[¹] European.
The country was, no doubt, very badly in need of material improvements: roads and canals are generally the initial work of a renewed civilization. But the real basis of improvement is confidence in the Government, and the guarantee of undisturbed ownership of property. Such confidence cannot exist without impartial courts and sensible laws. The most capable judge could not do justice according to the Koran, while the codes of Justinian and Napoleon were unavailing so long as the longest purse was the best argument.
It was therefore the duty of the Western Powers to consider how justice might be administered so as to encourage both the native and the settler to join in the work of amelioration. Few thinking men had visited the East without formulating some plan for supplying this first and greatest want. The general conclusion was based on the supposition of the necessity for continuing the “Capitulations.” It was supposed to be impossible for strangers to submit themselves to the authority of the monarch who ruled the land; and indeed the experience of the native courts, and the fact that no man ventured to undertake any commercial business without security, naturally suggested foreign protection. More than one traveller, therefore, recommended that a code of laws should be agreed to by the Great Powers, and that in every seaport French, English, etc., judges should decide such cases as involved the liberty or property of Europeans. Such a system was regarded as being superior to the earlier ineffective regulations. But, on the other hand, it was held that such an expedient should only be resorted to temporarily.
Turkey had already suffered greatly through the power of European Embassies and their enmity towards one another. The Western Powers did not forget that they had gone to war for the independence and integrity of the Ottoman Empire. They knew that a mixed court sitting in its capital to try foreigners was a thing that no high-spirited nation would permit, and that, if circumstances made it necessary to demand jurisdiction for foreigners in the capital of the Sultan, that could only be until the elements of a better state of things came into being. The Powers had, therefore, to look forward to a time when Turkey would stand alone, and all protection and jurisdiction in the way of Capitulations would cease to exist. A well-framed code of laws suited to all races and religions, administered by well-educated men, and obeyed by native and foreigner alike, was the ideal object for which the supporters of Turkey had to work. The sovereign of the country must be at the head of this system and supreme in his own dominions. Although such a scheme was deemed visionary at that time, and the gap had to be filled by “mixed” courts, yet public opinion in England thought that nothing should be done that could prevent the subsequent establishment of the better system. It was also believed that if a suitable legal system were set up, men might be found in England, France and other countries to administer it successfully. But it was admitted on all hands that the judicial system of Turkey deserved the immediate attention of thinking politicians; that questions of taxation and the tenure of land were especially interesting in view of the increasing commerce with the East and of possible developments in the matter of immigration; that nothing that could throw light on the causes of Turkish decay should be neglected; and that the absence of good laws and security was the first obstacle to improvement, and should therefore be the first thought of the statesman and philanthropist.
Here we see all the elements of the political Zionist problem. All this development prepared the way for the idea of the protection of the Jews in the East, and gave a powerful stimulus to projects for the colonization of Palestine by the Jews.
In the spring of 1853 the Russian Government submitted to the Porte, through Prince A. S. Menschikoff (1787–1869), an ultimatum in regard to the Greek Christians and other matters. England and France prepared to support Sultan Abdul Medjid against Russia, and stationed their fleets in Bezika Bay. In July the Russian forces advanced into the Danubian principalities. On October 4th, 1853, Turkey declared war. The English and French fleets thereupon passed through the Dardanelles. On March 12th, 1854, France and Great Britain concluded an alliance with Turkey, and two weeks later they declared war against Russia. At the beginning of October the Allies began the regular siege of Sebastopol. Sardinia joined the Allies in January, 1855. Meanwhile the Emperor Nicholas I. died,[¹] and Alexander II. acceded to the throne. On November 8th Sebastopol fell into the hands of the Allies.
[¹] Feb. 18, 1855 [o.s.].
The Western Powers completed the occupation of Turkey within two years; but the reforms, of which they spoke so much, were still to come. Turkey remained what it was in internal rule and mismanagement. Fear may have controlled the abuses of fanaticism, despair may have destroyed whatever remained of national pride; but the abuses which ages had fostered still prevailed. Now the social regeneration of the Ottoman State was part of the legitimate policy of the Western Powers. The presence of large foreign armies had broken down the pride of the Mussulmans, or enforced its concealment; the Sultan, though less exposed to the vagaries of diplomatists, had become more responsible to the European States and the brotherhood of sovereigns among whom he now held a place; the Turk himself, in spite of courage and a certain amount of dignity, was degenerating day by day, through want of modern culture; the Christian tribes were increasing in numbers and power; the merchants of Constantinople, Smyrna, and Alexandria were growing rich with British gold, while British enterprise seemed to be surely, though gradually, adding the Sultan’s empire to the area of its wide activities.
Justice, humanity, England’s promises, the arguments with which she had opposed her enemies, demanded that her tutelage should not suddenly cease. She and France were now the protectors of the Ottoman territory and its outlying provinces; they were the masters of every military position; every sea was traversed by their fleets; every port was full of the merchandize required for their vast armies. Nor was their supremacy one of force alone. Whatever may have been the feelings aroused by their policy, each class and creed had learned to respect their motives and to acquiesce in their presence. Whatever may have been thought on racial and religious grounds, certainly material interests in the end prevailed over every other. Every business man saw clearly that his own prosperity was enhanced by the presence of two wealthy nations, in need of large and constant supplies, and willing to pay liberally and at once. In their hearts they had no wish to be again reduced to a miserable traffic with their own bankrupt Government, or with the poverty-stricken towns of the Turkish and Persian interior. The peasants who tilled the ground had gained wherever local tyranny did not rob them of the just rewards of their labour. The landed proprietor had also become wealthy, and had no reason to regret the Western crusade, which gave his possessions a fourfold value. So tangible was the advantage, and so soon did the Turks acquiesce in what affected only their patriotism and self-esteem, that it was doubtful whether even the most bigoted Mussulman wanted the evacuation of the country by the Allied armies. Englishmen, of course, looked upon the advancement of Turkey in a different light from that in which it was seen by its own people. Still, even Englishmen could not fail to realize that if they withdrew there was no doubt that the old stagnation would immediately return, and that it would even become worse than before, for old fame and the habit of command kept the Mussulman in his pre-eminence, while the “Rajah” was accustomed to obey, and the foreigner was a mere sojourner, who cared for nothing but his own peace and prosperity. Now all was changed: the Turk was still master, without the authority to rule; the Christian was without rights, but had felt his power; while every country had its adventurers or capitalists in the land, each with his own scheme launched or prospective, and all agreeing in the demand that this rich land should no longer be the heritage of sloth and fatuity.
Peace was signed at Paris—where a Congress of the Powers had been in session—on March 30th, 1856. The integrity of the Ottoman Empire was guaranteed by the Powers; reforms were promised by the Sultan; Russia renounced her protectorate over the Danubian principalities, and ceded a strip of Bessarabia to Moldavia; the Black Sea was neutralized. The Congress united in the “Declaration of Paris,” which laid down some principles of international law.