TURKEY AND ENGLAND.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 1938, 11 February 1919, Page 4

TURKEY AND ENGLAND.

NEW SULTAN’S DEFENCE. ENTRY INTO WAR “UNWISE.” HEARTBROKEN AT MASSACRES. An audience was recently obtained with the Sultan of Turkey by the Constantinople correspondent of the London Morning Post. The new Sultan, he writes, is a very different man from his two brothers who were on the throne before him. The character of Abdul Hamid is well remembered. Ilis successor, Mehmed Reshid, was an amiable but ineffective invalid. But the youngest of the three, Sultan Mehmed Vahid-Ed-in, is of another personality, and one that conveys an impression of strong character and considerable intellectual force. He is a rather tall man of 5(1, with a spare, slender frame, a slight stoop, and the face of a student.

I had made a request to put three special questions before the Sultan, dealing with the chief matters at issue between Turkey and the Allies, and to each of them he answered. The subject of the first was the way in which Turkey came to lake part in the war against ns. “The participation of Turkey in the war,” his Majesty replied, “came about by what amounted to an accident, if we had taken seriously into consideration our political situation, our geographical position, and our national interests, it would have been clear that this step was utterly unwise, .Unfortunately the lack of foresight of the Government of the country at the time led ns on, and has brought us to this calamity. If I myself had been upon (he throne this sad occurrence would never have happened.” “JUSTICE WILL BE DONE.” “The old feeling of friendliness that had existed in England towards the Turks did not immediately die out when the war began,” 1 said. “But the massacres of the Armenians profoundly changed the sentiments of Englishmen towards Turkey.” “It was with great sorrow 1 learnt of the treatment which certain political committees iu Turkey instigated against the Armenians,” replied the Sultan. “Such misdeeds and the mutual slaughter I hat occurred between sons of the same Fatherland have broken my heart. As soon as I came to the throne 1 ordered an inquiry to be made, so that (he fomenlers of these troubles might be punished with the greatest severity. Various factors prevented my commands being promptly carried out. But now this mailer is being thoroughly gone into and followed up. Justice will soon he done, and we shall never have a repetition of such ugly events.”

TREATMENT OF PRISONERS. “And the other matter which lias caused great indignation in England is the maltreatment of our prisoners in Turkey.” “Of (hat I have heard nothing,”, was the answer, “but 1 will immedi-j a.lely order inquiry to be made a-* bout it. If (lie eumpiaiiits arc based on the shortage of food it must be remembered (hat our own soldiers, 100, suffered greatly from lack of nourishment, and were half-starved owing to the insufficient communications of the country. I inherited from my father, Sultan Abdul Medjid, the ally of England in the Crimean War,” the Sultan went on, “a strong feeling of affection and admiration for the English nation. Now that 1 am on the throne 1 shall consequently do my best to renew and strengthen the old friendly relations between my country and Great Britain, 1 venture to hope your noble nation will reeiprocate these feelings toward my people, of whom, remember,” added the Sultan emphatically, “the great majority are entirely innocent of what has been done. The mass of the Turkish nation feels as I say towards England, or even more strongly. 1 ask you, as a man of honour, to declare to the people of England that the greater part of my nation lias had no share in the misdeeds that are attributed to it, and that it is only a limited number of persons who are responsible for them. These words come from my heart,” the • Sultan said. “Not only as sovereign, but for 40 years as an impartial man, free from prejudice, and bones! in judgment. . Make inquiry in (he country, and you will hear this is so, I have spoken to you frankly and sincerely in answer to the questions you put before me.”