No. 470.
Mr. Maynard to Mr. Evarts.
Legation of the United States,
Constantinople, July 12, 1879.
(Received August 19.)
No. 327.]
Sir: The affairs of the two Bulgarian provinces
have received little consideration of late in these dispatches, partly
because exact information has been difficult to obtain, and partly
because, when obtained, it was not specially important.
That part of Bulgaria south of the Balkans, organized by the Treaty of
Berlin into the dependent province of Eastern Roumelia, has been the
scene of most of the events which during the last three years, have
attracted so much attention and sympathy in Europe and America. It was
here that Mr. Schuyler made observations in July, 1876, with such
startling effect.
By Article XVII of the Treaty of Berlin, the governor-general of Eastern
Roumelia is to be nominated by the Sublime Porte, with assent of the
signatory powers, for a term of live years, and by Article XVIII a
scheme of government was to be arranged by a European commission, in
concert with the Ottoman Porte. This organic law or constitution, as we
should call it, has, I understand, been completed, but I have not seen
it. The first nomination for governor-general was of His Excellency
Rustem Pasha, for several years past the governor-general of the
Lebanon, in Syria. This not being acceptable to the Bulgarians, it was
recalled and given to His Excellency Aleko Pasha Vogorides, or Prince
Vogorides, as he is now designated. He is, in part at least, of
Bulgarian descent, and appears to have been very well received by the
Bulgarian portion of his subjects. He has been criticised a good deal
for wearing the Bulgarian cap rather than the Turkish fez, and for
displaying the Bulgarian and not the Turkish flag, when the constitution
was publicly read. These and similar criticisms demonstrated on the one
hand a readiness to find fault, and on the other that in the weightier
matters there is little to censure.
An English nobleman, the Marquis of Bath, has recently spent some time at
Philippopolis, the capital of this newly-erected province, and was most
favorably impressed. An article ascribed to his pen was reproduced in
the city last evening, and it is inclosed, being at once instructive and
authentic, more than anything I have met with.
The first article of the Berlin Treaty constituted the territory between
the Balkans and the Danube an autonomous and tributary principality
under the suzerainty of his imperial majesty the Sultan, and gave it the
name of Bulgaria, providing for it a Christian government and a national
militia.
The third article provides that the Prince of Bulgaria shall be freely
elected by the population, and confirmed by the Sublime Porte, with the
assent of the powers, the only restriction upon the unlimited power of
choice being that the prince chosen should not be a member of the
reigning dynasties of the great European powers. The assembly of
notables of Bulgaria, also convoked by virtue of that treaty, elected a
young German prince, Alexander of Battenberg, a favorite if not a
protégé of the Czar, and provided for him a salary of 600,000 francs
(say, $120,000) a year.
Before assuming authority the prince visited the courts of the several
great powers. * * * A Russian imperial yacht met the prince at Brindisi,
and a week ago anchored off Seraglio Point. This was early [Page 985] in the afternoon. The prince
immediately waited upon the Sultan at the palace of Yeldez, and, after a
very brief call, returned on board and proceeded up the Bosphorus to the
Russian embassy. The entire stoppage did not exceed two hours. For want
of time, it was alleged, the imperial firman had not been prepared, and
could not therefore be delivered in person, but would be forwarded as
soon as completed. The prince dined at the Russian embassy, and the same
night continued his voyage for Varna, the chief port of the
principality.
The resident Bulgarians had prepared a demonstration, but this was
promptly suppressed by the Ottoman authorities. A deputation of
Bulgarian students approached the prince while at the Russian embassy,
with a floral tribute and an address of welcome, to which he replied in
very gratifying terms. Both the address and the reply, I may remark,
were in the English language, with which the prince is familiar, though
he does not speak either the Bulgarian or the Russian. He assumes an
arduous and unenviable task.
I have, &c.,
[Inclosure in dispatch No.
327.]
Report on the administration of Prince
Vogorides, ascribed to the Marquis of Bath.
prince vogorides and the
porte.
[From the Spectator.]
Considerable excitement was caused the other day in Philippopolis by
news, which spread like wild-fire, that the Porte had addressed
representations to the great powers demanding the recall of Prince
Vogorides, on account of his action anent the wearing of the kalpak instead of the fez, and his refusal to hoist the Ottoman flag. The rumor
was eagerly believed by the Turks, who saw in it the possibility of
their immediate return to power; and also by the Greeks, whose ideas
were that a new governor-general might do more favor to their cause
and ambitious designs, than Prince Vogorides was inclined to do. No
class has been more woefully disappointed at the turn affairs have
taken than the Turks, who have of late weeks flocked into and around
Philippopolis. They evidently believed that with the departure of
the Russians and the arrival Of Aleko Pasha, the ancient régime would be at once restored, and they
have therefore been furious that not only are the Christians still
in the ascendant, but that the Sultan’s supreme authority has been
quietly ignored for the present. An incident has just happened which
shows the temper in which the Turks are at this moment. A friend of
mine paid a visit to Tatar-Bazardjik, and when desirous of returning
he missed his coachman, a Turk. Another servant was dispatched to
hunt up the coachman. This servant is a Wallachian, long resident in
Turkey, and he found the coachman in a mosque. Now, the mosque
contained about sixty Turks, but, strange to say, they were utterly
neglectful of worship. Indeed, they were holding a private
discussion, the burden of which was that in a few months the Turkish
troops would enter Eastern Roumelia, and that there would be a
general rising against the Christians, not one of whom, it was
determined, should be spared. All were to be exterminated. This is
simply confirmative of what I have heard in the cafés and bazaars of Philippopolis, and while there can be
no immediate danger, it is well that the existence of this feeling
should not be ignored.
To return, however, to the governor-general and the rumors of his
recall. I thought it well to wait upon his excellency, and hear what
he himself had got to say upon the matter. Accordingly, I sought an
interview, which was readily granted. The prince received me in his
bureau, and the numerous papers scattered about showed that he was
not a man of indolent ease. He was dressed very simply, almost
negligently; tweed pantaloons and vest, and a blue-cloth loose
jacket. His manner was frank and easy, his speech open, and his
sentiments always directed straight to the point. After apologizing
for the disorder in which everything was, he told me that he was
having the konak thoroughly overhauled,
indeed the internal arrangements almost reconstructed, so as to make
it a comfortable residence according to western ideas. He was busy,
he continued, perfecting and completing the administrative changes
necessary from the departure of the Russians. He had a good set of
men around him, and while there was much to do and think about, he
anticipated no difficulty in not only [Page 986] establishing, but maintaining, perfect order
and good government. There was no truth in the absurd tales that had
been told about the reasons for the princess’s departure for
Constantinople. It was said, among other things, that she had gone
away previous to his departure; that he was disgusted with his post,
and wished to resign. It was also said that the princess had gone to
plead with the Sultan in favor of her husband, who had incurred the
Porte’s displeasure by the manner in which he had taken possession
of his government. As he had said, all these were absurd
fabrications. The princess had gone to Constantinople simply to be
out of the way while the alterations were being made in the konak, for while the house was occupied by
masons, and plasterers and painters, there could be no comfort for a
lady. “Then,” said I, “there is no truth in the statement that your
excellency is about to leave Eastern Roumelia, and throw up the post
of governor-general?” “None, whatever,” he replied. “I don’t intend
to leave and I don’t want to leave. The Porte can’t dismiss me, for
I am appointed for five years; and as for asking the powers to
recall me, they can’t do that. I might be tried, if I was stepping
beyond the law laid down in the statute organique; but then there is
no provision for a tribunal to try me. I did not,” he went on, “at
first desire the appointment of governor-general of Eastern
Roumelia. I was living very quietly in Paris, for I did not do well
with the Sultan [sic] for a long time. I did
not visit Constantinople, although the Sultan asked me to go many
times. When Rustein Pasha was proposed as governor-general of
Eastern Roumelia, he was objected to very strongly by Russia, who
desired that a governor-general of Bulgarian origin should be
appointed. I suppose they wanted to establish a precedent from the
first holder of the high office. I was then pressed to accept the
office, and I did so, in the hope that I might contribute something
to the peace of my country and of Europe. When I went to Vienna and
saw Count Andrassy, the count said to me, ‘Above all things, we
desire that the Russians should go away from Eastern Roumelia and
Bulgaria; and you must do everything that will expedite that, and so
secure the peace of Europe.’ ‘We want peace,’ added Count Andrassy,
‘and not the outbreak of another war which would spread all over
Europe.’ Well, when I came to Constantinople, the Sultan gave me
instructions that I was to wear the fez and
to hoist the Ottoman flag, as a sign of his sovereign authority; and
that if I did not choose to wear the fez, I
was to return to Constantinople. When I got to the frontier of
Eastern Roumelia, up to which point I had worn the fez, I heard that powder and shot had been prepared for
me, if I came wearing the fez. I had to
decide, if I wished to continue to wear the fez, either to go on and be shot, or return to
Constantinople. On the one hand, if I returned to Constantinople
because of such a trivial thing as the wearing of a fez, the whole tranquillity of Europe might
have been disturbed. Certainly all that has been accomplished by the
Berlin Treaty might have been jeopardized. A new governor-general
would need to have been appointed; delays would have taken place. No
matter who was proposed, there were certain to have been objections
made by one or other of the great powers, and God knows when a
governor-general acceptable to all would have been found. In the
meantime, the Russian occupation of Eastern Roumelia would have been
indefinitely prolonged. Now, it was the wish of all the powers of
Europe that the Russians should go away, and therefore it came
practically to be a question with me whether I should obey the voice
of Europe or the instructions of the Sultan, and, by doing the
latter, in all likelihood meeting my own death and letting slip the
dogs of war. In Europe they do not reason as they do at
Constantinople, and I should have been very much blamed if I had run
the risk of disturbing peace, and destroying all that had been done
by the Treaty of Berlin, because of a childish dispute about a
head-dress. I therefore put on the kalpak and
came on to Philippopolis, where I was very well received indeed. I
have no penchant for the kalpak, because I have worn the fez
since I was a boy, but it was best that I should put on the
Bulgarian head-dress. In the same way, I knew that the Bulgarians
were not prepared to see the Ottoman flag, the symbol of the
sovereignty of the Porte. I heard that they were prepared to tear it
down, and there might have been disturbances which would have spread
into a revolution, for in the then condition of the country one does
not know where such a disturbance, once begun, would have ended.
“I consulted with the European commission as to what should be done
about hoisting the Turkish flag. They said to me, undoubtedly, as a
symbol of the sovereign authority of the Porte, it ought to be
hoisted, but at the opportune moment. ‘It was, however,’ the
commission further told me, ‘a matter lying wholly between the
Sultan and the governor-general.’ I began to think, and I saw that
if I hoisted the flag when the Sultan’s firman was read, and if
disturbances took place, the commission would turn round and say,
‘We only advised that the flag should be hoisted at the opportune
moment, and certainly that was not the opportune moment.’ Again, the
municipality and the heads of the religious bodies and the best
representative men told me that if the flag was to be hoisted on the
occasion, they would not appear at the ceremony. Therefore, I
determined not to hoist the flag, and everything passed off
agreeably and tranquilly. If we must have peace, and must have the
Russians out of the country, I must so act that both shall be
secured, irrespective of childish questions about drapery [Page 987] or bonnets. I know that
they are angry with me at Constantinople because of what I have
done, or, rather, because of what I have not done; but I cannot
risk: peace and good government for such childish matters. When the
opportune moment arrives, I shall hoist the Ottoman flag.”
“When does your excellency think the opportune moment will come?” I
inquired. The prince replied, with an expressive shrug of the
shoulders, “I don’t know; it may be some time. If the Porte wished
to place so much stress on its sovereign authority, it ought not to
have given up the right of garrisoning the Balkans.” But, I said, I
thought the Porte had acted very wisely in its own interests, and
also for the sake of European peace and humanity, in waiving its
right of sending Turkish garrisons to the Balkans. From what I had
seen all over the country in the way of preparation and from what I
knew of the sentiments of the people, I did not believe that the
Turkish troops would have been allowed to take up a position in the
Balkans without a long, severe, and bloody fight, in which the
Bulgarians on both sides of the Balkans would have taken part
against the Turkish troops. And I added that I could scarcely blame
them, after I had seen what they had formerly suffered from the
presence of Turkish troops. Prince Vogorides did not seem to attach
much importance to the resistance which the Bulgarians would have
made. What he dreaded was outside interference. “The Russians,” said
he, “would have stepped in, and prevented Turkish garrisons going to
the Balkans. Then that would have involved Turkey in a new war with
Russia and Austria, and England would certainly also have joined in
the war.” I said I did not think the people of England would permit
their government to go to war in order that the Bulgarians should be
oppressed by an army of Turkish soldiers, or have their dearly
bought liberties made a dead letter; to which Prince Vogorides said
nothing, except, “The government is supreme, and the people can’t
help themselves.” Courteously turning the conversation, his
excellency began to talk in terms, of high praise of the industry,
thrift, and natural gifts of the Bulgarians. They were, from the
effects of the war and the devastating raids of bashi-bazouks and
Circassians very poor just now, but he hoped that, with peace and
good government, they would soon recover their prosperity. They were
especially poor near the Balkans, where they had lost nearly all
their cattle, and where, even in the spring, they had no seed-corn
to sow to raise crops. I told him of the generosity of the Russian
administration in giving away so many horses and selling others at a
low price to the peasants, and he admitted that this good action
would help the people considerably. The land was as fertile as a
garden, and in a few years it would bloom as the Garden of Eden. He
looked forward with hope to the future, and expressed his
determination to apply the laws of the statute organique honorably
and honestly. He praised the statute as a compendium of laws as
liberal as was to be found in the world, and the nation was bound to
prosper under it, if wisely governed and directed. As to the union
of Eastern Roumelia with the principality of Bulgaria, he did not
look forward to that being accomplished soon. “And,” he said, “if it
does not come soon, there will be the less likelihood of its ever
coming.” “Why so? “I asked. “Well,” he answered, “the Bulgarians of
Eastern Roumelia are much more intelligent than those north of the
Balkans; their country is much richer, and by and by they will see
that it will be more to their advantage to remain an autonomous
province than to be united with the principality. For they would, if
united to the principality, be more heavily taxed, and be bound up
with the fortunes of a less civilized and less progressive people.”
There was some plausibility in this reasoning, and as one of his
secretaries appeared in the room at this moment, I took the
opportunity of closing the interview, by thanking his excellency tor
his frank and free expression of his views.—[From the Daily-Levant
Herald of July 11, 1879.]
