THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28, 1909. THE EXPLOSION IN TURKEY.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 3175, 28 April 1909, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28, 1909. THE EXPLOSION IN TURKEY.

Amid much that is obscure in the present situation in Turkey, which is so serious that the money markets of Europe reflect the prevailing sense of disquietude, one point is clear, namely, that the immediate cause of the military revolt against the Government was the issue of orders which, in the opinion of the troops, violated the letter and spirit of the Sacred Law of Mohammedanism. The difficulty, that is to say, of introducing Western ideas of government by means of representative institutions without at the same time doing irrep arable violence to the susceptibilities of strict Mohammedans, has come to a head. The revolt was due to the belief w,hich was entertained by the rank and file of the First Army Corps at Constantinople—not by the officers —'that the Young Turks, who were supreme in the Government had forgoteten the precepts of the Koran in their desire to establish the new political regime. The wrecking of the Young Turk newspaper offices, and the assassination of the editors, as well as the attacks on the members of the late Government, show the fanatical feeling exhibited by the troops in revolt. It is hinted by the Austrian Press that Che Sultan himself is at the bottom of the insurrection. It is very certain at anyrate that he is in sympathy with it, sinpa the troops have declared against the limitation of his prestige as Caliph. But if the Sultan was the secret instigator of the leaders of the League of Mahomed, who pro ipted the movement among the troops, it is highly probable that Abd-ul-Hamid himself did not act without the promptings of the diplomatic representatives in Constantinople of the two Powers which lost so much by the abofition of the Sultan's autocracy, and which stand to gain so much by internal disturbances that may imperil the future of constitutionalism in Turkey, and possibly give Austria an excuse for gaining access to the much-coveted port of Salonica without further delay. Professor Vambery, in discussing the difficulties in front of the reformers in Turkey, has some significant observations on the religious problem. "We have to keep in view," he

says, "how all powerful and all inclusive is the influence of Islam over every action and emotion of life by its fanatical upholding of the doctrine of future retribution. The pious Moselrn must strictly adhere to all the precepts of the Koran and the Sunna, not only in his intercourse with the Deity, but in all the phases and points of everyday life. Bearing this in mind, we shall not so lightly look upon the Turkish Constitution as the wonder-working elixir by means of which the old evils of the Ottoman Empire will abruptly be eradicated and State and society made new again. Politicians may nurse this illusion, but the impartial inquirer must respect the truth, and he may not ignore or purposely conceal the enormous difficulties with which the work of regeneration in Turkey is fraught.'' The learned professor appears to have been an intelligent anticipator of events in this utterance. It is also not unlikely that the desperate condition of Persia, where the forces of reaction have gained the upper hand after a brief period of parliamentary government, has had an affect in precipitating the revolt in Turkey. The remarkable telepathic influence of such movements in Eastern countries is a well-known phenomenon. As the sudden appearance of triumphant liberalism in Persia was followed by the coming of the Constitution in ' Turkey so the ascendancy of the Shah's autocratic power at Teheran and at Tabriz has been followed by the downfall of the leaders of the committee of union and progress at Constantinople. The triumph of the League of Mahomed at Constantinople is not unlikely to be followed by fresh stirrings of nationalism in India and in Egypt. A Turkish crisis that [ might give Austria an excuse for making another step forward in the direction of Salonica would be a logical consequence of the recent victory of the Uerman-Austrian coali- , tion over M. Isvolsky.