Mr. Morris to Mr. Seward.

No. 87.]

Sir: The struggle for the preservation of independence in Circassia has at length ceased. The last tribe which held out was obliged to succumb to famine, having, for the last seven months, lived on boiled poplar leaves. The country is now overrun in all directions by the Russians, and Circassia has ceased to exist, except as a province of the Russian empire.

Almost the entire population of Circassia is emigrating to Turkey. With that hospitality which has always distinguished the Turkish government, the most generous provision has been made for the reception of this brave but unfortunate people. Three ports have been designated at which they are to be landed, and twelve of the largest government steamers are to be despatched to the Circassian coasts to receive the emigrants as they are ready for embarcation. They will be fed and clothed at the expense of the Turkish government. This will occasion a large expenditure, but it is cheerfully borne, as hospitality is a religious virtue among mussulmen, enjoined by the Koran, and scrupulously practiced in all ages.

During the last two years there has been a steady tide of emigration to Turkey from Circassia, and from among the Tartars of the Crimea. At least 60,000 Circassians and Crimean Tartars have emigrated to Turkey since the war in the Crimea. As they came into the empire in a destitute state, the Porte is obliged to maintain them until they are able to provide for themselves. This it has not only done, but it has also established a commission charged with the [Page 383] duty of locating them on government land, which is bestowed upon them as a free gift under certain conditions. They are provided with agricultural instruments and instructed in the proper cultivation of the land; they have for the most part, thus far, been located in that great alluvial plain, called the Dobrudscha, and which lies between the lower Danube and the Black Sea, and where the population is very scant. The Circassians gradually adapt themselves to fixed habits of life and become good farmers. As they appear in the streets of Constantinople, their tall, lithe, straight forms, fresh complexions, almost untinged by the sun, and their mobile and expressive features, never fail to arrest the attention of the stranger. Their physiognomy is altogether European, and it would not be possible in European capitals to detect them as Circassians, so close is their resemblance to the Anglo-Saxon and Latin races, and rather to the former than the latter. Their religion is Mohammedan. The conquest of Circassia is an important political event. It gives Russia the possession of the whole line of the Black Sea coast from the Crimea to the Turkish frontier, of all the country lying between the Caspian and Black seas, and will facilitate the progress of her conquering march across Persia to India.

The above facts, so honorable to the Turkish government, I have deemed worthy of special mention. They are a part of the history of the times, and as such I have not thought it proper to allow them to pass by without comment.

With great respect, your obedient servant,

E. JOY MORRIS.

Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of State, Washington, D. C.