TURKEY.

Taranaki Daily News, 29 January 1916, Page 5

TURKEY.

A CORRESPONDENT'S STORY. OF A ;VISIT TO CONSTANTINOPLE. £ TALK WITH ENVER PASHA. London, Jan. 27. The Daffy Mail's correspondent cabled yesterday:—"l travelled from Sofia to Constantinople in' the German Balkan express. It is the handsomest train in Europe, with the name blazoned on the carriages in three-feet letters in order to impress the Bulgars and Turks. I found an alarming dearth of necessities in Constantinople, and prices are exorbitant. There is no coal, and nearly, all the shops are closed. It is untrue that there are fifty thousand German troops in Constantinople, but the ten thousand there are all first-rate." The correspondent attended the celebration of Gallipoli Day. The town was gay with flags, and mobs paraded the streets waving banners, but the victory was dearly bought. He saw an endless procession of wounded men filling the tramcars, vehicles, and motors. The correspondent interviewed Halil Bey, Foreign Minister, who said that Germany would make Turkey wealthy, prosperous and enterprising, as she had made Roumania. The correspondent persuaded Halil Bey to introduce Mm to Enver Pasha, who was a real dandy. He asked Enver'if it was true that England was prepared to make a separate peace with Turkey. Enver said it was too late. The Entente might have bad that design, and might have succeeded, but the Turks learned that the Entente designed to give Constantinople to Russia. He added that if the English had had the courage to rush more ships through the Dardanelles they could have reached Constantinople. The delay enabled us to fortify Gallipoli. We took two hundred Austrian guns thither in six weeks, but if the English had reached Constantinople there would only have been an impasse, because we should have retired Minor and the English would not have destroyed Constantinople.

Enver concluded: "With the Germans' help we can strike the British Empire through the Suez Canal. Our motto is 'To Egypt."' The correspondent learned that the Germans intended to destroy the canal from end to end and fill it up with sand. The Germans generally admitted that they had no chance of reaching Paris, but, having walled off the British and French armies, they feel they can operate freely in the East. Officers admire the 1 fighting capacity of British soldiers, and said, "We wish we had British, Australians and Canadians to command."

In Constantinople the theatres, cafes and cinemas are closed. The only mean 3 of journeying at night is by the use of small electric torches. The money position is extraordinary. Gold, silver, and official Turkish paper money are very short. As a substitute Turkish note's are issued, ostensibly of the face value of 173 6d; these realise 12s 6d.