New Zealand Tablet. Fiat Justitia. FRIDAY, AUGUST 18, 1876. THE TURKISH WAR.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume IV, Issue 177, 18 August 1876, Page 10

New Zealand Tablet. Fiat Justitia. FRIDAY, AUGUST 18, 1876. THE TURKISH WAR.

Turkey in Europe is at present the scene of a very cruel and bloody civil war. The resentment of the victims of centuries of misrule has lately, as often before, found vent in a very general uprising of the Christian populations of the various provinces of the Ottoman empire in Europe, against the Mussulman rule. True to their hereditary hatred of the Christian name, and their untamed savage instincts, the Turks have retaliated in ferocious fashion, and massacred in places the defenceless Christian population en masse without distinction of age or sex. Not only men, buc unarmed and defenceless women and children have been butchered in thousands, and under circumstances the most revolting to all Christian and human instincts and feelings. Meantime, the Christian States of Europe look on, and, owing to mutual jealousies, do nothing in the cause of humanity and civilization, beyond making some weak protests and suggestions. There are, to be sure, two European governments which would most willingly take a very active part in, what they are pleased to call, the pacification of Turkey, if permitted to do so by the other powers. But, as it is well known that this pacification means the substitution of Russian aud German tyranny in the place of Turkish, there is no disposition to concede to them the required permission. As, therefore, it is not convenient just now for Germany and Tlussia to fight on behalf of the insurgents of Servia, Bulgaria, Montenegro, «fee., an armed and very watchful neutrality is the attitude of the European powers. But Russia is openly sympathetic, and Germany is more than willing to lend a helping hand in the cause of liberty, of course ! This is instructive. Russia, which is busily engaged

in driving the Polish population of the united Greek Church into tbe schismatical Greek Church at the point of the bayonet and sabre, in beating Catholic women with the club until they have fainted, and which on their recovery, has beaten them again in the same way till they fainted again, because they would not betray their conscience, and join in a religious worship which they abhorred; Russia which respects the liberty of the subject, by sending thousands of loyal and useful subjects to perish amidst the horrors of Siberia, because they would not abandon their religion and betray their faith at the bidding of the government ; this Russia is the patron of the liberty of the Christian subjects of Turkey ! What hypocrisy and folly ! And is it any wonder that the other powers of Europe refuse to join her in intervening in Turkish affairs by force of arms? ; Supposing that Russia succeeded against Turkey, what would |be the result i Only the exchange of one grinding tyranny for another. Then, we are told, that Germany is most willing to aid the Christian populations ot Turkey, in order to save them from oppression and secure their liberties. There is grim irouy in this, Germany, the foe of tyranny and the advocate of freedom ! Germany that tramples on the liberty of the press, fines, imprisons, and banishes tens of thousands of her very best citizens, confiscates their property, closes their schools and churches, <fee., for the enormous crime of serving God, according to the religion of their ancestors and the dictates of their consciences, this Germany, with brazen effrontery, now puts herself forward as the advocate and patron of religious liberty for the Christian inhabitants of Turkey. Why, the fact is, there has been, and is at this moment, more religious liberty throughout the Turkish empire than is to be found in either Russia or Germany. It may be asked then, should Turkey be permitted to continue to outrage liberty and humanity, because Germany and Russia both act tryannically at home ? By no means ; but any intervention by these two powers is more likely to perpetuate than remedy the evils of Christians in Turkey, and if any good is to come of intervention at all, other powers, not those, will have to intervene.