Mr. Leishman to Mr.
Hay.
American Legation,
Constantinople, September 30,
1904.
No. 903.]Sir: Referring further to my dispatch No. 889
of September 15, 1904, concerning the detail work necessary to conclude
agreement with the Sublime Porte regarding American religious,
charitable, and educational institutions in Turkey, I beg leave to
inclose for the Department’s further information copy of note addressed
by the legation to Mr. Peet, showing the large amount of detailed
information that must first be obtained from the missionary
societies.
I have, etc.,
[Inclosure.]
Mr. Leishman to
Mr. Peet.
American Legation,
Constantinople, September 29, 1904.
Sir: Referring to the question of the legal
standing of American charitable, religious, and educational
institutions in Turkey, and more especially to the tenure of the
landed properties owned by such institutions but registered in
trust, in the names of private individuals, I beg to inform you that
the legation thinks that the time has come when the matter of such
tenure should be taken up and all such properties registered in the
names of the institutions and the title deeds issued accordingly.
This has been already done in the case of some American and other
foreign institutions, but it is desirable to extend it by degrees to
all the properties owned by our institutions in Turkey.
I shall therefore feel obliged if you will obtain for me all the data
in regard to the landed properties owned’ in Turkey by the various
American societies, to wit:
- 1.
- Any and all title deeds covering the lands and all
buildings and dependencies. You can keep these deeds at the
Bible House until such time as the actual transfers take
place, but hand in to the legation copies of the same at
once.
- 2.
- All deeds of trust signed by the individuals in whose
names the properties are registered. You can keep the
original deeds of trust in the Bible House, and, as in the
case of title deeds, hand in to the legation copies of the
same. In case the trustee is dead, inform whether he has
heirs, who they are, and whether they are accessible.
- 3.
- Copies of the registers of the municipalities or
defeterhané authorities (tapou) if and wherever possible to
obtain them.
- 4.
- Maps of the premises showing the position of the
buildings, and also what part of the ground or buildings is
covered by what title deed.
- 5.
- A full description of each building, giving the area,
height, number of floors, number of halls, class rooms,
etc.
- 6.
- If there are any errors or changes in the title deeds
concerning the boundaries or the kind of property, such as
mulk, vacf, arazi-i-miriyé, etc.,
inform me of those also.
- 7.
- In short, any further information as to when and how the
properties
[Page 833]
were
purchased or any information which missionaries or other
trustees think would be necessary for me to have, such as,
for instance, whether there has been any dispute over the
properties; whether any actions have been brought by or
against the owners on account of such tenure, and if yes,
what the result has been, whether there are any pending
actions, etc. Seeing the importance of the matter and the
amounts spent on these properties, I have asked for full
information to avoid, as far as possible, delays resulting
from long correspondence between the central Ottoman
authorities and the vilayets.
As soon as I begin to receive the replies to the above questions I
shall take the necessary steps for application to the Sublime Porte,
in view of a final settlement of this question.
I am, etc.,
