THE ARMENIAN ATROCITIES.*

WHY should the Turks alone of pagan Powers be licensed to kill, rob, and outrage Christian men and women ? If the things done in Turkey were done by China or by Japan, or by any other non-Christian State, all the world would be in a blaze. As it is, people seem inclined to regard the nameless atrocities committed on the Armenians as if they were inevit- able and irremediable,—events to be deplored, no doubt, but to be endured, like a flood or an earthquake, as beyond human oontrol. What right have we to interfere with the internal affairs of the Porte ? That is the hopeless question which • Xngland's Responsibility Towards Armenia. By the Rev. Malcolm blacColl, ILL.. Canon of /linos. Lond...n Longman,, Green. and C/o. 1885.

thousands of good-hearted people seem to consider settles the problem of Turkish misrule. No doubt, in the ease of many States, pagan and Christian, the point of view repre- sented by this question is a reasonable and legitimate one. We cannot be policemen for the world at large. In the case of Turkey, however, it does not and cannot apply. We and the rest of Europe have a right, and not only a right but a duty, to interfere with the internal affairs of Turkey in respect of the Christian population. By means of clear and specific clauses contained in formal and solemn treaties, and by a whole series of diplomatic precedents, Europe has taken upon herself the protection of the Christian population of the Turkish Empire. Atrocities committed by the Turks on Christians constitute an international question, and by international law Europe has as good a right to protect the Armenians as to maintain the jurisdiction of the Con-

sular Courts at Constantinople. Rightly or wrongly, the misgovernment of the Turk in respect of Christians is an international, not an internal, question. To talk, then, as if Europe had no locus standi from which to require better government in Armenia is to misunderstand the condition of

international law. But beyond the duty thus shared with the rest of Europe, England has a special treaty obligation. Under the Treaty of Berlin we undertook a particular re- sponsibility in regard to the Christians of Armenia.

If any one still needs to be convinced that, besides an abstract right to force the Porte to treat the Armenians pro- perly, there exists a practical need for action, let him read Canon IlacColl's pamphlet on Armenia. And here let us say that the pamphlet is not merely Canon MacColl's personal view of the matter. If it were that, there might be an excuse for dismissing it as the speech for the prosecu- tion. The operative part is a series of extracts from Blue- books and Consular reports dealing with the Armenian atrocities. The greater part of the book is, in fact, direct evidence from impartial sources showing the treatment accorded to the Christians of Asia Minor. A more horrible story of lust, cruelty, and wrong it is impossible to imagine.

We will not, however, characterise the atrocities further, for in these matters strong language is a great non-con- ductor of sympathy, and we want to preserve every spark of sympathy for the Armenian cause. It may be said generally

that Canon MacColl proves five propositions up to the hilt. We will give them, bat in our own words :— (1.) That outrages of the most diabolical kind have not only taken place, but are part and parcel of the daily and hourly sufferings to which the Armenian Chris- tians are subjected.

(2.) That these outrages are not merely incidental to the savagery of the country, or to the general anarchy prevailing in the Turkish Empire, but are sanctioned, encouraged, and condoned, if not indeed ordered, by the Porte.

(3.) That the Armenians have not given any excuse for the atrocities by plots or conspiracies. The plots, such as they are, spring from the outrages, not the outrages from the plots.

(4 ) That Europe has the right to protect the Christians.

(5.) That a remedy which would be effectual can be applied if only Europe will demand it.

We cannot illustrate all these points by quotation, but we will emphasise one or two of them. We will give one case out of a hundred to show what is meant by Armenian atrocities,— a case which, though less sensational, involves perhaps even more suffering than the slaughter-pits of Sassoon:—

"Under date of March 7, 1891, the British Consul at Erzeroum writes as follows of Hussein Agha, Mudir [i.e, district governor]

of Patnoss ' Fifteen days ago Hussein, with his nephew, entered by night the house of an Armenian, named Caspar, in Patnoss, with the intention of carrying off Caspar's daughter-in- law, a very beautiful young woman. The inhabitants of the house cried out for help, on which Hussein drew his revolver and fired, killing the woman on the spot.' 'No steps have been taken to punish this crime I am assured, moreover,

that thirty witnesses could be produced to testify to every one of the crimes alleged [this was only one out of many of this Mudir's outrages on the Armenians of his district], both those now reported and those which I have previously brought to your Excellency's notice. At present, protected as he is supposed to be by the authorities, no one dares to raise a voice against him. Such is the terror that he now inspires that the Murakhass (Armenian Bishop) of Alashgerd has fled to Bayazid."

Mark that this, like countless other outrages, is not one per- petrated by" irregulars," but by the head officer of the district. Before leaving the subject of the outrages, we desire to put on record our disbelief in the policy of not printing and pub- lishing the worst cases of Turkish atrocity because they have to do with the horrors of unnatural vice. These horrors are, as a rule, most rightly considered unspeakable; but we hold that in the present case their publication would do no harm, and might do a great deal of good in rousing feeling in England. Most certainly these cases should not be omitted from the Consular reports. If they are, the true condition of things is concealed. After giving one more instance of the way the Turks rule Armenia, taken from the Report of our Consul at Erzeroum, we will pass on to the question of a

remedy :--

"In regard to the affray between Kurds and Armenians at Vartennis, reported by Consul Lloyd in his despatch of August 21 last, and its inclosure Vice-Consul Devey's despatch of August 19, which arose from an attempt of the Kurds to carry off an Armenian bride, and in which two Kurds and an Armenian lost their lives, I have now the honour to inform your Excellency that of the Armenians arrested and imprisoned at Mush on account of this affair seventeen have been condemned to fifteen years' imprison- ment. No steps have been taken to punish the Kurds concerned in the attack. Nine Armenians out of seventeen from Kupri- Seth, and seven or eight from Alashgird, have been in prison here for the last three or four months on vague charges of sedi- tion. To show your Excellency the ridiculous charges on which Christians are imprisoned, I quote the following case. 'A young Armenian, who recently came here from the Russian frontier, is now in prison, the only accusation against him being that a paper was found in his possession on which were written the names of the villages at which he stopped during his journey."

Note that the men who defended the bride get seventeen years' imprisonment each. Their assailants are not even prosecuted. In regard to the question of what is to be done, we will quote Canon MacColl's own words, noting, however, that in regard to the facts we have not quoted him once, but have relied solely on his excerpts from Consular Reports. After declaring, and rightly, that Turkish promises are utterly valueless, Canon MacColl continues :—

"The precedent of the Lebanon must, therefore be followed—I trust with more generosity towards the Christians. A Constitution must be drawn up for Armenia by someone acting on behalf of the Great Powers, or those of them who have already intervened in this matter; and that Constitution must insist, as a minimum, on the appointment of a Christian Governor of Armenia, provided with some sort of force to maintain order, the Governor either to be appointed direct by the Powers, or subject to their approval, and irremovable without their sanction. Anything short of this would be a farce, and if England is not prepared to go so far, she had better wash her hands of tho whole business, and frankly repudiate treaty engagements which she is not prepared to fulfil. Her present position is dishonourable and humiliating in the highest degree. And it is the nation collectively, let me repeat, which is in this humiliating position, and not this or that political party. But I shall be told that there are difficulties in the way of my proposal. Of course there are difficulties. But what 18 statesmanship for but to solve or to surmount difficulties ? And when the difficulties are faced they will probably be found far less formidable in fact than in the region of nervous imaginations. Take, for instance, the question of mixed races and creeds. Well! In matter of fact, all races and creeds suffer cruelly from Turkish mala.dministration—so much so, indeed, that at least one tribe of Kurds some time ago made overtures to the most hardy and waxlike of the Armenian Christians for concerted action to overthrow the Turkish tyranny. A Christian Governor, not under the orders of the Sultan, can do justice to all creeds and races. A Musulman Governor cannot; he is bound to act in conformity with the tenets of the Sacred Law, which denies equality of rights to the non-Mnsulman. The Yezides, a pagan tribe in Asia Minor, are under the same disabilities as the Christians, and exposed to the same massacres and outrages. These would cordially welcome a Christian Governor."

In order to force the Sultan to comply, Canon MacColl would act as follows :—

"If the British Government were quietly to intimate to the Sultan that, unless he accepted the plan offered him for the Government of Armenia, an English fleet would appear on the coast of Arabia, the Sultan, who is very astute, would understand the significance cf the demonstration, and would avert it by a timely concession."

Here we must leave Canon MacColl's pamphlet ; but before we do so, we must congratulate him on a public service accomplished. His part in bringing the matter before the British public has been wholly disinterested and sincere. We specially welcome his resolve to keep the whole question clear of party considerations.