TURKEY.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 273, 11 August 1908, Page 7

TURKEY.

ABD-UL-HAMID AND THE CONSTITUTION THE CAPITAL QUIET. OVER A HUNDRED BANDS DISPERSE. (by telegraph—piiess association—cor nuanT.) Constantinople, August 8. The Sultan invited all tho diplomats intho Turkish capital to attend Friday's Selamlik (tho weekly prayer which the Sultan personally attends at the Mosque, in the grounds of Yildiz Kiosk). His Majesty thanked them for their congratulations, and reiterated his intention to maintain the integrity of tho constitution. Constantinople has now assumed its normal aspect. Fifty-four Bulgarian, sixteen Greek, three Servian, and thirty-two Moslem bands, including seven hundred members, have surrendered, and will return to their homes, trusting to the new constitution. THE REFORMERS' POLICY. DEVELOPMENT ALONG WESTERN LINES. (Rec. August 10, 9.35 p.m.) ' London, August 10. The members of the new Turkish Cabinet are largely nominees of tho Central Committee of Union and Progress, which engineered the revolution.

Official circles in Berlin and Vienna are amazed at tho happenings in Turkey,. but express no doubt as to the reformers' discretion, and believe that the appointment of foreign financial and other experts will bo mooted by the Cabinet with a view to improving Turkey's finance and developing tho country's resources.

THE SELAMLIK. THE SULTAN AND HIS ESCORT. According to Mohammedan law tho Sultan, as head of the Church, must make his formal prayer weekly, and Friday, the Mohammedan Sabbath, is the day he chooses. Since tie Sultan gavo up crossing the Golden Horn to the Mosque at the Old Seraglio, to avoid assassination, he has remained within the'precincts of his palace, Yildiz Kiosk. Here ho has had constructed a little mosque of liis own called after him "Haiuidyeh Mosque." It is within the enclosure of the Yildiz Kiosk grounds, yet it was on the steps of this mosque that the Sultan was standing when the bomb was thrown on July 21, 1905, killing 2-1 persons and 'wounding 57. Mr. Jerome Hart, an American-editor, writes: "The most interesting phase of tho Selamlik is the display of troops. There is a large garrison at Constantinople, from 15,000 to 20,000 picked soldiers of tho Turkish army. Every man of them is a Mohammedan. Although the. Sultan has many Christian subjects, no Christian. is allowed to serve as a soldier. ...

But that the magnificent troops seen at tho Selamlik are not typical of the Turkish army, is plainly evident in tho smaller cities of Syria; there one sees filthy, frowsy, ragged soldiers, utterly unlike tho dashing troopers and trim foot-soldiers at Stamboul.

CALLED FROM PALACE TO PRAYER. "After the troop 3 take their position, and have formed a hollow square completely surrounding the mosque and the roadway leading from tho Imperial Palace entrance down a slight hill to the entrance of the'mosque, a gang of men appear, and carefully ■ sweep and sprinkle the roadway. At exactly twelve o'clock a high-pitched musical voice rings through tho air. It is.the muezzin calling the Sultan to prayer. "Simultaneously with his call, a trumpeter sounds a blast and tho thousands. of soldiers present arms. Down the hillside from'the palace starts the advance of the Sultan's, procession. This is made up of the leading , ladies of the harem in handsomo broughams. On oither side of their carriages ride coal-black .eunuchs, wearing long black frock coats and red fezzes, mounted on magnificent Arabian horses. Among those ladies is the Valideh Sultana, tho Sultan's step-mother, followed by various Wives and daughters of the Sultan. " Behind the ladies of the harem rides tho Chief Eunuch, an old and obese Abyssinian negro.. Next come the Sultan's sons, seven, eleven, and fourteen years of age, wearing military uniforms, and handsomely mounted. Tho escort of the princes is made up of grey-bearded cavalry officers. iN'ext come the cavalry escort of the Sultan, picked soldiers on selected mounts. If one were to judge of the Turkish army by the specimens seen at the Selamlik, it might bo considered tie finest in Europe.

THE SULTAN COMES. "Presontly a carriage appears which is greeted with a continuous ai curious cry from the people gathered there, soldiers and populace. This cry, we are told, is 'Long live our Padishah.' "As ho comes down the gentle slope, Ahd-ul-Hainid's face and figure are plainly to bo seen in his open and roomy victoria. Ho is simply elad in a black frock coat and a red fez. The colour of his jet black beard is due, of course, to dyo, as lie has an aversion to showing signs of ago. Amid the continuous roar of the cheering, tho Sultan's carriage turns into the gates of the mosque enclosure. It is stopped at the steps, up which the. Sultan presently mounts with a vigorous step. As soon as he has entered, the crowd of courtiers, pashas, and other brilliantly uniformed officers rush and press into the narrow doorway.

"The. Sultan remains 'less than half an hour at Ins devotions. When lie emerges, tho word of command runs around the thousands of troops, and with a sharp slap they again present arms. As the Sultan steps into his carnage he sneaks a few words to the gold-laced grotin bowing low beforo him. He returns liv a different carriage to which two beautiful whito Arabian stallions are attached. Ho takes the reins himself, grasps the whip, 'and with a word his impetuous horses start up the incline "