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Evening Star, Issue 14038, 20 April 1909, Page 4

Some time ago London ‘ Punch ’ had a cartoon depicting the Shah A Plot That of Persia and the Sultan Failed. of Turkey standing on the steps of two bathing machines _ looking down at the waves of Constitutionalism. ‘‘Jump in, Abdul, it isn’t bad,” says the Shah; “ and if you don’t like it, you can always come out.” “Yes,” answered Abdul, who was shivering and gasping; “but one gets so wet.” Abdul Hamid has followed the example of Mohammed Ali in more ways than one. He has both plunged in and sought to come out. But he has not proved so fortunate—if the term may be allowed—as his Persian contemporary. The King of Kings, rather than abide by his coronation oathand the pledges of his father, has'plunged his country into an inferno -of. revolt, bloodshed, and famine. He has temporarily escaped the waves of Constitutionalism at the expense of his honor and his claims to humanity. That he will permanently evade them we cannot believe. Whether the Sultan of Turkey was ‘inspired or influenced by the Shah’s costly and evanescent success can be, of course, merely surmised, but that sinister promptings were not wanting may be safely assumed. The old Palace gang,'the reactionaries and bloodsuckers, the infamous crew who for a generation bad grown sleek and rich on their villainy, and who continued to haunt the scenes of their former arrogance, were not slow to take advantage of the dissatisfaction and murmuring that arose on the fall of Kiamil Pasha. Probably, too, the Sultan himself has never been at home in his new role of constitutional reformer and monarch, and in his fatuity and near-sightedness may have mistaken the whispers and assurances of an evil-minded gang for the voice of a repentant and awakened people. In any event, the charge is being mads that the rising of the Constantinople garrison, the overthrow of Hilmi Pasha’s Cabinet, the murder of officers, the attacks on the Committee of Union and Progress and the introduction of appeals to religious frenzy were all concocted in or by the Palace with or without the Sultan’s connivance.

The scheme for the overthrow of the newly-acquired Constitu-_ Why the Plot tion and the probable re- i Failed. storation of the Sultan’s ! tyranny—if scheme it i were—failed because the Committee of | Union and Progress number among their I leaders and officers the pick of the man-; hood and intellect of Young Turkey. Quite early in the revolution the Committee wisely decided not to make Constantinople their headquarters They fixed on Salonica, whence they could regard the progress of events in safety and in their true perspective. Their choice and policy have , been justified by the result. The news 1 that the Constantinople garrison had risen j against their officers, marched on and surrounded the House of Parliament, cleared out the Ministry, and serenaded and cheered, the Sultan, followed as it was by ; attacks' on the newspaper editors of the Committee ot Union and Progress, and; massacre and pillage in Asia Minor, did [ not, therefore, create panic among the j Constitutionalists. ' Within a few hours I there was a movement, beginning at Salo- I idea, among the army garrisons, who, i without confusion or riot, entrained for Constantinople. It was the unanimity, the concentration of purpose, the single aim of these many thousands of troops that put a new light on the political side of the crisis to that first received. It is no longer a question of an ambitious organisation who were seeking to impose their will upon a reluctant Pai> I liament being reduced to impotence while the baffled heads flee for safety from popu- ■ lar indignation. The crisis now has re- | solved itself into a test of supremacy hetween Sultan and people. The men who j last year, without the shedding of blood, compelled Abdul Hamid to grant them a Constitution are determined that it shall I be maintained injts integrity. Hence the march on Constantinople. The' Sultan of Turkey is not the first monarch who has heard The Sultan’S the approaching tramp of Predicament, armed, men, and, hearing it, has trembled. There are .rumors that he wants to abdicate, and without doubt, he will grant all that the Generals and Deputies of the Committee ask of him. Ho has played his last desperate stake and failed. The children born of thee are fire and sword, Red ruin, and the breaking up of law. All that Abdul Hamid may have done to 1 recover for a brief Space the shadow of his former absolutism has ended in desolated homes, outraged honor, and horrors unspeakable. The tales from' Asia Minor are ( a confused jumble of slaughter, massacre., fire, and outrage; the Committee of Union deliberately designate them the fruits of the ill-timed mid happily frustrated conspiracy against their cognisance of and interest in public affairs. They knew, they . assert, what they were doing in deposing the aged Kiamil Pasha, and, they know.

what they are doing now. The Liberal Lnion-r-a body of educated, conservative well-wishers, who apparently became the easy dupes of the savage reactionaries that infested the safe hiding places of Stamboul—will have to render an account of their doings. The country must bo cleared of them; the Constitution must be reaffirmed, and guarantees given for its maintenance; life and property will be respected and made safe; Hamidism, debrief, must be killed, not scotched: Such is the message of the commander of the advancing troops, now within sight of Constantinople, to the foreign ambassadors; and as such it will be welcomed by that, large body of outside British opinion which in the past has been gratefully acknowledged as an unfailing source of strength and inspiration by the Young Turkey reformers.

Bankruptcy is not a fascinating subject. Men do not discuss it for 4 Bankruptcy amusement. Everybody Reform. hopes to avoid experience of it in his own person and ia his relations with others. It is therefore not strange that the movement on the part of the Chambers of Commerce to bring about radical changes in the administration of the Act, also in the Act itself, seems to have ripened prematurely. We saw the beginning of the movement, and the outcome has been made public through the resolutions of the Conference, but nobody excepting those who have been, working in committee have heard anv discussion on the subject. This is suggestive, at any rate to the extent of making one cautious. There must- be some reasons for the agitation ; there surely are reasons on the other side. So far nothing in the way ot argument has been heard either way This is not wise. Though all shrink from the theme, it is one that may touch up anybody, and the public interests are concerned. In these circumstances, believing that some general attention to the issue involved ia urgently called for prior to any legislative we present in this issue a few considerations adverse to the proposals of the Chambers. These points are submitted, not as indicating hostility on our part, but merely a wish to bring the matter before the-qiublic and. perhaps” lead to that thoughtful discussion which seems to he called for. The Minister of Justice is not likely to move hurriedly on his own initiative, and we think that he should not be pressed, or led to believe that every body affirmatively acquiesces in the resolutions.