THE TRIPOLI TROUBLE.

NZ Truth, Issue 328, 7 October 1911, Page 1

THE TRIPOLI TROUBLE.

CROSS IN CONFLICT WITH THE CRESCENT.

Peace of Europe Disturbed,

SOME SIDELIGHTS ON THE WAR.

Since the termination of the war j declared against Prussia,' on July 15, 1870, by the Due de Gramont, m the name of the Emperor of the French, j the alleged cause of hostilities being that Prussia would not guarantee, m all time coming, to keep a German prince from the throne of Spain, a war ( which proved most disastrous to the French, whose country was invad»d, and whose inhabitants were completely subdued, Europe has not been the scene of any actual warfare between any of the great Powers, although the map of Europe has since then been from time to time very substantially altered. The student of European events cannot fall, however, to have been impressed with the fact that Europe has for some years past been m constant anticipation of an international eruption, which only the most sublime tact of one man has prevented from bursting forth and paralysing the whole of the civilised world. Unfortunately, that man is with us no more. It was a sorry day when, on May 6, 1910, England lost her King, for, with the demise of Edward VII., not only did the British Empire lose a sovereign, but Europe lost its leader. It is, indeed, no mere figure pf rhetoric to say that Europe now laiAs a leader, for, as has been most atftly stated by a recent writer, "King Edward, the greatest European of modern times, has left no successor. His work and its spirit survive him ; his name is revered, even by obscure peoples m distant corners of the Continent, as never the name of an Englishman since the days of Cromwell. But the Man of Europe is gone ; there remain the men. Among these, William., of Germany now stands foremost. No longer dwarfed by Bismarck or by Edward VII., whose fundamentally diverse, but equally commanding, personalities successively overshadowed him, he rises automatically into pre-eminence. He is no European, but a Hohenzollern, working for his House, for Prussia, and 'for Germany. Neither has he yet wholly made good his claim to greatness. In ten years King Edward won universal recognition as a great King ; but 22 years have not sufficed to gain for William of Hohenzollern the rank of a great Emperor, though the sum of his varied talents'

approximates to genius, and his brilliance glitters along the line that divides greatness from eccentricity." Europe presents a mass of political problems, and problems require 'careful study at the hands' of a master tactician, such as Edward. VII. wis, and such as William of Germany cannever be ; moreover, the complexity of the international position is intensified by the peculiar fact that, while he has risen automatically- into ■ preeminence, and is, therefore, called upon to play a part m the elucidation of these political problems, William of Germany is not less. a living problem to-day than at any moment of hte reign of startled peace. * * « - The Ottoman Empire, which has presented some of the most perplexing problems of modern times, consists of an area of about 66,500 square miles m South- Eastern Europe, about 680,000 square miles m Asia, and about 399,000 square miles m North Africa, containing altogether about 25i000,000 inhabitants. The ruler is Mahomed V., Sultan of Turkey, the third son of Sultan Abd-ul-Medjid, arid was born November 3, 1844, and proclaimed April 27, 1909, m succession to his elder brother, Abd-ul-Hamid 11., who was deposed by the unanimous vote of the National Assembly. The succession to the throne, according to Turkish custom, vests m the senior male descendant of the House of Othmah, sprung from the Imperial Harem. The Sultan does not marry, but from the inmates of the Harem selects a certain number, who are known as Ladies of the Palace, the others occupying positions subordinate to them. All children born m the Harem are held to be of legitimate and equal birth. The eldest son of the Sultan only succeeds when there are no uncles or cousins of greater age than himself. A form of constitution modelled on that of Western European countries was suggesetd by various reformers from 1856 to 1878, but until 1908 the rule of the Sultan was based on the precepts of the Koran. On July 24, 19*08, an Imperial Irade promulgated a constitution which embraced an elective legislature. Turks, Greeks* and Albanians make up 70 per cent, of the population m European Turkey! In Asiatic Turkey there are also num-

hers of Turks, about 4,000,000 Arabs, and many Greeks, Kurds, Circassians, Armenians, etc. The Sultan is also suzerain of Crete, Cyprus, Samos, and Egypt,; and until the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina by- Austria - Hungrary, and .the declaration of independence by Bulgaria m 1908, of those territories- also. There are, it is estimated, about. 16,000,000 Mohammedans and 5,000,000 Christians (of the Roman, Greek, and other churches) within the Empire, besides those of other faiths. The Ottoman, army is at present undergoing reorganisation, consequent upon: the revolution of July, 1908, and General von der Goltz, with a staff of about twenty German officers, resumed his duties m regard to the organisation and training of the forces, while many Turkish subalterns have been attached to the German' army. A military council has been called into existence, and the organisation of the army staff taken m hand. The Empire is divided into seven army corps districts—Constantinople, Adrianople, Salonika, Erzingjon, Damascus, Baghdad, and Sanaa, and there are two independent divisions respectively at Medina and Tripoli. By the existing recruiting law, all Mussulmans . are liable to military service. Christians and certain sects have paid ah exemption . tax. The nomad Arabs, . although liable to service by law, furnish no recruits, and many Kurds evade service. The conscription, therefore; falls somewhat heavily on the Osmanlis, or Turk proper ; but under the Constitution of July 24, 1908, it is intended to make service universal. The men liable to service are divided into (1) Nizam, or regular army, and its reserve ; (2) Redif, corresponding to the I_andwehr; and (3) Mustahfiz, or Landr sturm, consisting of over 600 Ilaveh battalions,, mostly skeleton formation, for the second-class Redif. The Nizam troops probably number 260,000, with 120,000 as a reserve, and the Redif, m two classes, with the Mustahfiz, probably bring up the total to well over 1,000,000 ; but of these, somewhere between one- quarter and a half may be eliminated as of little fighting value, except as reinforcements m a long campaign. There are 31,000 officers and men m the navy, and 9000 marines. The officers are divided as follows : — Two admirals, 9 vice-admirals^ 16 rear-admirals, 30 captains, 90 commanders, 300 lieuten- , ant- commanders, 250 lieutenants, and '200 sub-lieutenants. The strength m ships is a's fallows :— Nine coastdefence ironclads, 5 protected cruisers, 6 torpedo vessels, 1 gunboat, 21 torpedo . boat destroyers, 27 torpedo boats, and 2 submarines. In October, 1910, a party of six Turkish officers, .accompanied by Lieut. Faught, left for • England to . undergo a course of study, and it was announced that 19 other officers would follow them for a similar . purpose. • . ■ _»•'_» • • For administrative purposes, the Ottoman Empire is divided into vilayets or provinces, sub- divided further into sub-provinces (saiijaks), districts (kazas), sub- districts (nahies), and communities (karies). These are governed by Valis, or Governors - General, with provincial councils, and by subordinate officials. Tripoli, the most easterly of the Barbary States, is a vilayet (or province) of the Ottoman Empire. The Vali (or Gov-ernor-General) is Marshal Ibrahim Pasha, who was appointed m August, 1910. It extends from the frontiers of Tunis to those of Egypt, a distance along the Mediterranean coast line of nearly 1100 miles, and inland to the south a distance of about 800 miles. Formerly (1713 - 1835) it was under a native (Karamanly) dynasty, and passed under direct control m 1835. It comprises the four sub-provinces of Tripoli, Khoms, Jabel-el-Gharb, and Fezzan, and also of Benghazi or Cyrenaica, the latter being under the direct government of Constantinople since 1875. It has an area of 410,000 square miles, or nearly four times the entire area of New Zealand, and a population of over 1,000,000 m Tripoli proper and Cyrenaica. There are no rivers m the country, and, .the rainfall being precarious, a good harvest can only be reckoned on every four or five years. The revenue is chiefly raised by a poll-tax, regulated according to the wealth of each individual, and by tithes, but steps are being taken to coordinate the incidence of taxation with that obtaining m other parts of tho Ottoman Empire. Barley, dates, olives, oranges, lemons, and vegetables are produced, and the principal imports are . metals, British and other European manufactures, tea, beads, wines, and spirits, besides a number of articles for barter m Wadai, Bornu, and the Western Sudan, whither caravans proceed from Tripoli ; but the caravan trade, once the mainstay of the country, has seriously declined of late years. The principal articles of export are ostrich feathers, ivory, skins,

| sponges, hides, esparto grass, cattle, j and horses. , The ancient ruins .m I Cyrenaica, i.e., at . Cyrene, Ptolemais, ! and Apollonia, aire interesting to explorers, as well as those at • Leptis Magna, which is close to Khoms, or 70 .miles from the city of Tripoli. Agricultural colonies, of Cretan Moslem refugees are • being formed m the neighborhood of Cyrene and Apollonia (Marsa Susa). . The town of Benghazi has a population of about 21,0.00, consisting of Arabs, Greeks, Maltese, and a, few Levantines. The capital city is Tripoli, which has a population of about 40,000. Such is the country, and . such are the resources and circumstances, upon which Italy, much to . the surprise of the other .European Powers, has cast its avaricious eye, ahd m respect of which it despatched a peremptory ultimatum to the Ottoman Empire requiring the Government to . hand Over the province to Italy forthwith, the refusal to comply with which demand has brought about a state of war between Italy and Turkey, the result of | which cannot be foreseen. * . * . . «■ Replying to Germany and Austria's friendly unofficial inquiries, Italy declared that if war was to be avoided, she must be granted such preponderance m Tripoli as would render her mistress of the province, making the Sultan's sovereignity merely nominal. The ostensible reasons for Italy's action are alleged unfair treatment of Italian subjects settled m Tripoli, and the denial to her of the preferential attitude shown to other countries. It seems far more likely that Italy's real desire is to strengthen . her position m the Mediterranean. The London "Times" declares that, outside Italy, the predominant feeling will be one • " disappointment and...i , egret at Italy's action. This is putting it very mildly. Other newspapers do • not mince matters m expressing their opinions. The "Daily Mail" stated that Italy's action will seem, even to the warmest ' friends of Italy, cruel and violent. The "Daily Ne.ws" states that it is impossible to expect or desire that Turkey will submit tamely to as brutal an act of aggression as history records. Other English journals are equally outspoken. A section of the French newspapers regrets Italy's precipitate action. "Le Journal" refers to the brutality of Italy's policy, and it is : astonished at the passivity of the Powers. Considering the magnitude of the international conflagration to which Italy's precipitate action might easily give rise, her sudden aggressive 1 attitude towards Turkey is the less comprehensible. Italy is not m a poI sition at the present moment to face an International upheaval. Her army, though improved, still lacks full efficiency ; her navy, though growing m strength, still needs co-ordination ; and her administration, which a decade of Giolittian misrule and of royal nonchalance has sorely demoralised, is not m a conditioh to respond to the

l passionate, nationalism of the younger generation or to realise the aspirations" of the ablest public men. Italy has domestic problems of the gravest import with which to cope, andC from present appearances, none of the men now m power m. Italy possess enough moral authority td cope with them, nor do the men possessed of such authority command sufficient organised support iii Parliament or m the country. The gravest of these problems now forcing themselves • upon public attention comprise the regeneration and development of the south, the nationalisation of the schools, and the relationship between Church and State. Italy must set her own house m order before she causes a spark to be dropped outside her realms which may cause an explosion the reverberation of which . may extend from one end of Europe to the other ahd bring about a cataclysm unparalleled m the history of the world. It has already been shown . that this action on the .part of Italy may precipitate, rather than obviate, domestic crises. Demonstrations took place to prevent the departure of the troops from Parma, and thie Carabineers fired, killing five persons and wounding twelve. The. mob cut the telegraphs, uprooted the poles, and attempted to burn the barracks. Hostility to the policy has also given rise to actions of vandalism m various districts. This is only the beginning. Who can say where it will end ? The cables inform us that the. Turkish Cabinet resigned upon receipt of the ultimatum, Mohammed Shevket • Pasha, Minister of War, alone retaining office. This virtually places him ih the position of a military dictator, and it may be of interest at this juncture to say a word or two about him m conclusion. Little known man though, he may be, Mohammed Shevket Pasha is, by common consent, the most considerable individual m Turnkey at the present time. Neither Hakki Pasha, thie retiring Prime Minister and Grand Vizier, a polished European diplomat, gifted rather with common sense than with energy, nor Talaat Bey, the retiring Minister for the Interior, a spacious, good-hum-ored Turk of excelleht intentions but insufficient experience, nor Djavid Bey, the retiring Minister of Finance, a Salonika Jew' turnfed Mussulman, can rival Mohammed Shevket Pasha m prestige or authority. The crisis has placed this man as a military dictator m supreme command. A tailitary dictator hiay need to consolidate his position by some feat of arms, and. m the inflammable atmosphere of the Near East, any spark may cause »n explosion, bring Bulgaria, Servia. Montenegro, and perhaps Roumania into the .field, compel Austria-Hun-gary and Russia to take momentous decisions, and strain to breakingpoint the relations between AustriaHungary and Italy. Italy has cause not to ' desire such a devekxpment-