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Show THE PASSINGOF ABDUL hi the mass of contradictory telegrams which have eminated from Constantinople during the past three or four weeks, one thing stood out plainly to all who have kept in touch with the events of the Moslem empire, and that was that Abdul Hamid II.. dubbed '"Abdul the Damned" for his Armenian and other atrocities, was about to lose his sceptre. This climax was reached last week, and his brother, Me-hemed Me-hemed Rechad, has been sleeted as the successor. Mchemed V. is the thirty-fifth ruler of the Osman line, and twenty-ninth padishah of the eastern empire em-pire and the head of some 175,000,000 Moslem worshipers wor-shipers a religious party greater than all the Pro- I testant Christian sects combined. Schemed V. is described as a tall, stooped-shoul-I dered. melancholy man, one who can be easily "han- died." as American politicians would say. For thirty years he has been closely confined in a palace that was little better than a prison, living in almost daily fear that the sultan should find reasons of state to place him beyond the possibility of his succeeding to the throne. It was an old trick to place the heirs to the throne in a sack and dump them into the Bos-phorus Bos-phorus to see how long they could remain under water, wa-ter, and it is asserted that most of them are there yet. Of Abdul, the deposed sultan, little can be said that would be a credit to a monarch even of Turkey. He was about the craftiest, most unprincipled, we almost al-most said nnregenerate, and withal the ablest of the long line of Osman rulers, an incubus to his countrv and to his generation. He succeeded to the throne after the murder of his uncle and the dethronement of his brother, so the gentleman may consider himself him-self lucky in not meeting death with his deposition. He has during his thirty odd years' reign perpetrated perpe-trated such unspeakable cruelties that he has earned the execrations of all civilized countries and caused to grow up in his own country such a sentiment that he could no longer hope to remain in power. The progress of the Young Turks has been marked with a moderation that would be worthy of a people more experienced in affairs of state. It was their moderation which prevented foreign inter-I inter-I vention their moderation and the jealousies of the European powers. In dealing with the sultan the Young Turks wished to conform to the sentiments of the people. They first secured the authorization of the LTeina the "knowcrs"' or leaders of the Mohammedans Mo-hammedans to put the reforms for which they contended con-tended into effect. Under the peculiar system in Turkey, the LTema are at once the lawyers and the priests, and their consent was necessary in every-. thing pertaining to the empire. The Ulema found that the constitution proposed by the Young Turks was not in conflict with the teachings of the Koran, and to offset his waning nower the gultan broneht all his wealth to bear in the shape of bribes, and all his craftiness in the shape of promises to retain his position which he jeopardized thirty years ago in the annulment of the constitution which has just been re-established. Abdul Hamid is reported to be glad he is alive, and well he might he, judging from the fate of so many of his predecessors. He bowed to the "will of Allah" with a fine grace when he was promised his life would be spared. That promise, however, undoubtedly un-doubtedly carries with it a proviso that he shall cease to be an active factor in the life of the empire. em-pire. The one thing which may be accepted as a certainty is that Abdul will follow in the manner of so many of the other sultans should his craftiness i and deceit working upon the prejudices of hi3 former for-mer subjects bring about a reaction in his favor. 'Abdul the Damned" is the last sultan of the old Turkey. Mehemed Y. is the first representative of the new. The Young Turks have displayed their ability to proceed with wisdom and caution, and have won the admiration of the civilized world. |
