The Daily News. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 1905. THE TARTAR REVOLT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7928, 18 September 1905, Page 2

The Daily News. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 1905. THE TARTAR REVOLT.

From time immemorial Trans-Cau-casia, in the south-east of Russia, has been the scene of massacre, pillage, and every form of destruction of .life and property known to saviifeu or seini-barbarous people. From no Place on earth have there aiisen such horrorij, ami probably no race lias such an infamous , record of cruelties us that which attaches to the Tartars. Tin; news which has come to hainl of the appalling massacres of Armenians is but another instance of the awful ferocity and inhumanity of these frantic Tartars, who, once roused, are relentless in their cruelty. Although,Turke.v holds sway over the greater portion of Armenia, Russia has many Armenian subjects, ami tile position of affairs is somewhat complicated. The Armenians have developed an extra-

ordinary capacity for manufacturing bombs ami infernal machines, and, right lv or wrongly, are accredited Turkish officials with thy attack re I cently made on the life of the Sultan, and, needless to say, have suffered considerably iu consequence, ihe present rising in the Caucasus certainly can:o as a surprise, as it was considered that the acute stage of the ferment ami revolt which since lUOB bad been raging in that district, owing to the action of tho C/«ir in takingVover the Armenian Church property, hud passed off, the C/.ar having restored that property and the Armenians to open their schools. Suddenly news' of a peasant rising ctinc to hand arising out of the seizure hy a landlord of his proportion of the tenants' crops, and the knout wielding and bayonet thrusting Cossacks wore sent to suppress the turmoil. This seems have acted as a lighted match to gunpowder, and matters have day by day grown worse. The Baku riots ami outraj,Vs arc set down by the chief oil owner as being the outcome of a political labour war ami the need for reforms, the cry for which has been unheeded by the Russian Government. With what has all the appearance of grim »tiro, it is stated that "the Government relied ou the Conservative Tartar dement to check the actively troublesome Kussians and Armenians, whereas the Tartars were the first to fire the wells." AVith the knuwledfe* wo possess ,of Ityi6ijfan methods, the statement ' quoted bears a strong imprests o( truth, ami it is easy to iimierstamt the > willingness of the ltussian officials to give the Tartars a task' congeni- i al to them, knowing full well that j they would do their 1/est to sweep the Armenians off the face of the earth. Subsccjucnl events have proved that the Tartars have thoroughly maintained their t»vil reputation. It -does not, however, at all i folk w that tins out burst of Tartar j ferocity was in any way connected , with any labour -war or criw for re-: forms, as it may far more altrijmlable to revenge. H appears from anothen cable message that ever 1 since the great Armenian massacres which occurred at Constantinople in 18UG thirty thousand starving AH menians entered the Caucasus, ousting the Tartars from employment, a further grievance Iruing that the Ar-.j mt-nians were giv t -u prrfereno* in the j alio'mt'iit of land, and received J er wages than the Tartar*, whose 1 irritation has been long pent up to I break forth with such awful results. | At last, however, the Czar has. apparently, btvu aroused to action ami j ordered troops to be concentrated at | the oil wells, and a protective police ; force to In? ionr/ii there. This may saw Ihe oil producers from iblack-I mail, but ii will nut pjrvhjc homes ; for the t• *n.s oi .thousands of Armenians remN'tvd hcmeless Uy the ! Tartiirs. nor restore the millions of pounds worth of prop.-rU that has been destroyed, not' recall to life the

mar.glr'l ivmains of tl»i« multitude tthn have b«vii slaughtered. To th« t-»\world the sin**lrtcle is one, thai 1s ivjhiJmw in the i/xlivine. ujkl \et protasis ore unavailing, Europe can look on the scorn* and be lired with rig-htcuns indignation, >but must not lilt a tfngpr to remedy the 'nil. Vntil thu autocratic rule in Itussia is supcrsedul by government "by th*' j>eople there is no hope for an iiu.prowment, hut event* are marching upace. ami the <ls\y may not Ik- far distant when the millions of the North will enjoy Hjg freedom which thvv are in>W: striving ti> iil.to'm.Possibly the HlrugglG wiill severe, hut tho daw?i of a new era for ito« oppressed children of the C/ar will lie hailed with gladness 'by the civiJiaii world.

OX THE Font™ PAGE, The Storyteller.