There are points in this speech which Englishmen can read
with much satisfaction. For instance, the statement that Turkey will not lean on any Alliance, but will take her own course, knowing that the Powers all sympathise with her desire to maintain the status quo, is exactly what Englishmen, anxious for the safety of Turkey, would wish to be told. It is not reassuring, however, to learn that this promise of caution was received in dead silence. The announcement that expenditure cannot be reduced is serious, as the revenue does not meet the present needs, and the system of loans, if continued on the present scale, must end in bankruptcy. In the debate which followed the Grand Vizier's statement there was much criticism of the barbarity with which the Government have enforced disarmament. We note that the Sofia correspondent of the Times says in Tuesday's paper that he is able to confirm the assertion of Pavloff Effendi that in Macedonia nearly five thousand persons were beaten or tortured during the disarmament. Pavloff Effendi said that sixty-four of these were maimed for life, and eleven had died. The correspondent thinks the latter figure below the mark. We may add as a postscript to this account of the debate that on Friday the Times drew attention to a rumour that a coup d'etat was imminent in Constantinople. Its object would be the establishment of a military dictatorship. The Times adds, however, that the rumour is unconfirmed.
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