AFFAIRS IN TURKEY.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9173, 24 August 1908, Page 5

AFFAIRS IN TURKEY.

THE REFORM MOVEMENT. LONDON, August 21. Reuter's Agency reports that the Turkish Government has resolved to engage a British officer to reorganise tl e navy, and a French adviser to renabilitate the finances. "It is his Majesty the Sultan's voluntary gift." So said the Australian Consul for Turkey, Esper ' Nassoor-Bey, when approached upon \ the subject of Turkey's new constitution. "It will, 1 think, be a great thing for Turkey. By this gracious gift of His Majt-sty to the nation, a new and important factor in European politics is create.). Tne face of things is changed, and doubtless the calculations of Europe are upset. The future will present many difficult problems. In Turkey the position will, I should judge, be very much on the same lines as Russia. There are in Russia the two extremes—the very highly educated, and the grossly ignorant. That is one of the difficulties that .Turkey will have to contend with. How to reconcile the interests of the two is a real and important quescion. The Turkish Constitution, I take it, will have some resemblance to the Russian. His Majesty the Sultan, .in his wisdom, doubtless has been watching the progress of events in constitutional Russia. He may have based his ideas on what Russia has done. But I cannot say that. I do not know, having not yet received any official advices. In many respects, Russia has similar problems to Turkey; and that is my reason for supposing that the Turkish Constitution will be on the lines similar to the Russian. In Turkey we have a large admixture of races with clashing interests, and Iso has Russia. I think, to the | majority of th-i Turkish people, the new Constitution will be most acceptable. Patience will be an admirable virtue in the development of events. The ignorant masses will expect much quickly. Thev will find it difficult to understand that important reforms cannot be accomplished in a day. As in Russia, they will have to be educated up to the new order of things. But at the outset they cannut fail to see that His Majesty has made very great concessions, and that should have a steadying effect on the progress of events. The most important fact in the present situation is that the right man is at the right place at the right moment. In Said Pasta, the Grand Vizier, his Majesty the Sultan will have at the head of the first Government a courteous gent'eman of brilliant intellect, probity, and undoubted capacity."