Mr. MacVeagh to Mr. Fish.
Sir: In accordance with the intimation contained in my last dispatch, I propose in the present communication to state briefly for your information the actual condition of the internal affairs of this empire. At present the hold of the Grand Vizier upon the political power of the government seems even more firm than at any former period. At peace with all the world and with a new guarantee in the recent treaty of London for the territorial integrity of the empire, Turkey can afford to await the growth of the antagonism which is assumed to be inevitable between Russia and Germany upon the eastern question, and to find safety perhaps for many years behind it. Such appears to be the general idea in government circles here, while in the mean time ample opportunity and leisure will be afforded for the carrying forward of such reforms of internal administration as will give to the Porte the strength of a well-ordered and civilized state. Alas! if the performance would only equal the promise, the realization of the picture would not be difficult, but there is in eastern character such a disposition to postpone matters which are disagreeable, and to allow the future to care for itself, that it is impossible to be sanguine of the future of this country. Certain great advantages it already possesses, among them absolute equality of [Page 907] rights and absolute liberty of conscience; and the value of these two blessings it is almost impossible to exaggerate, especially in the peculiar situation of Turkey. The government has also acquired the habit, owing doubtless in great part to the influence of the capitulations, of great kindness in its dealings with foreigners, which is fitly illustrated by admission free of duty of all articles for the use of the missionaries, and its granting of special grounds for their religious houses, as well as the exemption of their churches and missions from taxation. Of course the bigotry of the Moslems in some parts of the empire is still fierce, and another massacre like that of Damascus, in 1860, is still a possibility here, but unquestionably at present there is far less bitterness manifested by the Moslems toward the Christians than from some of the Christian sects toward others; and the policy as well as the professions of the government is steadily and firmly on the side of the fullest and freest toleration. Indeed, it is now proposed to remove the last bridge of distinction between the Mussulman and the non-Mussulman subjects of the Sultan, that of service in the army, and to include within the limits of the conscription all owing allegiance to the Porte, without distinction of religion. The conduct of the army in the recent suppression of the Assyr revolt was excellent, as was the entire management of the expedition, showing a degree of general efficiency far greater than was supposed to exist. Its probable strength is about one hundred and twenty thousand men, with a capacity for a very quick increase from the reserve to two hundred and fifty thousand men, and is well supplied with artillery. It is, therefore, quite competent to deal with any complications likely to arise within the empire in a summary and satisfactory manner. The navy is in equally serviceable condition for any of the ordinary or probable exigencies of the empire. Of ironclad vessels there are five frigates, nine corvettes, and five gun-boats, and a large wooden fleet, including five ships of the line, while at present the manufacture of torpedoes for marine purposes is being actively pursued. Those great monopolies of modern civilization, the post, the telegraph, and the railway, have also received attention. The two former services, once inaugurated, are sure to push their way into popular favor, and secure their extension, wherever the necessity for their use exists, and perhaps the defects of their present administration here are less proper subjects of surprise than their existence is of congratulation.
The same remarks are applicable to the railway system also, though far more important results are likely to flow from it in the general increase of the stability as well as of the resources of the country. The Roumelian railways, connecting the capital by way of Adrianople with the European system, are expected to be completed during 1872, and special attention is now being given to the great project of connecting this city with the Persian Gulf by the valley of the Euphrates. If these purposes are realized a continuous line of railway will traverse the whole breadth of European and Asiatic Turkey, and “thrust, as it were, an iron girder right through the wide arch” of the Ottoman dominions. Of course branches would soon multiply both in Roumelia and in Asia Minor, and would exert an almost magical influence in the development and improvement of the entire empire.
Various attempts have also been made at legal reform, but thus far without any considerable success. The failure is partly owing, no doubt, to foreign interference in the withdrawal of a considerable portion of the population from responsibility to the laws of the country in which they choose to permanently reside. Every day a half dozen [Page 908] courts of as many different nationalities are in session here and elsewhere throughout the empire, administering as many different systems of laws. In many instances these litigations are between persons who were born, have always lived, and desire to die and be buried in Turkey; and yet, by a pretext of protection, or by some pretense of naturalization, they assume to be subjects of some foreign power, and thus escape the jurisdiction of the local tribunals of the empire.
The evils sure to flow from such abuses were felt to be so serious by the plenipotentiaries assembled at Paris in 1856, that they unanimously agreed upon the necessity of revising the conditions imposed by the capitulations, and Count Cavour pronounced himself in favor of their immediate abolition. While, however, they doubtless seriously obstruct all efforts at thorough legal reform, other obstacles equally serious exist in the utter absence of competent judges, of trained advocates, and of a public opinion which recognizes the absolute necessity of an impartial and independent administration of justice. All these requisites are of slow growth, they can neither be imported nor forced, and until they exist it is to be feared that the well-meaning and repeated efforts in these directions which the Porte makes from time to time will not bear much fruit. And yet the lack of a proper system of law and an impartial administration of it, and the lack of a proper financial system, to which I called your attention at some length in a former dispatch, these are the two most grave evils which afflict the Ottoman Empire and threaten its ruin. The theoretical despotism of the Sultan is so tempered in the actual administration of the government and by the interference of the foreign representatives as to be almost practically harmless, while the cardinal vice of polygamy is rarely practiced out of the larger towns, and has therefore less ruinous effects than would be supposed, and indeed it is hoped that it is gradually diminishing, and with it the degradation of woman, which is perhaps hardly less dangerous to the state.
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In any event it ought always to be a source of sincere pride to Americans to reflect, apart from any sectarian or even religious bias, upon the great and good work our fellow countrymen and countrywomen have done and are still doing for the improvement, elevation, and enlightenment of the various populations of this empire. Apart even from their labors of evangelization, they leave indelible impressions of their work and its usefulness in the increased desire for knowledge, in the introduction of western ideas of life and growth, in the distribution of printed matter, and above all in the schools they establish, which are altogether the most hopeful signs I see of the future of the East, while, as the natural development of these, numerous small district schools have arisen, “The Protestant College” in Syria, and “The Robert College” on the Bosphorus, which are sure to be fit guardians of the name and honor of our country and to secure for her the benedictions of the coming generations.
I have, &c.,