GOVERNMENT BY MURDER.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1197, 4 August 1911, Page 5

GOVERNMENT BY MURDER.

TURKISH- ALLEGATIONS. Uγ Tcleu'raph—Press Association—Copyrleh' (Rec. August 3, 11.25 p.m.) Constantinople, August 3. A Turkish officer, in conversing at the Military Club, attributed the murder ol Zekki Bey, editor of the newspaper "Shera," early in July to the Committee of Union. Zekki Boy, x he said, had threatened to give public utterance to his views, and his brother officers thereupon killed him. Two other officers were also assassinated similarly, DISUNION IN THE COMMITTEE. The Committee of Union' and Progress, which compelled Abdul Hamid to grant tho Constitution and then dethroned him when ho plotted to overthrow it, was a medloy of men of all shades of opinion, all ranks of life, of different mentalities, even of different national origins. ■ They ■Jore knit firmly together by ono strong bond-fear of the He'd Sultan. They knew that they could onlv succeed in dethroning Abdul Haiuid by tho closest union and co-operation i they realised that failure meant penalties worse than death. They achieved their aim. The Sultan fell, but the peril was not yet over. For a time at least there was a lively danger of reaction. The Young' Turks had effected a wonderful work; they had still to establish it. Although the dreaded Sultan had been sent a cringing prisoner to Salonica, grovelling abjectly for his life, there were still strong reactionary forces latent nmong the people; there were reactionary foreign influences nr.work. Had not the mixed medley of reformers still held closely together we might have seen another counter-revolution. ■

• The revolution, as-.the Americans say, has "made good." . It is two years since the last active adherents of Abdul Hamid writhed in the air at tho cud of a rope on Galata Bridge. Tho, Committee Party has established itself w.ell; now it begins to fall to piocos. It is not afraid of ieaction any moro in the sense of a return of- Abdul Hamid or a despotism of the old kind. Tho cord that bound the faggot together has worn through. The political bundle that we called tho Young Turks is falling apart.

Lately there have been rumours from time to time that the Young Turks were endeavouring, to stifle 'dissension in their ranks by a policy of assassination. The correspondent in Athens of tho London "Times" recently directed attention to the systematic assassinations of Bulgarian notables in Macedonia, tho victims being either former chiefs of bands who have returned to their villages in virtue of an amnesty granted in 1908, or persons of local influence who might bo expected to play a prominent part as leaders of au. insurrectionary movement. There can bo little doubt that these executions were ordered by the local committees, and that tho assassinations were carried out with the knowledge of the military authorities and the.police. The former revolutionary leaders as a rule have been leading peaceful ■ lives in their villnges, having surrendered their arms, and several rendered services to Uie Young Turks during t!ie march on Constantinople in April, 1909. Latterly some of them have emigrated, finding that their lives were in danger, while others' have token to the mountains. It was stated last year that the committees came to a fresh resolution "to remove nil persons who might bo regarded as prospective, leaders of the revolutionary movement," and, in virtue apparently of this decision, several attacks have latterly been made on prominent Bulgarians.