The Sultan celebrated the jubilee of his accession on Sep-
tember 1st. His Majesty did not venture to appear in public, but he received presents and congratulations from most of the Powers of the world. All the Ambassadors were present at his reception, and most of them went out of their way to make the illuminations splendid. The Czar sent a jasper clock, M. Loubet some Sevres porcelain, and the German Emperor a quantity of photo- graphs of Palestine, probably taken by himself, or at his special orders. A good deal is said about the degradation involved in all this worship of the tyrant who sanctioned the Armenian massacres, and undoubtedly there is something revolting in the representatives of civilisation waiting reveren- tially upon a man so stained with innocent blood. It must be remembered, however, that it was their duty to wait, and that it is most difficult, indeed impossible. for an Ambassador to refuse ceremonial courtesies to a Sovereign and yet remain accredited to his Court. The guilt, so far as there is guilt, attaches to those who, for purely political reasons, prevented this country from performing its duty, and punishing the Armenian massacres, which, there can hardly be a doubt, strengthened the throne of the Sultan. It is not from horror but from admiration that the Turks give to their Sultans the title of "Blood-drinker."
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