THE FUTURE OF CONSTANTINOPLE.
[To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."]
Snt,—Though totally disagreeing with your views on the Turkish problem (but to which you are naturally, in common with all men, freely entitled), I must express my admiration at the way in which you publish in the Spectator letters most bitterly attacking you, and, I go eo far as to say, in the worst possible taste both as to matter and style.
Your strong sense of the necessity for freedom of speech— sadly encroached upon of late years, but nevertheless the bulwark of all that is really great and noble in our unwritten Constitution—impele me, relying on your sense of justice, to set forth the following considerations against the application of the Gladstonian project to the Turks, and it would interest me to see a logical (as apart from prejudiced) reply to the " self-determination " point r- (1) Mr. Lloyd George used the word " traitorously " in his pronouncement in connexion with the impossibility of leaving the "same gatekeeper" of the Straits. According to the dic- tionary a traitor is one who turns against his master or kith and kin. Were the Turks British subjects, or did a Treaty necessitate their opening the Straits at our behest ? Did not various Treaties, on the contrary, give the Turks the specific right to prevent foreign warships passing the Straits P Why were we more entitled to send warships through the Dardanelles than to do the same thing through the Schelde to help besieged Antwerp ? The advantage of helping Russia being greater is no way out of the fact that both were illegal. (2) The Goeben ' and the Breslau,' once inside the Dar- danelles, had Constantinople at their mercy, and from that moment it was as impossible for the Turks to force the Germans to disarm or do anything as it would be for a householder looking down Bill Sikes's revolver to throw that gentleman out of his front door. Having been in Constantinople at the time, I happen to know the facts. (3) Even had Turkey been master of her own destinies and not at the mercy of the Germans and their tool, Envcr, had she any great reason to trust the goodwill of the Entente, and especially Russia, her old enemy ?
(4) Had she not 0-he following series of events fresh before her eyes? (a) The Tripoli War and our non-interference —apart from protests from British and American journalists— with Italian barbarities (or were they only Amritsar " methods of necessity "?). (b) The famous status quo ante declaration prior to the Balkan War by which no one was to profit terri- torially; but when, instead of Turkey winning as had been ex- pected, the Balkan States had a walk-over, they were allowed to do what they liked with the stricken MuslimPower because they were " Christian "—I forbear to refer to what " Christian" really means; it suffices to say that the Balkan States have not those qualifications. (c) The proposal by Sir Edward Grey that Mytileno and Chioe, left by Turkey to the sense of justice of the Council of Ambassadors to deal with, should be given to Greece in return for concessions by the latter in Albania—the then pet of Europe! And (d) the refusal by the British Government to lend Turkey advisers to reorganize the Eastern Vilayets because Russia, who was all along stirring up trouble amongst the Armenians in the same way that Germany did amongst the Irish, did not want " Armenia " pacified. With all this in mind the final blow of the very tact- less (though legally justifiable) seizure of the Rechadieh ' and the Sultan Osman '—ships in very truth built with the savings of the poor and representing almost the last limit of patriotio sacrifice—convinced almost every one that the Entente could not help Turkey against Russia, and, moreover, did not seem to have much goodwill.
(5) In what way dose the Armenian business, the fierce and savage putting down of a revolt in war time engineered from Russia, differ from General Dyer's massacre of civilians at Amritsar or the repressive measures used against Ireland when the latter was the tool of German intrigue ? In all oases many innocent lives were lost, and in no case should an innocent man, woman, or child suffer. To say that such-and-such a
eourse of brutal action was necessary " to avoid worse evils," or " because the security of the State demanded it," is to take a leaf out of the Germans' book, and would, in pure logic, justify the sinking of the Lusitania ' and other horrors.
(6) Does the Entente abandon the theory of self-determina- tion, or does it intend to apply it, irrespective of religious prejudices ? If Moslems are not to benefit by this doctrine, it would be more honest of our politicians to say so. If we do intend to apply it—as in honour bound we must in view of our oft-repeated statement of our intentions fo end the system of " might is right," and especially in view of Mr. Lloyd George's pledge that " England was not fighting to deprive Turkey of its capital nor of the rich and renowned lands of Asia Minor and Thrace which are predominantly Turkish in race "—then let an impartial census of the populations of Constantinople and Smyrna be taken and let the majority choose the Government they desire. What can the partisans of justice, "liberty of the small nations," &c., &c., say to this eminently reasonable proposal?
(7) Why is it impossible to get a bearing for the also very reasonable plea that the whole of the "Armenian massacres" clamour, and the very remarkable figures quoted—on no apparent solid authority—by the Archbishop of Canterbury recently of various lots of 600,000 (curious that oll should be 00,000, is it not?)—should be investigated by an impartial Com- mission of British and American jurists to see " who began. it a ncl• why " ?
(8) Why are Turkish houses and property, belonging to people otherwise not accused or suspected of anything, being seized and occupied in Constantinople instead of on an equal basis with those belonging to other races ? Why this dead-set against everything Turkish and Moslem ? Is it wise policy ?
(9) We are making trouble for ourselves, and the sooner those in power here realize the ignoble and base role we are lending ourselves to the better for the whole world in general and the British Empire in particular. Every real patriot wishes to see us again in our old character of the fearless defenders of justice, . and not as the catspaws of intriguing " Christian " races working through our Prussianized Governnient Departments.
(10) Our reputation was, and still should be, bared on the policy we had of free speech and equal liberty for all irrespec- tive of creed or race. This well-deserved reputation caused the Englishman to be honoured by all, and facilitated our rule over the greatest Moslem Empire on earth. But it is a fact that, as Colonel Aubrey Herbert stated some little while back in the House, those races which loyally kept quiet when their revolt would have Lem most serious to us are those who now, at the sight of our " scrap of paper " policy, are going to cause us more harm than can be imagined.
Does some extraordinary and deadly malady affect our rulers and make them unable to see the manifold perils already around us ? They are blind to the ruinous extravagance still shown by Government Departments and to the nation's impos- sible financial position; they cannot see the stupidity of expecting Germany to pay staggering war debts (not that she ought not to suffer for her deliberate act) if we take away from her the liberty to trade and produce; they demobilized before settling the Bolshevik nightmare, and now are absolutely in a mental fog as to what to do. Now, as a crowning piece of lunacy, they are going the best way to throw the Turks and most of the Moslem population of the world into the arms of the Bolsheviks by their apparent inability to eee that promises
made in war time must be kept if we expect to retain any right of honour from Eastern nations.—I am, Sir, &c.,
A. P. Timms A.I.A.
[The secret Treaty between Germany and Turkey was signed at Constantinople on August 2nd, 1914. The arrival of the Goshen' and Breslau' on August 11th therefore did not push the Turks into the war. They had already made their decision. —ED. Spectator.]
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