered without dying.

Sir Henry Layard wrote as follows to Lord Derby:

The English people cannot, perhaps, yet bear to hear the truth of the events of last year; but it is my duty to state it to your lordship. The marvellous ability shown by RUSSIA AND HER AGENTS IS MISLEADING PUBLIC OPINION in England and elsewhere has been amply rewarded. It will probably be long before that which is true can be separated from that which, is false; when history does so it will be too late. The Porte has taken no effective menus to place its case before Europe. It neither employs the press nor competent agents for such purposes. Its appeals to the Powers, and the State papers that it issues to refute the charges against it, are so prepared that they are more calculated to injure its cause. A great portion of the English public are, probably, still under the impression that the statements upon which the denunciations against Turkey were originally founded are true—the 60,000 Christians outraged and massacred; the cartloads of human heads; the crowd of women burnt in a barn; and other similar horrors. There arc persons and amongst them, I grieve to say, Englishmen, who boast that they invented these stories with the object of “ writing down “ Turkey, to which they were impelled by a well-known hand. People in England will scarcely believe that the most accurate and complete inquiries into the events of last year in Bulgaria now reduce the number of deaths to about 3,500 souls, including the Turks who were, in the first instance, slain by the Christians. No impartial man can now deny that a RISING of the CHRISTIANS, which was intended by its authors to lead to a GENERAL MASSACRE of the MOHAMMEDANS was in contemplation, and that it was directed by RUSSIAN and PANSLAVIST AGENTS." *

Sir Mark Sykes writes (and his account is so graphic that the author makes no apology for quoting him in full):

Some Revolutionary Society, not being satisfied with the general state of affairs in Turkey and scenting collections and relief funds in the future, judged it expedient in the year of grace 1895, to despatch certain emissaries to .Armenia. On the warlike population of Zeitun they pinned their hopes of raising a semi-successful revolution, and six of their boldest agents were accorded to that district. What the end of the revolution would be these desperadoes recked little, so long as the attention of Europe was drawn to their cause and their collection-boxes. These individuals however found their people by no means ripe for insurrection and their influence was small. True, there were certain persons ready to talk sentimentally and foolishly, possibly treasonably, but in no way prepared to rise actually in arms. However, an opportunity of embroiling their countrymen unexpectedly presented itself, by taking advantage of which they succeeded in forcing the hand of the Government.

It happened that a number of Furnus and Zeitunli Armenians were in the habit of going to Adana for the purpose of earning money as farmers and handicraftsmen; for some reason, the Government at that time issued an order that all strangers should return to their own towns and districts. The Furnus and Zeitunli Armenians were enraged at this action, saying that they were not permitted by the Padishah to earn sufficient to pay their taxes, which they considered exorbitant; consequently they were foolish enough to pillage some Turkomans on their way home.

The Turkomans addressed themselves in complaint to the Mutesarif of Marash, who decided to investigate the affair by a commission consisting of a Turkish Bimbashi (field officer) and an Armenian resident, escorted by five Zaptiehs. The agents saw in this move a chance of bringing matters to a crisis and either attacked, or persuaded the villagers to attack, the commission, killing the Bimbashi and three of the guard, and carrying off the Christian commissioner with them. The surrounding Armenians, knowing themselves to have been originally in the wrong, and seeing themselves compromised, accepted the inevitable and joined the revolutionaries.

The Governor of Marash, having been informed of this affair, despatched a company of infantry to reinforce the garrison at Bertiz. The rebel leaders and their followers intercepted this party, and an undecided action resulted, owing to the assistance given by the Moslems of Bertiz. The next day the revolutionists decided to attack the garrison at Zeitun in order to force that town (whose inhabitants had but little

 

(end, pg. 33)

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* Extract from Sir Henry Layard's (H. M. Ambassador at Constantinople) despatches.

 Moslems to Christians, and that every massacre can bring similar cases to light.

After that foolish slaughter the revolutionary agents may have plumed themselves on a striking piece of policy. Zeitun was compromised beyond recall, and the town prepared to withstand the siege to the last; but here the chapter of Zeitun closes, for within three weeks Edham Pasha, a noble example of what a cultivated Turk can be, arrived on the scene, and with the assistance of the European Consuls concluded an honourable peace with the town; containing, alas! a clause by which the miserable causes of all this unhappiness and bloodshed were allowed to return unmolested to Europe, where they probably eke out an existence as distinguished as their military adventures.

It would appear a grave fault on the part of the Powers to have allowed the revolutionary agents to escape.

As to how far the Turks were in the wrong, who can judge? They have a side which should be considered, as it is impossible for them to allow a revolution to be impending in the heart of their country, when threatening enemies appear on every frontier. They have their own homes to consider, and if they allowed the revolutionaries to continue their intrigues, there is little doubt that a formidable insurrection would have broken out whenever the moment was favourable. Also it must be borne in mind, that in the event of an Armenian rebellion it was the intention of the conspirators to have perpetrated similar massacres.
The necessary killing in India after the Mutiny, although carried out more formally, was just as merciless: and from all one can gather, the gentle Skobeleff pacified Central Asia much as the Turks aborted the Armenian revolution.

It is also a fact that the Armenians have an extraordinary habit of running into danger without having the courage to face it, and the revolutionists from abroad were always prepared to provoke a massacre in order to induce the Powers to assist them. I have good reason to know that these wretches actually schemed to murder American missionaries, hoping that America would declare war on the supposition that the Turks were the criminals.

The same writer points out that the massacres of Malatia, in the year 1896, were an exception to the general rule, because in this instance the Moslems struck first, fearing a general rising and slaughter of their wives and families.

'Odysseus' says:

Perhaps this frame of mind will be more intelligible if we try to imagine what would be the feelings of Anglo-Indians, if they supposed that the natives, under the influence of Russian intrigues, were preparing to repeat the horrors of the Mutiny. Probably the orders issued to the local Ottoman authorities warned them to be on their guard against any revolutionary movement of the Armenians, and should there be any reason to apprehend one, to at once take the offensive.

Sir Mark Sykes’s remarks also deserve quotation:
When one first hears the tale of the Malatia massacre, one says, now indeed there was no excuse for the Turks; this was a brutal attempt to destroy a harmless population; but on inquiry it is the same foolish, hopeless tale, the usual boastful Armenian threats, the inevitable noisy talk of freedom and liberty; the cry that the Turks were on the verge of collapse! the arms collected ! the usual pointless intrigue and the inevitable betrayals by each other; the final provocation given, and the natural outbreak of the Moslems, resulting in massacre. The Armenians had intended to fight; had prepared for a revolution; had collected weapons from all parts; but as usual, on the very first onslaught they were hopeless and panic-stricken, and what they intended to have been a battle ended in a pitiless slaughter.

The only few who maintained anything like a bold front were those who took possession of the Armenian Church and held it against the mob; but my admiration for them was lost when I learned that these miserable hounds, when they saw Franciscan monks escaping from their convent, fired on them at 200 yards in hopes of killing a European and so forcing the hand of the Powers. This ruse I have alluded to before, and it seems to be a favourite stratagem. exhibiting the Armenian nature in its most unpleasant light.

How massacres could well have been avoided is hard to imagine. The Armenians insisted on threatening revolutions; openly boasted that the Powers would help them; silently intrigued against the Government; silently betrayed one another’s intrigues: collected arms and gave offence to the Moslems, and yet possessed no more cohesive fighting or military capacity than rabbits.

The falsity of the suggestion of the Pro-Armenians that these were unprovoked massacres inspired by the Turkish Government working upon Moslem fanaticism and Kurdish greed, is also shown by the following passage from Sir Edwin Pears’ book: *

As a friend to the Armenians, revolt seemed to me purely mischievous. Some of the extremists declared that while they recognized that hundreds of innocent persons suffered from each of these attempts, they could provoke a big massacre which would bring in foreign intervention.

The only apparent reason why Sir Edwin Pears regarded as "mischievous” these revolts, resulting in the sacrifice of hundreds of innocent persons, is Indicated by his adding that

 

(end, pg. 36)

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* "Forty years in Constantinople.”