The Great Round World and What Is Going On In It, Vol. 1, No. 44, September 9, 1897 | Page 3

on the bank was followed by the calling out of the palace guard and the closing of all the entrances to the palace.
A rumor was then spread abroad that another bomb had been found within the palace grounds, and that yet another had been found that was intended to blow up the Police Headquarters.
When the news of these various outrages was noised abroad the people were panic-stricken.
Crowds of Turks rushed from their homes, anxious to defend their city and their Sultan, and, armed with sticks, they hurried through the streets, not knowing where to go, or what to do first.
Alarmed lest their good intentions should lead them into acts of violence, and that Constantinople would be plunged into the horrors of riot and mob rule, the police and patrols ordered the men back to their homes, severely clubbing those who were slow to obey.
Soon the streets were given over to the soldiers, and not a soul was to be seen abroad but those connected with the guards and patrols.
When the streets were cleared, the police made a search of the Armenian quarter, and many suspicious characters were arrested.
The certainty that these outrages were the work of Armenians has roused the Mohammedan population to fresh fury, and a repetition of the massacres of last year is feared.
The better class of Armenians in Constantinople denounce the shameful deeds, and are enraged at the men who have once more turned the wrath of the Turks against the unhappy Christians in the Sultan's domains.
There is a feeling of great uneasiness throughout the city, the Turks fearing that more dynamite bombs will be thrown, and the Armenians that the mob will take a hideous vengeance for the outrage.
In the midst of all this danger and confusion, the foreign ambassadors are endeavoring to arrange for the treaty of peace between Greece and Turkey.
The peace negotiations seem, however, to be at a standstill.
The protests of Greece against Germany's proposal that her treasury be controlled until the war indemnity should be paid, finally aroused England to action.
It was further proposed, if you remember, that the Turkish troops were not to be withdrawn from Thessaly until the last pound had been paid; it was also suggested that a regiment or two at a time should leave, as the debt was paid off, but that Thessaly should be held by the Turks as a guarantee that Greece would pay.
The other Powers, apparently forgetting that they had sent ultimatums to Turkey on this subject, finally agreed that the Turkish troops should stay; but England refused point-blank to listen to any such scheme.
Lord Salisbury, the English Prime Minister, said that whether the war indemnity be paid or not, the Turkish troops must at once leave Thessaly. He declared firmly that he would permit no other settlement of the question, and that rather than allow the Turks to remain longer on Greek soil, England would break up the concert of the Powers, and take the consequences.
These were very brave words, and highly pleasing to the national pride and spirit of England, but the other Powers were indignant that England should take such a stand. They pretended to forget the angry despatches which they had sent on this very same subject, and the times they had refused to carry on further negotiations unless the Sultan consented to withdraw from Thessaly, and appeared to think that it was the duty of England to agree with them, no matter how often they changed their minds.
England alone seemed clearly to see that the consent of the Powers to this infamous scheme was only the result of the Sultan's wearisome delays, which after fourteen weeks of unprofitable haggling and bargaining have made the ambassadors anxious to get the matter settled one way or another, and be rid of the Sultan and his diplomacy.
England stated her reasons for refusing to agree with the other Powers. She said that the war indemnity demanded by Turkey was so large that Greece could never pay it, and that the Turkish occupation of Thessaly until the debt was settled really meant that Thessaly was to be ceded to Turkey.
As we have said, the English were very pleased over the stand Lord Salisbury had taken. It seemed to have been done just at the right moment, when the Powers, weary of the delay and anxious to have the Turkish army disbanded, would be ready to threaten Turkey with war if she did not immediately obey them.
This Turkish army is felt to be a very serious menace to Europe. The Sultan has an enormous number of soldiers now under arms, and moreover this army of his is a victorious army, proud of its strength, and anxious to have fresh opportunity to show its mettle and courage.
An uneasy feeling therefore prevails while this large force is