England Has From Mutual Interests Endeavoured To
Preserve Her From Absolute Dissolution, And The Protectorate Of Asia
Minor Was A Step Of Political Audacity In Her Favour That Surprised The
World.
This extraordinary offer of material aid has been met by the same
want of confidence that has marked the decline of the Turkish Empire;
the only extra interference in Asia Minor has been the appointment of a
few additional British consuls.
These gentlemen will report long lists
of abuses, and the general mal-administration of the Turkish officials;
they will be hated accordingly, and being absolutely powerless for good,
they will simply keep the Foreign Office informed of what was thoroughly
well known before. Remonstrances upon our part will be made to the
Porte, who will deny the accuracy of the consular reports, and
ultimately a special commission will be sent out, which will prove their
correctness; the Porte will again promise amendment, but will not
sanction the appointment of British officials. In this old-fashioned
course, so thoroughly understood by all who have any knowledge of
Turkey, the affairs of Asia Minor will be conducted, until revolution
shall bring Russia upon the scene at the most favourable opportunity;
and England, who has been thwarted by the Power she has endeavoured to
save, will, by the terms of the Convention, be compelled to appear in
arms as the defender of the remnant of the Turkish Empire.
Common sense would suggest the absolute necessity of special and clearly
defined conditions in concluding an alliance with Turkey which may at
any moment demand our military interference. If we are bound to assist
by force of arms in the defence of Asia Minor, it is equally necessary
that Turkey should be bound to qualify herself for resistance to an
attack from Russia. It should have been distinctly agreed that Turkey
should raise a territorial army of an estimated strength for the
protection of Asia Minor, and that a certain number of British officers
should hold important commands, to ensure the regular payment of the
troops and to maintain the necessary discipline. Had such conditions
been defined, and the civil courts been placed under the supervision of
British officials, the Protectorate of Asia Minor would have become a
practical combination that would have been an effectual check to Russian
encroachments; but as the affair now stands, the alliance is fraught
with extreme danger to ourselves. I cannot conceive the possibility of a
credulity that would induce experienced statesmen to believe in the
assurances given either by Turkey or by Russia. The history of the past
is sufficient to prove the utter fallacy of assertions, promises, and
treaties; Turkey will persist in mal-administration; Russia, who is now
marching upon Merv in spite of former assurances, as she advanced on
Khiva under similar pretexts, will at the moment of her own selection
assuredly break through her boundaries in Asia Minor. The position of
England will be contemptible. We have thrown down the gauntlet to Russia
by an ostentatious alliance with Turkey, but we hesitate to insist upon
the overwhelming necessity of British official and military officers
to organise the civil administration and an army of defence; thus, when
the sudden emergency shall arise, Turkey will be totally unprepared; the
various races that comprise her Asiatic dominions will already have been
poisoned by intrigue, and the only defence that can be offered to a
Russian advance will be afforded by Turkish neglect, which has left the
country devoid of roads.
Under these inevitable circumstances, England will probably accuse
Turkey of neglecting to fulfil the conditions of the defensive alliance,
and the "back-door" will offer a convenient exit from the difficulty;
in which case, Turkey will be compelled to make terms with Russia that
will probably terminate in a Russo-Turkish alliance AGAINST England, who
will be accused of having treacherously deserted her after breaking a
solemn engagement--and obtaining Cyprus.
This may be a gloomy prospect, but it is not one shade darker than the
reality of the position, unless the Porte will sanction the assistance
of a British administration that would entirely change the political
aspect. A reform of administration in Asia Minor to be effective, should
be based upon the judicial system pursued by the English in the courts
of Cyprus--where the Turkish laws remain undisturbed, but they are
administered under the supervision of specially appointed officers. For
the most part Turkish laws are based upon pure equity, and leave little
to be desired beyond their faithful execution. The oppression and
extortion prevalent throughout the Turkish dominions are directly
contrary to the laws, and are the result of personal tyranny on the part
of the authorities.
In the event of a rupture with our ally that would result in a
Russo-Turkish combination, Cyprus would exhibit its importance as a
strategical position that would entirely command the coasts of Syria and
the approach to Egypt. As I have already stated, the value of the island
is conditional upon the permanence of the Turkish alliance; should
Turkey and England remain friends and allies, Cyprus is quite
unnecessary as a British military station; but our possession will
probably ENTAIL THE ABSOLUTE NECESSITY OF TURKISH GOOD FAITH, as the
restored arsenal and harbour of Famagousta would complete a position
that would dominate the whole of the Turkish shores upon the
Mediterranean, and in conjunction with Greece, which would assure the
refuge of Corfu to our fleets, the naval power of Great Britain would be
absolute to the east of Gibraltar.
CHAPTER XX.
CONCLUSION.
TROODITISSA MONASTERY, CYPRUS.
It is the 22nd August, and the manuscript of "Cyprus as I saw it in
1879" has already been forwarded to England. In another month we shall
be en route for the Euphrates via Alexandretta, and through Bagdad to
India by the Persian Gulf. I shall therefore be placed at the serious
disadvantage of an exclusion from the proofs, which may require
alterations and corrections; this will I trust excuse me should any
repetitions be apparent that would otherwise have been detected before
publication.
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