yq '/ 
 
 o
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 THE ,LE 
 
 CHRIS! [ANS OF T 
 
 IX AID OF T 
 
 FOUNDED DECEMBER, 1875, 
 
 14, COCKSPUR STREET, PALL MALL, LONDON. 
 
 LETTERS, ETC., 
 
 RELATING TO 
 
 OPERATIONS OF THE SOCIETY" 
 
 IST JANUARY, 1878. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 CLAYTON AND CO., TEMPLE PRINTING WORKS, 
 17, BOUVERIE STREET, FLEET STREET.
 
 T>r< 
 
 From His Eminence Michael, Archbishop of Belgrade, 
 Metropolitan of Servia : 
 
 " BELGRADE, 
 
 "January 19, 1876. 
 'DEAR SIR, 
 
 " I received duly your letter, enclosing a copy of the circular 
 of ' THE LEAGUE IN AID OP THE CHRISTIANS OP TURKEY.' 
 
 e/> "We have an especial satisfaction in learning that the people 
 
 1.1 
 
 f>of England have turned their hearts towards the poor suffering 
 
 az Christians in Turkey, and that they have come to the conviction 
 
 ca 
 
 2 that the Turks are unable to adapt themselves to the necessities 
 
 of European civilization. We are thankful to Almighty God that 
 England at length acknowledges this; and we hope from this 
 
 22 change great benefits for the unhappy nations who have suffered 
 
 ^ so long from the tyranny of the Moslem. 
 
 04 " Hoping that the suffering Christians in Turkey will be earnestly 
 o 
 
 benefited by the endeavours of your League, in which are so many 
 friends of humanity, I beg you to convey my good wishes to the 
 ~ members of the League, and to accept for yourself the assurance 
 ^ of the sincere respect with which 
 
 " I remain, yours, 
 
 "Praying to God, 
 
 " MICHAEL, 
 " Archbishop of Belgrade and 
 
 Metropolitan of Servia. 
 "To Monsieur Lewis Farley." 
 
 A 2 
 
 390734
 
 In One Vol., Demy Svo. 
 
 TURKS & CHEISTIANS. 
 
 BY 
 
 J. LEWIS FAELEY, 
 
 AUTHOB OF 
 
 "THE MASSACRES IN SYRIA," " DECLINE OF TURKEY," 
 "CROSS OR CRESCENT," &c. 
 
 This mournful story is one which every English Christian should read and 
 consider well. Let Mr. Farley tell his own tale in his own graphic language ; 
 let him speak through the pages of the volume he has so opportunely presented 
 to British statesmen and to the British nation, and we are persuaded the 
 nation will rise indignantly against the oppression of its co-religionists in 
 Turkey. It will withdraw from a policy of sustaining the debased and spend- 
 thrift Turk on a throne he has long usurped, but has never filled either with 
 credit to himself or with benefit to mankind. Monetary Gazette. 
 
 Mr. Farley, there is no doubt, has some title to speak as an authority on 
 Turkish affairs, and those interested will get much useful information from 
 what he writes. Daily News. 
 
 We recommend the volume of Mr. Farley to the thoughtful consideration 
 of our readers. No one can rise from its perusal without having acquired 
 a larger insight than he already possesses into the state of Turkey, and a 
 larger knowledge of the crimes of its rulers. At a moment when the destinies 
 of our fellow-Christians are in the balance, when the injustice of the Turkish 
 Government is arraigned at the bar of the public opinion of Europe, this 
 publication of Mr. Farley is well-timed. It is temperately written ; it abounds 
 with facts, it is suggestive as to the future, it is in every respect a valuable 
 contribution to the history of the past, and a guide in the intricate policy of 
 the present. John Bull. 
 
 We have not seen any description of life in Turkey which gives so vivid 
 and realizable a picture of the local government of Turkish provinces. Mr. 
 Farley has collected his facts with much care, and put them clearly together, 
 so as to form a very useful manual better than any other which has yet been 
 published of the existing condition of things. Examiner. 
 
 Mr. Farley's work is opportune. He has seized the moment when the 
 English public has at length aroused itself from its complacent ignorance and 
 negligent optimism, and has begun to display an interest in a political ques- 
 tion, which, for half a century, has been supposed to be of supreme importance 
 to it, but concerning which not one Englishman in 10,000 ever troubled his 
 head for five consecutive seconds. Mr. Farley has seen a good deal of the 
 East, and writes with some knowledge. His book contains valuable informa- 
 tion. Observer. 
 
 LONDON : 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 
 "THE LEAGUE IN AID OF THE CHRISTIANS OF TURKEY," 
 January, 1876. 
 
 NOTE. Besides some thousands of circulars, the following publications 
 were also issued by the League : 
 
 Mr. Wesselitsky's reports to His Eminence Michael, Archbishop of Belgrade, 
 on the " Condition of the Christians in Bosnia and Herzegovina." 
 
 Report of Public Meeting held by the League in Manchester, on March 31, 
 1876. 
 
 Report of Public Meeting held by the League in Birmingham, April 6, 1876. 
 
 The " Christians in Turkey," by the Rev. A. A. Dawson, M.A. 
 
 " Cross or Crescent," by J. Lewis Farley. 
 
 The " Oriental Star " (weekly). Official Gazette of the League.
 
 THE LEAGUE 
 
 IN AID OF THE 
 
 CHEISTIANS OF TURKEY. 
 
 PUBLIC MEETING IN MANCHESTER. 
 From the "MANCHESTER EXAMINER," April 1, 1876. 
 
 A public meeting, promoted by " THE LEAGUE IN AID OF THE 
 CHRISTIANS OF TURKEY," was held yesterday evening (March 31), in 
 the Free Trade Hall Mr. Hugh Mason, J.P., presiding. 
 
 The Chairman, after a few preliminary remarks, called upon 
 Mr. Farley to propose the following resolution : 
 
 That the wrongs and sufferings endured by the Christians of Turkey call 
 for the practical sympathy of the people of England. 
 
 Mr. Lewis Farley said : I should have great diffidence in address- 
 ing this large and influential meeting if I did not know that the 
 cause we advocate is one which is certain to evoke your sympathies. 
 It is the cause of humanity and religious liberty, and that is a cause 
 which never appeals in vain to the citizens of Manchester. (Hear, 
 hear.) The question, however, which at the present moment 
 agitates Europe is but imperfectly understood in England. Diplo- 
 macy has thrown around it so many complication?, and persona) 
 interests are so deeply involved, that it is difficult for any one who 
 has not given special attention to the subject to be able thoroughly 
 to comprehend it. The people of England are moie familiar with 
 the black slave of Africa than with the white slave of South-Eastern
 
 Europe ; much ignorance prevails as to the condition of the Christian 
 Rayahs, and, as a natural result, great apathy exists. I do not 
 blame the English people for this apathy, for, during the past twenty 
 years they have been kept in the dark as to the true position of their 
 fellow-Christians in Turkey. In the early part of 1860, Prince 
 Gortschakoff, the Russian Minister for Foreign Affairs, addressed a 
 circular to the Great Powers of Europe, pointing out the continuance 
 of that injustice, of which the Christians in Turkey had so long com- 
 plained, and which the Porte had, at various periods, for upwards of 
 thirty years, promised should be removed. Upon the receipt of this 
 circular, the English Government instructed Sir Henry Bulwer, 
 Ambassador at Constantinople, to draw up a list of questions to be 
 sent to our Consuls throughout Turkey. No persons could, from 
 their position, better speak on such a subject. From their answers, 
 honestly, faithfully, and intelligently given, we might have had a 
 luminous survey of the Turkish Empire. Before sending in their 
 answers, however, they were reminded that their very bread depended 
 on the will of His Excellency, for Sir Henry Bulwer wrote to the 
 Consuls as follows : " Her Majesty's Government wishes, as 
 
 you well know, to maintain the Ottoman Empire 
 
 1 assure you that your conduct at this crisis will be duly watched 
 by me, and my opinion respecting it, whether favourable or 
 the reverse, communicated to Her Majesty's Government." By 
 means such as these the systematic suppression of information 
 the requiring our Consuls to make one - sided, partial, and 
 coloured statements have the sympathies of the public of this 
 country been diverted from the sufferings of the Christians in Turkey. 
 One object of " THE LKAGUK IN AID OF THE CHRISTIANS OF TUR- 
 KEY " is to tell the people of England the truth relative to the oppres- 
 sion and cruelties perpetrated by the Turks towards our fellow-Chris- 
 tians, and when, by meetings such as this held in other important towns, 
 the English people shall know the facts, I feel assured they will, in 
 an unmistakeable manner, evince their sympathies for men who are 
 now endeavouring to free themselves from the tyranny they have so 
 long endured. Gentlemen, with the political question we have 
 nothing to do. The personal interests of Austria or of Russia are 
 foreign to us, and the fate of Turkey itself has no longer any special 
 interest for Englishmen. Our road to India does not lie through
 
 Constantinople but through Egypt, and that road is now secure ; but 
 even if our interests were involved, I do not believe that any assem- 
 blage of Englishmen could be found who would prefer their own 
 interests at the sacrifice of those of humanity. (Hear, hear.) 
 Twenty years ago, truth and falsehood contended, and falsehood 
 prevailed ; the result was the Crimean War, which most persons 
 now admit was a grievous mistake. We gave our money and our 
 blood to uphold the tottering throne of the Sultan, and, after twenty 
 years, we find that our support has been without result, that, on the 
 contrary, corruption and decay are more apparent than ever, and the 
 condition of the Christians in Turkey is worse to-day than it was 
 fifty years ago. The condition of the Christian subjects of the Sultan 
 is a disgrace, not only to the civilization of our age, but also a shame 
 to England and to Englishmen. The support we have given to 
 Turkey has riveted the chains of slavery more firmly round the necks 
 of the Christians, who now appeal to England to undo the work of 
 the past and to set them free. (Hear, hear.) England was the 
 first to break the manacles of the slave , and it cannot be that she 
 will now be deaf to the cries of the Christian Slaves of Bosnia, 
 Herzegovina, and Bulgaria. (Cheers.) Neither the property, the 
 honour, nor the life of a Christian is secure in Turkey. The state of 
 Bosnia and Herzegovina especially is a state of inextricable disorder, 
 of general pillage and tyranny, of which Englishmen can have no 
 conception. The Christian Rayah is a mere slave, whose labour and 
 whose life are at the disposal of his Mussulman oppressor, who does 
 not even spare the wife or daughter of his victim. The evidence of 
 a Christian against a Turk is inadmissible in the Courts, and the 
 murder of a Christian, or the violation of a Christian woman by a 
 Mussulman, is absolutely unnoticed by the law. The present insur- 
 rection had its rise in the violation by some Mussulmans of two 
 women of Nevesinge, one of whom died from the violence she 
 suffered. The Christian relatives, knowing that no complaint against 
 the offenders would be heard in a Mussulman Court, took a short 
 road to justice, and killed tha Mussulmans. (Cheers.) The friends of 
 the latter retaliated, and the little flume grew to a great one, because 
 every Christian had some wrong to avenge, and knew there was no 
 justice in the land. According to Turkish law, if a Mussulman 
 violate a Christian woman, and convert her to Islamism, he is con-
 
 8 
 
 sidered to have done a meritorious act, which entitles him, as a 
 reward, to be freed from military service. As to conversion, the 
 unfortunate girl has no alternative ; for, if she appeal to the courts 
 for redress, her evidence, as a Christian, is not admitted, and, con- 
 sequently, she often emhraces Islamism as the only means of covering 
 her dishonour. It is not that the Christian Rayah is oppressed by 
 taxation and forced labour, it is not that the Moslem is the lord of 
 the soil, and the Christian is the " hewer of wood and the drawer 
 of water," but it is because the dearest ties of human nature 
 are outraged, that makes the lot of the Christians of Turkey 
 so hard to bear. It is because the loved wife and the blooming 
 daughter can be torn at any moment from the arms of a 
 husband or a father, that the Christians of Bosnia, Herzegovina, 
 and Bulgaria have risen in arms, and declare that they prefer death 
 rather than return again under the hateful tyranny of the Turk. 
 (Cheers.) A "gentleman, who some time ago visited Herzegovina, 
 told me that a Mussulman said to him, "The Christian women are 
 beautiful, and their forms are perfect. Such women are not for 
 Ghiaours, but for true believers." It is only two or three months 
 ago since a Turkish Pasha in Angora caused twelve Christian girls 
 to be seized and carried to his harem, while in the town of Eski- 
 Zaghra, in Bulgaria, the Turks broke into several houses, where 
 they violated half a score of young girls ai-d three young married 
 women. At the village of Terfikli, a priest was recently robbed on 
 the road between Souhlari and Kavakli, his wife was violated in his 
 presence, and he was himself stripped to his skin, and his very beard 
 cut off his face. In Herzegovina, when the Mussulman Bey travel?, 
 he quarters himself on the unfortunate Christian, who is compelled 
 to maintain him and his followers. The Bey makes his own bill of 
 fare, selects the animals to be killed, and conducts himself as master 
 of the house and everything in it, even to the wife and daughter of 
 the Christian, if he have either unfortunate enough to be sufficiently 
 attractive. " I questioned the people," says the correspondent of 
 The Times, "as to their special grievances, and they all said the same 
 thing the Turks robbed them, took whatever they wanted, their 
 animals, whatever they had in their houses, and even their daughters, 
 when they took a fancy to them, and they never saw them any 
 njpre." (Shame, shame.) Some time ago an English traveller
 
 in Montenegro remonstrated with those noble mountaineers on their 
 barbarism in sticking the heads of Turks on poles at their village 
 gates, but they replied: "It is the only argument that can be used 
 with such people, and it has this good effect, that they do not send 
 for our wives and daughters as they do in Bosnia and Herzegovina." 
 This, gentlemen, is the state of slavery to which the Christians of 
 Turkey refuse any longer to submit ; and I ask you this evening to 
 declare before Europe that you, as Englishmen, will no longer give 
 such an abominable state of things your countenance and support. 
 The Christian of Turkey might well say to his Mussulman oppressor, 
 as Icilius said lo the tyrant Appius Claudius in the Forum at 
 Rome : 
 
 Then leave the poor plebeian his single tie to life, 
 
 The sweet, sweet love of daughter, of sister, and of wife ; 
 
 The gentle speech, the balm for all that his vex'd soul endures, 
 
 The kiss, in which he half forgets even such a yoke as yours ; 
 
 Still let the maiden's beauty swell the father's heart with pride, 
 
 Still let the bridegroom's arms infold an unpolluted bride. 
 
 Spai'e us the inexpiable wrong, the unutterable shame, 
 
 That turns the coward's heart to steel, the sluggard's blood to flame ; 
 
 Lest, when our latest hope is fled, ye taste of our despair, 
 
 And learn by proof in some wild hour, how much the wretched dare. 
 
 The time has at length arrived when the tyranny and merciless 
 oppression perpetrated by the Turks upon the Christians can no 
 longer be permitted to exist, and England, which has unwittingly 
 sanctioned those crimes, is now bound to declare its views in 
 reference to an alien people, alien in religion and in race, who, after 
 establishing themselves in Europe by violence, persecute and ruin 
 the Christian populations, cause them to groan under taxation and 
 forced labour, play with their lives and their honour, profess an 
 eternal hatred to our faith and our institutions, outrage humanity by 
 their laws, menace ihe general peace by their weakness and incapacity, 
 scandalize the world by their vices, crush industry in the most fertile 
 parts of Europe, and sequester from civilization twelve millions of 
 human beings. (Hear, hear.) Gentlemen, you have all heard a 
 great deal lately of the Andrassy Note, and of the reforms promul- 
 gated by the Sultan. But both the note and the promised reforms 
 are mere shams, for the reforms will never be carried out, and the 
 Turks will never grant equality to the Christians. Already, in some
 
 10 
 
 of the towns in Bosnia where the reforms have been notified, the 
 Mussulmans have risen aad massacred the Christians. Only a week 
 ago, some Turks entered a Christian village and cut off the heads of 
 four men and three women, which they carried in triumph on the 
 muzzles of their rifles to the neighbouring town of Bilek. In presence 
 of the Great Powers, the Porte will promise anything and everything ; 
 but when all restraint is gone, the Turk will wreak his vengeance on 
 the defenceless Rayah. The Insurgents know this too well, and, 
 therefore, they refuse to lay down their arms. If Austria had been 
 sincere, she would have given some security for the life and honour of 
 the Christians, but, in calling on the Insurgents to lay down their arms 
 and trust to the promises of the Sultan, Austria would simply hand 
 over the Christians to the vindictive and revengeful cruelties of the 
 Moslems. I do not believe that Austria intends this, nor do I believe 
 that she ever expected the Christians would return to their burnt 
 homesteads and devastated fields, without some better security for 
 their lives than the Sultan can give them. The Insurgents prefer to 
 die on the field of battle, rather than tamely submit themselves to the 
 yataghans of their oppressors. (Cheers.) That you may be able to 
 form a just appreciation of the dependence to be placed on the pro- 
 mises of the Turks, permit me to tell you a circumstance that occurred 
 during my residence in Turkey. Deir-el-Kamr, numbering 8000 
 inhabitants, was one of the most beautiful villages on Mount Lebanon. 
 The Druses attacked this village, but the Christians drove back their 
 enemies, the besieged losing 25 men, while the besiegers left 100 
 killed behind them. Barricades were then thrown up to defend the 
 entrance to the village, and the Christians defended themselves suc- 
 cessfully. In the meantime, Tahir Pasha, a Turkish general of divi- 
 sion, arrived with 800 men, and, relying on his assurance that " they 
 might depend on the protection of his troops," the Christians began 
 to feel a comparative sense of security. All those who desired a place 
 of safety were ordered to deliver up their arms, and go at once to 
 the Serai. The order was obeyed, and before midnight many hun- 
 dreds of women and children had crowded into the great court of the 
 governor's palace, bringing with them their jewels, gold, and such 
 other valuables as they could readily carry. This, however, was the 
 manner in which the Turkish general fulfilled his promise. The fol- 
 lowing morning he opened the gates to the Druses, and then com-
 
 11 
 
 menced a massacre which, for vindictiveness and cold-blooded 
 atrocity, has never/perhaps, been exceeded. In many instances the 
 Christians were first stripped naked, and then, stretched on the 
 ground in the form of a cross, were hacked to pieces with swords and 
 hatchets. Almost all had the right hand cut off, or the wrist deeply 
 gashed the instinctive feeling of self-preservation making them raise 
 their arm to ward off the blows of their assailants. Male children 
 were torn in two, and mothers, crouching over their offspring, saw the 
 yataghans pierce their infants' bodies, after having first passed through 
 their own. Deir-el-Kamr was set on fire, the bright flames shot up 
 fiercely from burning homes, and the black smoke shut out the light 
 of day, as if endeavouring to cover with an impenetrable veil the 
 deeds of darkness and of blood which were being enacted. The 
 Druses and the Turkish troops fell upon the unarmed Christians. At 
 about two o'clock the fire had partially burned itself out, the smoke 
 cleared away, and the sun looked down upon 2000 human bodies, 
 made after the image of their Creator, now hacked, mutilated, and 
 destroyed. There lay headless trunks, and gory heads wearing upon 
 their features the expression of unutterable agony; children of three 
 or four years old, whose innocence might have been their protection, 
 and old men whose grey hairs might have been respected ; women, 
 wounded and dying upon the bodies of their lifeless infants ; young 
 girls, weeping for the brothers and fathers they had lost; and, in 
 despairing accents, calling down Heaven's vengeance on their des- 
 troyers. The shrill cries of the men, the wild shrieks of the women, 
 the blasphemous imprecations and hellish laughter of the Moslems, 
 the shouts, the fire, and the smoke all formed a scene at which 
 humanity shudders, and from the contemplation of which the heart 
 shrinks back sickened and appalled. Such is the fate that would 
 await the Christians of Bosnia and Herzegovina if the Insurgents 
 were foolish or mad enough to lay down their arms and trust to 
 the promises of the Porte. Gentlemen, tht-re are two sacred books 
 (I am, of course, speaking in reference to Turkey) the Koran and 
 the Bible; two religions that of Mahommed and that of Christ. 
 Now, I want you to ask yourselves these questions : " Which of 
 these sacred books do I believe in ? Which of these two religions 
 do I profess ?" When you have answered those questions you will 
 understand the grave issues that are before you. In European
 
 12 
 
 Turkey 1,150,000 Turks, aided by 2,000,000 Mussulmans, the 
 Slavonic descendants of Christian renegades, dominate over 
 12,000,000 Christians, who, in those parts subject to the direct 
 rule of the Sultan, are victims of the most barbarous cruelty, the 
 most grinding tyranny, and the most inhuman persecutions. The 
 Christians of Bosnia, the Herzegovina, and Bulgaria have deter- 
 mined to live no longer under such a detestable rule, and they have 
 taken up arms in defence of their homes and altars, their honour, 
 their liberty, and their lives. On one side are men fighting tinder 
 the standard of the Cross ; on the other, under the standard of 
 the Crescent. Which of those two sides will you support ? That 
 of the followers of Christ, or of the followers of Mahommed ? 
 That of the oppressed, or of the oppressors ? I cannot doubt what 
 your reply will be ; and you will have the satisfaction of knowing 
 that your answer will give consolation to the 150,000 old men, 
 women, and children who are outcast from their homes, and have 
 sought a shelter in Servia, Montenegro, Dalmatia, and under the 
 bare rocks of the mountains of Croatia ; your answer will nerve 
 the arms of those patriots who have sworn to conquer or to die, 
 and will teach the dishonest ministers of the Sultan that they can 
 no longer depend upon the support of Englishmen in the con- 
 tinuance of iheir fanaticism, their barbarism, and their corruption. 
 (Applause.) 
 
 Mr. R. D. Rusden seconded the resolution, which was carried 
 amidst much applause. 
 
 Speeches were also delivered by the Rev. R. G. Griffiths, Mr. 
 Councillor G. Booth, Hugh Mason, J.P., &c. 
 
 Letters were read from Earl Russell, The Right Rev. the Bishop 
 of Manchester, Sir Thos. Bazley, Bart., M.P,, Mr. C. J. Monk, M.P., 
 and others.
 
 13 
 
 PUBLIC MEETING IN BIRMINGHAM. 
 From the "BIRMINGHAM DAILY POST," April 7, 1876. 
 
 A public meeting, promoted by " THE LEAGUE IN AID OF THE 
 CHRISTIANS IN TURRET," was held on Thursday evening, April 6, in 
 the Lecture Hall of the Young Men's Christian Association. Mr. J. S. 
 Wright, J.P., occupied the chair, and among those present were the 
 Rev. H. B. Bowlby, Rev. Grant Brown, Rev. R. J. Griffiths, Mr. 
 George Dawson, M.A., Mr. Lewis Farley, Dr. Nutting, Councillor 
 Heyden, Messrs. W. Morgan, Paraviso, G. Hanson, &c. 
 
 Mr. Farley addressed the meeting at some length, and drew a 
 fearful picture of the abominable treatment to which Christians were 
 made to submit. He gave instances of the treachery with which the 
 Turks treated the Christians, and concluded his speech, which was 
 greeted with much applause, by asking his hearers whether they 
 would support the tyrannical followers of Mahommed or the oppressed 
 followers of Christ. 
 
 Mr. George Dawson said : The resolution I am asked to move is 
 this : 
 
 That the wrongs and sufferings of the Christians of Turkey call for the 
 practical sympathy of the people of England. 
 
 Mr. Chairman, the comparative smallness of this meeting is 
 neither a discouragement nor an astonishment. When I called the 
 first meeting that was ever held in England on behalf of the 
 Hungarian insurrection against Austria, the meeting was no bigger 
 than this, and I have lived to see Hungary assert its independence of 
 Austria. (Applause.) I was one of three who, in a country house, 
 founded the society of the Friends of Italy, in order to keep the 
 oppression of that country before this country. The smallness of the 
 meeting gave me no discouragement. I have lived to see Italy 
 united, and with Rome for its capital. It is pleasant to be in at the 
 beginning of things. There are always plenty of people ready to be 
 in at the end. (Laughter.) Now, this cause, which looks so small, 
 being the cause of justice and righteousness, will, like these other 
 causes, have its day of splendour and success. If you had known all 
 before going into the Crimean War, it is possible you might not
 
 14 
 
 have gone into it. There were those who told us that the Turk was a 
 reformable person, and when I speak of the Turk now, I am not 
 speaking of the honest, humble, industrious Turk, but I am speaking 
 of his precious rulers. Of course, when you draw the characters of 
 rulers, you draw, to a certain degree, an accusation against the 
 people, for it is a shame for a people to be ruled over by such a vile 
 ruler as the Sultan. Now, it is imposible, so far as I can read, to 
 make out a worse ruler than the Turk has just now ; and as long as 
 the system of the Sultan's private life and manners, as long as the 
 taxes wrung out of the people go to the support of the most sensual 
 despotism this world has ever bad, as long as a nation has rulers who, 
 from debauchery, have lost the little brains which have descended to 
 them and God knows they are small enough as long as that is the 
 case, no matter what the people are, they may be honest as some of 
 the Turks, but with such rulers, I think it is impossible for us any 
 longer to give the Turks support. I cannot say I am sorry that the 
 Turks have turned bankrupt, although there are Englishmen to whom 
 this is the last crowning sin. To have oppressed a nation, or dis- 
 honoured the women of the Christians well, well, well ; but not to 
 pay the bondholders, not to pay your debts, that is the last iniquity. 
 (Laughter.) We have nearly all done with Turkey now. And I 
 have no pity for the bondholder, not the least. Of all ways of sup- 
 porting a nation, that is the meanest, for you support him for your 
 own good, and the largeness of the interest blinds men to the con- 
 ditions of the getting it. I have no pity for the Turkish bondholder. 
 With a greedy covetousness he went in for an impossible interest, 
 and when I read that the fates have overtaken him, I am delighted 
 (laughter) for he contributed money for a system utterly base, for 
 purposes utterly degrading, and he now has his recompense. I 
 trust that he will swell the numbers with his virtuous indignation, of 
 those who think that the country can give no more support to the 
 Turkish Government. (Applause.) Now, what we are here for to-night 
 is not to urge the statesman to war, nor to urge him on to peace. I 
 for one want to wash my hands in public of any manner of support 
 to the Turks in their oppression of the Christians. If these people 
 were not Christians, and were similarly oppressed, I should take their 
 side. (Loud applause.) The mere calling of a man a Christian 
 is not sufficient talisman and charm to make me defend him, but
 
 15 
 
 when the being a Christian, even in name, is a ground for tyranny, 
 oppression, disgrace, insult, barbarity, cruelty, and death, then I 
 say any man that bears it, if he bears it no deeper than a'Bme/=is 
 bound to proclaim that, as far as he is concerned, the profession of 
 Christianity shall not be the cause of oppression, tyranny, and death. 
 (Loud applause.) I have heard sneers on the Bosnian Christians. 
 People say, " Well, they serve the Turks as badly as the Turks serve 
 them." I think it is highly probable. It is an old argument, a 
 stale argument, and a vile argument, to bring the vices of the slave, 
 engendered by slavery, as a justification of the cruelty of the slave- 
 holder who has taught him ; for, remember, he who makes a slave 
 by outward bonds, creates a slave in inward feeling. If I were cer- 
 tain that the success of the Bosnians would lead to retaliation upon 
 the Turk, I should still support the Bosnian; not advising him to 
 retaliate. But then you know human nature is very much human 
 nature in all parts of the world, and it is a hard thing to bear 
 oppression's sting, and not to turn upon it when you have the chance. 
 We are here to ask you two or three things ; we are here to ask 
 you to say, each for yourselves, that the Turk the Turkish Govern- 
 ment those nasty Tartars here in Europe, shall have no manner of 
 support from you, moral nor, if possible, political ; that we have 
 done with them, that we have fought for them, and that our bond- 
 holders have paid for them (laughter) and as a nation, if possible, 
 we decline to fight for them any longer. Having fought for these 
 people, and that Government having made solemn promises, before 
 Europe, that certain things should be done, we charge them that 
 they have never done them ; nay, we charge the Mahommedan that 
 by his creed, he is not bound to keep his word to an infidel, that not 
 one single promise that was made to this nation in return for all the 
 blood we shed for them has ever been kept, and no promise ever 
 will be kept except by compulsion. Therefore, what I should like 
 this nation to say, would be : " You Turks, look out for yourselves ; 
 do not expect anything from us neither money, nor men, nor 
 moral support, nor high admiration. Get a pair of heels to your 
 shoes as fast as you can, and if you have not sense to do that, shuffle 
 off in your slippers back into Asia from whence you came." 
 (Applause.) The rulers of the Turks are irredeemable, irreclaim- 
 able, sensual wretches, and if the Divine Government, in its mercy,
 
 had not changed, there would be a new Sodom and Gomorrah as 
 the fittest fate for the rulers of Turksy. If that is plain language, I 
 am glad; I cannot find any plainer. They are in a hopeless state. 
 I say myself, with Lord Palmerston, " What can you expect from a 
 people who have no heels to their shoes?" (Laughter.) Had I 
 been a bondholder, that would have taught me they must be slippery, 
 and would, in time, slip out of their pecuniary obligations, as they 
 had already slipped out of political righteousness. Therefore, I for 
 one wash my hands of the Turks. To the poor Turk I am a friend ; 
 for his necessities in Asia Minor a subscriber ; if he starves, I feed 
 him ; his being a Mahommedan is no ground of hatred to me ; but 
 1 will not suffer, as far as I can, that the being a Christian, even of 
 a poor sort, shall be an occasion for insult, tyranny, and contempt. 
 Now, of course, it is not for me to tell statesmen what to do ; I 
 must leave the potsherds of the world to strive with the potsherds ; 
 I should only like to tell statesmen that the best thing they could 
 do would be to talk openly, to keep open counsel with nations, to 
 give up the mystery-mongering, of which we have just now such 
 wonderful specimens, and not to give us secrets doled out with a 
 sort of feminine love for a mystery, which you will find in many 
 women who keep you in an agony of expectation till the last moment, 
 and then the mountain brings forth some most ridiculous mouse. 
 (Laughter.) Now, I intend for one to stir up the English people to 
 examine for themselves whether or not the presence of the Turk in 
 Europe is any longer desirable to persuade this nation never to 
 fight for the Turks again. Did we but live in an age of sense or 
 reason, one would think the Great Powers of Europe might be strong 
 enough to arrange for the retreat of the Turk into Asia, and if he 
 would not retreat, they might make such a judicious application to the 
 stern works of the Turkish Government, as might enable them to 
 see their way, if not with perspicuity, at least with speed, to return 
 to the place from which they came. As to what is to be done with 
 Bosnia and Herzegovina, in case the insurrection is successful, that 
 is not for this meeting. It is a difficult question, but surely all 
 Europe in council ought to be able to devise some plan by which 
 these rich Danubian countries could either be confederated together, 
 or put under some protectorate. There are princes enough, and to 
 spare in Europe, with nothing to do, and as we made a king of
 
 Greece, surely we might, you know, make a king of the Danube if 
 necessary. But these are questions into which I will not enter to- 
 night. I simply wish to express the profound sympathy of this 
 meeting with the oppressed Christians of these provinces. We 
 tender to them our support in their misery, for the wrongs they have 
 home are such as make patience no longer respectable endurance 
 any longer, timplv vileness. There is a time in history when the 
 modesties of human nature overcome the instincts of peace ; and as 
 an insurrection once came in this country because of an outraged 
 girl, so one expects no men, who have a spark of manhood in them, 
 would stand by when a set of sensual wretches profane the last holy 
 sanctity of the house and of the heart. Leaving the settlement for 
 the present, and meddling with the politics of this matter at some 
 other time, we simply ask you to express your sympathy for these 
 poor insurrectionists. Tell them that their cause is good, and, at 
 any rate, if we do not fight for them, which I do not advocate, I do 
 not see why we should not keep the ring and prevent anybody's 
 meddling. We say, " Stand off," and if the Turk is this admirable 
 and noble person that some of his upholders say, give him a fair 
 field ; let the Christian fight it out with him, and if nobody else 
 meddles I know which side will win. The numbers and the cause, 
 its righteousness and its justice, will secure the victory for the 
 Christians. (Applause.) 
 
 Speeches were also delivered by the Rev. H. B. Bowlby. Mr. G. 
 Hanson, The Rev. R. J. Griffiths, Dr. Nutting, and the Rev. Grant 
 Brown.
 
 From his Eminence Michael, Archbishop of Belgrade, 
 Metropolitan of Servia: 
 
 " BELGRADE, 
 
 "May 17, 1876. 
 
 " DBAR SIR, 
 
 " I have great pleasure in informing you that I have 
 received the cheque for 100 sent to me in your letter of the 9th 
 instant. 
 
 "I, as the President of the Board for the Relief of Suffering 
 Christians, wish I could convey to you the great importance which 
 is here given to the movement in England on behalf of the suffering 
 Rayahs. It is hailed as a sign of good promise. Christians in 
 Turkey know well that when once the attention of the English 
 people is drawn to the misrule of the Turks in the Balkan peninsula, 
 the generous heart of that great nation will prompt it to be among 
 the most active friends of the suffering Christians who are struggling 
 for life and freedom. 
 
 Praying God that He may bless abundantly your efforts and those 
 of your compatriots in the charitable and righteous cause, and thank- 
 ing you and all your friends for what has been already achieved, 
 
 " I remain, 
 
 " Dear Sir, 
 
 " Yours faithfully, 
 
 "MICHAEL, 
 " Archbishop of Belgrade, Metropolitan of Servia. 
 
 " To J. Lewis Farley, Esq."
 
 19 
 
 DEPUTATION TO LORD DERBY. 
 From " THE TIMES," July 15, 1876. 
 
 Lord Derby, with whom was Lord Tenterden, permanent Under- 
 secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, received yesterday, in the 
 large Conference Room of the Foreign Office, a deputation on the 
 policy of Great Britain in regard to the present war, from " THE' LEAGUE 
 IN AID OF THE CHRISTIANS OF TURKET." The following were among 
 those who took part in this deputation : The Earl of Morton, Sir 
 Thomas Bazley, M.P., Messrs. Samuel Morley, M.P., Jacob 
 Bright, M.P., C. J. Monk, M.P..E. Jenkins, M.P., E. Collins, M.P., 
 P. A. Taylor, M.P., J. S. Wright, J.P., and J. Lewis Farley. 
 
 Mr. Farley read the following memorial signed by Lord Russell in 
 the name of " THE LEAGUE IN AID OF THE CHRISTIANS OP 
 TURKEY" : 
 
 "Twenty years have passed since the Treaty of Paris guaranteed 
 the ' Integrity of the Ottoman Empire,' and since the Hatt-y- 
 Humayoum of 1856 proclaimed the equality before the law, irre- 
 spective of nationality or religion, of all the subjects of the Porte. 
 During these twenty years the Government of the Sultan has been free 
 from foreign interference, and has been supported financially to the 
 extent of two hundred millions sterling. At the present moment, 
 however, it is acknowledged that the ' Integrity of the Ottoman 
 Empire' is a delusion, and the support given by England has only 
 resulted in bringing misery and want into many English homes, and 
 in riveting the chains of slavery more firmly round the necks of the 
 Christian subjects of the Porte. 
 
 "'Turkey' and 'the Turks' are not synonymous terms, for 
 Turkey is an empire inhabited by many races professing different 
 religious creeds. If England had given her support to Turkey, 
 there would have been no just cause of complaint, as, in that case, 
 the interests of all her peoples would have been equally considered. 
 But, in giving support to the Turks, England has upheld the 
 dominance of the ruling race, who are in a minority, and subjected 
 the Christians, who are the majority, to a cruel and revolting 
 despotism, which is a disgrace to the civilization of our age, and has 
 at length driven its victims to take up arms in defence of their homes, 
 their honour, and their lives. 
 
 B 2
 
 20 
 
 "During the past 20 years reforms have been repeatedly promul- 
 gated by the Porte, but the Imperial edicts promising equal rights to 
 the Christians remain to this day without effect. It could not be 
 otherwise, as the religious and social doctrines of Islamism arc in 
 total contradiction to the principles of Christianity, and the appli- 
 cation of the same regime to the two creeds is utterly impracticable. 
 The Mahommedan law, founded as it is exclusively on the Koran, is 
 unalterable and inviolable, and its dogmas are altogether opposed to 
 the civil and religious equality of the Christian subjects of a Mussul- 
 man Power. The law of the Koran only permits the Christian to 
 retuin life and property on conditions incompatible with the equality 
 of all classes before the law such equality being, in fact, contrary 
 not only to the text of the Koran itself, but to the whole spirit of 
 Mahommedan jurisprudence. Equality between the Christians and 
 Mussulmans is consequently impossible. Imperial ' Halts' promising 
 reforms may again be issued, but those reforms will never be carried 
 out. The pacification of the East can, therefore, only be attained 
 by the enfranchisement of the Christians, who must be separated from 
 the Mahommedans.with a complete autonomy, which can alone protect 
 them from Mussulman oppression. 
 
 "At the present moment all Europe sympathizes with the oppressed 
 Christians of Turkey, while England stands alone in her support of 
 their oppressors. The religious feelings of a great portion of the 
 English people are shocked at being made to appear before the world 
 as the upholders of Islamism, thus meriting the taunt that their 
 Christianity is only a profession, net a belief, and their love of liberty 
 but a mere empty boast. 
 
 " We, therefore, pray your lordship, in the interests of peace, to 
 withhold your support, moral and political, from the Government of 
 His Majesty the Sultan, and to permit the Christians of European 
 Turkey to carve out their future destiny, without any external inter- 
 ference whatever." 
 
 LordJDerby replied at considerable length, and concluded his 
 remarks by stating that, " With regard to the practical question at 
 issue, our duty of not interfering between the Turks and the people 
 of Servia and Montenegro, as to that, he did not think there was any 
 difference between himself and those he was addressing." 
 
 The deputation thanked Lord Derby, and withdrew.
 
 21 
 
 From His Excellency M. Ristitch, Servian Minister for 
 Foreign Affairs : 
 
 " PRINCIPAUTE DE SERBIE, 
 
 " MINISTERS DBS AFFAIRES ETRANGERES, 
 " BELGRADE, 
 
 "July 25, 1876. 
 
 " DEAR MR. FARLEY, 
 
 " I thank you most sincerely, in ray own name and in 
 the name of my compatriots, for the generous sentiments by which 
 you have been actuated in undertaking the defence of a cause so just 
 as is that of the emancipation and enfranchisement of the Christians 
 of Tuikey. You cannot think, dear Sir, how much you have attracted 
 all our sympathies by your enterprise, and to what extent you have 
 the right to our gratitude. 
 
 " In thanking you again for all your zeal in defending our cause, 
 I gladly take this opportunity to offer you the assurance of my 
 highest consideration. 
 
 " I have the honour to be, 
 
 " Your very devoted, 
 
 " M. BAN. 
 " To Monsieur Lewis Farlev."
 
 22 
 
 PUBLIC MEETING IN LONDON. 
 From "THE TIMES," July 28, 1876. 
 
 A meeting called by "THE LEAGUE IN AID OF THE CHRISTIANS 
 OP TURKEY " was held yesterday, at Willis's Rooms, in the lower 
 hall. Lord Shaftesbury was in the chair, and was supported by the 
 following members of Parliament: Professor Smythe, M.P., Mr. 
 D. M'Laren, M.P., Mr. P. A. Taylor, M.P.,Mr. G. Anderson, M. P., 
 Mr. W. H. James, M.P., Mr. Mundella, M.P., Mr. Mackintosh, 
 M.P., Hon. C. H. Howard, M.P., Mr. W. Holms, M.P., Mr. J. 
 Holms, M.P., Sir T. Bazley, Bart., M.P., Mr. A. M'Arthur, M.P., 
 Mr. W. M'Arthur, M.P., Mr. E. Jenkins, M.P., Professor Fawcett, 
 M.P., Mr. J. K. Cross, M.P., Mr. C. Harrison, M.P., Mr. J. F. 
 Harrison, M.P., Mr. Callan, M.P., Mr. Collins, M.P., Mr. Monk, 
 M.P., The O'Donaghue, M.P., Mr. Kamsay, M.P. There were also 
 present Sir Charles Wingfield, Mr. Lewis Farley, Major De Winton, 
 Major Burgess, Mr. Edmond Beales, Mr. J. G. Holyoake, Mr. R. 
 Hill, and many others. 
 
 Lord Shaftesbury said : We are assembled here to-day not to 
 express any strong and national feeling on the subject of Turkey and 
 her abominable misdoings, for we have not yet ascertained the feeling 
 of the country, but, rather, to take such a course of action as may elicit 
 an expression of that feeling which we believe to be general in all 
 parts of the United Kingdom. We hail with satisfaction the declara- 
 tion by Lord Derby that the Government will maintain rigidly a policy 
 of non-intervention in the present dispute between Turkey and the 
 insurgent provinces, and that England will not lend to the Ottoman 
 Porte any material or moral support whatever in the present con- 
 flict. Our desire is to call on the country to endorse that policy, and 
 extend to the Government the aid of the whole nation in persevering 
 in that most becoming career. Perhaps, in most similar instances, 
 such a course would be in accordance with the view of the people of 
 England ; but here it has a deep and peculiar interest, for the events 
 of the movement have taken it out of the category of ordinary affairs, 
 and have placed it among the most atrocious and distressing in the 
 history of mankind. It has become a question certainly it has so
 
 23 
 
 to my own mind whether it is not a sin and a disgrace to continue 
 in alliance with such a Government. (Applause.) . . . Surely 
 it is high time for the kingdoms of Europe to interfere and declare 
 that Turkey is a spectacle disgusting to humanity and wholly unfit 
 to exercise rule and authority. (Cheers.) Gentlemen, it has been 
 asserted, and, perhaps, it will be so still, that the existence of Turkey 
 is essential to what is called the balance of power. I doubt it ; and 
 were if; so, I should hesitate to maintain even so good a thing by the 
 sacrifice of so many millions of the human race. The balance of 
 power would be far better maintained by clusters of flourishing, 
 vigorous, and civilized communities, in the place of ignorance, spolia- 
 tion, and ferocity. Thus far I believe that I speak the sentiments of 
 many. Now I venture to speak only for myself when I say that, 
 looking at the present state of things, believing that the future will 
 be much more terrible than the present, being deeply convinced that 
 the rule of the Ottoman Porte is utterly beyond remedy (applause) 
 utterly incorrigible '(applause) I, for one, would rather, in view of 
 the interests of the whole commonwealth of mankind, see the Russians 
 on the Bosphorus than the Turks in Europe. (Cheers.) 
 
 Mr. Lewis Farley said he had received a letter from Lord Russell, 
 who expressed great sympathy with the objects of the meeting, and 
 regretted that, though he would much desire to be present, the 
 delicate state of his health prevented him from being able to 
 be so. He would next read a dispatch from the Servian 
 Government, which he had just received. It was an ex- 
 position of the causes which had led to the war between Servia 
 and Turkey, and foreshadowed that greater war which threat- 
 ened Europe. Lord Derby, in his answer to the address which 
 the present speaker had the honour of presenting to him, said that 
 the policy of the British Government was non-intervention, provided 
 that no other Power intervened. Human sympathies, however, 
 could not be held back by any barriers of diplomacy, and the 
 time might come when the Russian Government, goaded on by the 
 Russian people, would come forward to the assistance of the Sla- 
 vonian Christians. The important question now was, whether, in 
 such an event, if the Russian Government, forced by the Russian 
 people, came forward on behalf of the oppressed, would the British 
 people allow the British Government to interfere on behalf of the
 
 24 
 
 oppressors ? Mr. Farley then read the following Servian manifesto, 
 sent for use at this meeting, and dated Belgrade, July 17 : 
 
 " Every student of history, indeed every educated man, well 
 knows that the Servian people, which previous to their period of 
 suffering possessed a large civilized State, including Bulgaria, and 
 extending to the frontier of Epirus, shed their blood and lost their 
 liberty while acting as the bulwark of Western Europe against 
 the invading onslaught of Mussulman barbarians. Even at that time 
 it was the jealousy of neighbouring Christian States which allowed 
 this bulwark to fall, hoping thereby to obtain some advantage for 
 themselves. The Roman Papacy especially, which formerly sent 
 forth crusades against the infidels, hoped that the Turkish invasion 
 would bring about the total destruction of its rival, the Greek 
 Orthodox Church, and committed the most unchristian-like act of 
 preventing others who were not so shortsighted from coming to the 
 help of the Servian Empire. It was not until the final overthrow of 
 Servia at the battle of Kossowa Polje that neighbouring states saw the 
 grievous error they had committed, and that, in their endeavour to 
 injure Greek Orthodoxy, they had brought themselves to the brink of 
 destruction. The last barrier being broken down, the rapacious hordes 
 of Islam overran Hungary, and soon stood before the gates of Vienna. 
 Christendom was in danger of destruction when the saviour of 
 Western Europe, in the person of Sobieski, compelled the Turks to 
 retire from Vienna, and to limit their conquests to the country above 
 Buda, the chief town of Hungary, where for a century and a half 
 they revelled in blood, in murder, and in rapine. Christendom had 
 lost its strength in its efforts to drive the Crescent from Europe, 
 and looked on with apathy at the massacres and nameless atrocities com- 
 mitted by the Turks ; but the Servains still retained their old national 
 sentiments in their hearts sentiments which were handed down from 
 sire to son in songs and poems that told of heroic deeds, and kept the 
 feeling of patriotism still alive in the soul of the down-trodden 
 Servian Rayah. The Servians suffered in silence, and waited pain- 
 fully and sorrowfully for the day of their deliverance. Although 
 late, that day at length came for a portion of the Servian people, 
 and in the beginning of the present century the Servian Rayah, after 
 protracted and exhausting hardships, succeeded in winning a home- 
 stead small, it is true, but free. The handful of Servians who
 
 25 
 
 escaped with their bare lives from the yataghans and the gibbets of the 
 Turks, set to work in their little principality to acquire those habits 
 of Western civilization which the barbarism of their former masters 
 denied them ; and after 50 years this miniature State has attained a 
 position of progress of which their former oppressors will never be 
 capable. 
 
 "In this enlightened nineteenth century the Christians of European 
 Turkey, especially the subjected Slavs, have suffered the most in- 
 human persecutions, probably because the fear existed that they, 
 too, would also attempt, like the Servians in the Principality, to gain 
 their freedom. Insurrections broke out several times in Herzegovina 
 and in isolated districts of Bosnia. The barbarities perpetrated on 
 the poor Rayah daily increased. In vain the heartrending cry of 
 woe was addressed to the European Powers, but there was no pity 
 for the Slavonian Rayah. The imaginary spectre of Panslavism was 
 all that could be seen. The brutal Turks were allowed to pillage, 
 violate, and murder to their heart's content, and Europe looked on 
 unmoved. 
 
 " Servia and Montenegro felt the sufferings of their brothers, for 
 the tortures endured by the Slavs moved their hearts and stirred 
 their blood ; but Europe desired to condemn Servia and Montenegro 
 to the agonizing punishment of being compelled to play the part of 
 lookers-on. 
 
 "A year ago the insurrection in Herzegovina broke out once 
 more, and all the power of the Ottoman Empire has, after 1 2 months, 
 been unable to suppress it. Europe sided with the ' legitimate ' 
 Government, but in vain. That great, but cruel and barbarous 
 State has been shaken to its very centre, its leaders have been rapidly 
 changed, the ruler himself has toppled from his throne and lost his 
 life, the decayed State bark has been shipwrecked, and ' the dying 
 man,' in his furious rage, only found one thing he was still able to 
 accomplish to injure Servia and Montenegro with his venomous 
 calumnies. There was no longer hope for peace. Servia and 
 Montenegro were compelled to offer resistance to the Turkish 
 fanatics, and two weeks ago the war begun on the part of Turkey 
 with the cry, ' Extermination of the Slavonian Christian dogs,' and 
 on the part of Servia with the words, ' Dignified existence and liberty 
 for our enslaved Christian brothers.' It is only necessary to be a
 
 26 
 
 human being to know that our cause is just, and that we have taken 
 up arms in defence of the highest and holiest interests of civilization 
 and humanity. 
 
 "The two small States of Servia and Montenegro, with their 
 population of one million and a half, must now, with God's blessing, 
 endeavour to put a stop to that oppression which civilized Europe 
 might long since have refused to tolerate. They will either accom- 
 plish their mission or fall in the unequal struggle, but history will 
 record the shame of those who now render services to the oppressors. 
 On our part it is a question of self-defence, and it should be made 
 known to the whole world that we can no longer permit the cruel 
 massacre of our brothers, and that our object, which we will carry 
 out even to the sacrifice of the last drop of our blood, is to rescue our 
 brethren from the vampire that has so long preyed upon them. The 
 future administration of the districts in which our Slavonian brothers 
 have their homes must never again be directly in the hands of their 
 brutal executioners, but in the hands of the people themselves and of 
 the authorities whom they may elect. By this means only can our 
 brethren be able gradually to obtain the fruits of civilization, and, 
 without in the least convulsing Europe, become in a little time a link 
 in the chain which unites enlightened peoples for the benefit of pro- 
 gress and humanity. 
 
 "These politicians and diplomatists commit a grave error who 
 see in the horrible persecution of the Rayah the only means of main- 
 taining for some time longer the so-called balance of power, for 
 should the atrocities be permitted to continue, the heart-rending 
 cries of distress of the Christians in the Balkan Peninsula will not 
 appeal in vain to humanity. The Government of Russia, whose 
 people are connected with us by blood, race, and religion, will be 
 obliged to cast off the stoical calmness with which it has looked on 
 at the scenes of violation, rapine, and murder, perpetrated by the 
 Mussulmans, and will have to rouse itself from its lethargy, and 
 hasten to the rescue of the Slavonian Christians. Then will occur 
 what diplomacy desires to prevent namely, a Russian invasion of 
 Turkey. Those, however, who stand in fear of this result, should 
 learn in time to have some feelings of human nature, and they will 
 then not help to fan a flame which may envelope Europe and them- 
 selves."
 
 27 
 
 The noble Chairman's eloquent speech at this now famous meeting 
 sounded the key-note of public opinion, and his lordship was followed 
 by speakers whose fearless denunciation of the atrocities perpetrated 
 in Bulgaria sent a thrill of horror throughout the land, and aroused, 
 to a degree that nothing had previously done, the sympathies and 
 the indignation of the British people. Numerous public meetings 
 were subsequently held by "THE LEAGUE" in various provin- 
 cial towns, the most important of which was, perhaps, that held 
 at Croydon, where the Right Hon. Robert Lowe, M.P., delivered 
 one of the most effective speeches made upon the question. 
 
 PUBLIC MEETING AT CROYDON. 
 From " THE TIMES," September 14, 1876. 
 
 A large number of the inhabitants of Croydon assembled last 
 night in the public hall of that town in order to express their horror 
 and disgust at the atrocities perpetrated by the Turks in Bulgaria. 
 Mr. J. Spencer Balfour took the chair, and was supported by Mr. 
 Grantham, M.P., the Rev. J. A. Spurgeon, Dr. Carpenter, the Rev. 
 N. Parkyn, the Rev. A. Davies, and the Rev. R. R. Suffield. The 
 Right Hon. Robert Lowe, M.P., and Mr. Lewis Farley were also 
 present on the platform. 
 
 The Rev. J. A. Spurgeon moved, and Dr. Carpenter seconded, 
 the first resolution, as follows : 
 
 That this meeting of the inhabitants of the town of Croydon records its 
 sense of horror and disgust at the terrible outrages committed by the Turks, 
 with the tacit approval of the Ottoman Government, upon the unarmed popu- 
 lation of Bulgaria. 
 
 Mr. Lewis Farley, secretary of " THE LEAGUE IN AID OF THE 
 CHRISTIANS OF TUEKKY," supported the resolution, and in doing 
 so said that, instead of making a speech, he would read the following 
 letter which he had just received from the Minister of Foreign Affairs 
 in Servia :
 
 28 
 
 '' BELGRADE, 
 
 " September 5, 1876, 
 
 4< I wish to call your particular attention to the barbarous manner 
 with which the Porte, in spite of the representations of the Powers, 
 continues to make war in the Principality. 
 
 " The Turkish Army has completely devastated all the territory 
 that it has traversed in Servia, burnt the towns and villages which 
 have made no resistance, carried off the cattle, laid waste the fields, 
 violated the women, and killed all the men they have been able to 
 seize. It is, in fact, a repetition of the horrors that have been com- 
 mitted in Bulgaria, and if these atrocities are on a smaller scale, it is 
 not from any want of will on the part of the Turks, but simply 
 because the population retire on their approach. 
 
 " Do not suppose that this system of extermination is at all 
 decreasing. During the six days' battle (August 19-24) which the 
 Servians gained on the right bank of the Morava, near Alexinatz, the 
 Turkish army burnt every village it could reach. At present it is 
 fighting on the left bank, and the telegraph of yesterday announces 
 that all the villages on this side also have been burnt, and all the fields 
 destroyed. A member of the Red Cross Society, Lucas Pavovich, 
 surprised by the Bashi-Bazouks while in the performance of his duty, 
 had the arm cut off on which he bore the sign of the Eed Cross, and 
 expired in a few moments afterwards. During the before- mentioned 
 battle of six days the Turkish Artillery particularly directed its fire 
 against a Servian ambulance of the Red Cross where the wounded 
 were provisionally placed, and only ceased to fire on it when the flag 
 bearing the red cross had been struck down by a shot. 
 
 " After the Turks had been repulsed from the right bank of the 
 Morava, heartrendering cries were heard during the night from the 
 left bank, to which they had retired . The next morning a frightful 
 spectacle presented itself to the horrified gaze of the Servians. Eight 
 men were seen hanging from gibbets, but four of them hud hud their 
 feet and legs burnt under a slow fire, while the other four bad been 
 partly flayed alive. The cause of the cries heard during the night 
 needed no further explanation. 
 
 " You have, of course, remarked, in the report of the American 
 Consul on the massacres in Bulgaria, that the Turks everywhere 
 destroyed the churches and the schools. They made war in the most
 
 29 
 
 horrible manner, not only against the Christian populations, but also 
 against the little European civilization that has been able to pene- 
 trate into the country. They endeavour to replunge Eastern Europe 
 into the barbarism of Asia. They are acting now in a similar manner 
 in Old Servia, in Herzegovina, and in Bosnia ; everywhere the Turks, 
 besides the atrocities committed on the Christians, take particular 
 care to destroy the convents and burn the churches and schools. 
 
 " It is only fifteen days ago that a flying column of the Servian 
 Army of the Drina accompanied about 100 women and children, who 
 had escaped from the Turks when the latter had burnt their village 
 in the neighbourhood of Belina. The column, composed of only 
 250 men, being pursued by a battalion of Nizams, stopped to re- 
 pulse the enemy. Unfortunately, at the first discharge of musketry, 
 the frightened women fled for refuge into a small wood close by ; 
 but while half of the battalion remained in front of the Servian 
 .column, the other half threw themselves into the wood, and the 
 women and children were mercilessly slaughtered. 
 
 " The Turks are determined to continue the war in the same 
 manner. The Pester Lloyd is not ashamed to announce, in its 
 number for Aug. 27, that the Porte have ordered the purchase of a 
 large quantity of petroleum for the purpose of burning the towns and 
 villages of Servia." 
 
 The second resolution was proposed and seconded by the Rev. W. 
 Clarkson and Mr. Morland, and supported, in an exhaustive speech, 
 by the Right Hon. Robert Lowe, M.P.
 
 30 
 
 From His Excellency M. Ristitch, Servian Minister for 
 Foreign Affairs : 
 
 "PRINCIPALITY OF SERVIA, 
 
 " MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, 
 " BELGRADE, 
 
 "September 1, 1876. 
 " DEAR SIR, 
 
 " I have already had the honour of expressing to you my 
 sentiments of esteem and gratitude for the zeal, as intelligent as 
 indefatigable, that you have displayed in England for the cause of 
 the Christians of the East, and if I again recur to this subject it is 
 because I am expressly charged to assure you that those sentiments 
 in your regard, as well as in regard to all the members of the 
 society of which you are the secretary, are shared not only in the 
 governmental circles of the Principality, but also by the citizens of 
 Belgrade. 
 
 "The latter, deeply moved by the marks of sympathy that have 
 been evinced from all parts of Europe for the martyrs of the East, 
 and by the generous defence undertaken in their favour, have com- 
 municated with the Mayor of Belgrade, in order to give expression to 
 their sentiments in an address, which has already been sent to 
 London. 
 
 " It is with great satisfaction that I communicate this fact to you, 
 as it proves once more that in Servia we know how to appreciate the 
 magnanimous efforts of men who labour in the work of the liberty 
 and moral solidarity of the peoples, a work which does honour to 
 our age, and cannot fail to produce precious fruit in the future. 
 
 " Accept once more, dear Sir, the assurance of my unalterable 
 esteem. 
 
 " M. BAN. 
 "To Mr. J. Lewis Farley."
 
 31 
 
 THE SICK AND WOUNDED IN SERVIA. 
 From the " DAILY NEWS " (Leading Article}, August 1, 1876. 
 
 " Our readers will learn with satisfaction that ' THE LEAGUE IN 
 AID OF THE CHRISTIANS OF TURKEY ' is about to send out a 
 medical representative to the seat of war, with a supply of medicines 
 and surgical appliances. Two ladies, well known for their services 
 to the sick and wounded in the Franco- German war, will presently 
 leave for Belgrade. In the meantime, subscriptions in aid of this 
 work may be sent in the manner indicated by Mr. Farley, whose 
 
 letter we publish this morning When it is known 
 
 that a society in which trust can be placed has its agents at the seat 
 of war, no doubt the charity of the English people will soon supply 
 them with means of alleviating the present distress. Most things 
 about the present conflict are hard enough to understand, and there 
 is room and reason for varying sympathies, but all may meet in this 
 one feeling, and all may find outlet in this expression of humanity." 
 
 Note. Four surgeons, two dressers, and three nurses were sent 
 by the League to Servia in the month of August, together with an 
 ample supply of medical stores. 
 
 From His Excellency M. Bistitch, Servian Minister for 
 Foreign Affairs : 
 
 " PRINCIPALITY OF SERVIA, 
 
 " MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, 
 " BELGRADE, 
 
 " November 17, 1876. 
 " MONSIEUR, 
 
 " Mr. Lamson has handed me your esteemed letter of 
 November 2nd instant, in which you have been good enough to 
 inform me that your League has confided to him the mission of
 
 32 
 
 distributing among the wounded and victims of the war the relief of 
 which he is the bearer, and which he may subsequently receive from 
 your society. 
 
 ''It is hardly necessary for me to say that Mr. Lamson will 
 receive from me, as well as from all the members of the Government, 
 the most earnest co-operation for the accomplishment of the mission 
 of humanity with which he is charged. Penetrated with gratitude 
 towards yourself and towards your noble compatriots for the 
 generous aid you have sent to the victims of a cruel war, we shall 
 consider it a duty to facilitate as much as we can the mission of 
 your representative. 
 
 " Mr. Lamson has spoken to me, amongst other things, of the 
 intention of your League to establish in London a journal devoted to 
 the defence of Christian interests in the East. Such a publication, 
 the object of which would be to make known to the English public 
 the true aspirations and wants of the Christian peoples of the East, 
 would certainly be of great utility for the cause for which they have 
 taken up arms, and we cannot but felicitate ourselves upon its pub- 
 lication. 
 
 " Permit me here to express all the gratitude which we feel for 
 your persevering efforts in interesting your countrymen in the fate 
 of the Christian populations of the East, and representing their 
 cause in its true light. All the proofs of sympathy we have received 
 from you and from the English nation are fully appreciated here, 
 and if, in relieving a great misfortune, the English people follow a 
 tradition that is dear to them, the Servians, on tiieir side, will not 
 show themselves forgetful of the benefits they have received. 
 
 " I take this opportunity of thanking you most sincerely for your 
 devotion to our interests, and at the same time to assure you of my 
 high esteem. 
 
 " J. RISTITCH. 
 
 " To Mr. J. Lewis Farley, Secretary of the League in 
 in Aid of the Christians of Turkey."
 
 From His Eminence, Michael Archbishop of Belgrade : 
 
 "BELGRADE, 
 
 "December 14/26/1876. 
 " RKVEKEND SIR, 
 
 " As you are about to leave Belgrade, I regard it as an 
 agreeable duty to assure you of our sense of the large extent which 
 the succours you have brought to our poor sufferers from the war 
 have lightened their burden and helped them to support the hard 
 lot which this conflict has entailed upon them. At the same time, 1 
 desire you to feel that you bear away with you the gratitude of 
 those whom you have comforted, a feeling which we all share. 
 
 "The Churches of England and America have wjn our warm 
 friendship; while to yourself and to 'THE LEAGUE IN AID OF THE 
 CHRISTIANS OF TURKET ' we owe an eternal gratitude. 
 
 "Accept, dear Sir, the assurance of my very distinguished con- 
 sideration. 
 
 " .MICHAEL, 
 
 "Archbishop of Belgrade and Metropolitan of Servia. 
 " To the Rev. W. O. Lamson, Representative of the League 
 in Aid of the Christians of Turkey." 
 
 From Vasa Givanovitch, Prefect of the District of Cra'ina : 
 
 " VERY VENERABLE MONSIEUR LAMSON, 
 
 "The friends of humanity, the friends of Christianity, and 
 the friends of liberty have hastened from every part of the civilized 
 world to support our holy enterprise, and to facilitate its triumph. 
 While our heroes are contending on the battle-field against tyranny, 
 the friends of truth are striving in the field of literature against 
 ignorance, and are aiding to dispel the political darkness which has 
 weighed upon our brethren for nearly five centuries. 
 
 "Servia, my beloved country, is happy and proud to be able to 
 
 c
 
 84 
 
 count upon both fields an immense number of friends, among which 
 is ' THE LEAGUE IN AID OP THE CHRISTIANS OP TURKEY,' of which 
 you, venerable Sir, are the worthy representative. 
 
 " During your sojourn in our district, while distributing paternally 
 to the victims of the war rich gifts of money, clothing, shoes, &c., 
 you left in the hearts of all Servians who had the honour and the joy 
 of making your acquaintance an agreeable memory, so that they will 
 never forget you. 
 
 " Two thousand poor and orphans of Negotin, Salash, Copriv- 
 nitza, Rgotina, Velica Yassicova, Mala Yassicova, Glogovitza, 
 Bregovo, Cossovo, Dele'ina, Rakitnitza, Novo Selo, Gnzovo, Bel- 
 gradhik, &c., &c., to whom you were good enough to distribute 
 clothing, shoes, &c., as well as the poor sick, to whom you gave 
 money, express their heartfelt gratitude to you for these paternal 
 gifts, and commend themselves to your holy prayers. May heaven 
 break the insupportable yoke of their brethren, and soon grant them 
 an honourable liberty, the indispensable right of every man. 
 " Your sincere Friend, 
 
 "VASA GIVANOVITCH, 
 
 " Prefect of the District of Cra'ina. 
 
 "Negotin, 14/26 December, 1876." 
 
 From the Archpriest of Negotin : 
 
 " NEGOTIN, 
 
 "December 7/19, 1876. 
 
 "MUCH ESTEEMED SlR AND BROTHER IN CHRIST, 
 
 " Nothing less than Christian sympathy for the poor victims 
 of the present war, the only aim of which is to free ourselves from 
 the impious hands of the savage Asiatics, could have moved you to 
 take so long and laborious a journey in order to bear comfort to 
 them, and dry the bitter tears of their unhappy fortune. Your 
 sacrifice provokes joy in the heart of every Servian. The Servian 
 nation must ever cherish a deep sense of the humanity and civiliza-
 
 tion which characterize the English people, and which are so nobly 
 manifested by our English brothers and sisters, not only by the pro- 
 tection thus accorded to our brethren suffering under the insup- 
 portable yoke of our common enemy, but also by the rich succours 
 which they thus fraternally bring to his victims. 
 
 " Praise and glory belong to the possessors of these Christian 
 virtues, among whom you, my friend and brother, as well as your 
 honourable colleagues, occupy the foremost place. In the name of 
 the sufferers whom you have had the goodness to console by your 
 gifts, I, as minister of the Church of Christ, express to you our 
 sincerest thanks, praying the Almighty to multiply such philanthropic 
 souls, and to send upon you his benediction, bearing you back happily 
 to your home to find all your loved ones safe and well. 
 
 " Upon your return bear our salutation to all who know us, 
 expressing the fervent prayer that their wishes and yours for us be 
 quickly realized. 
 
 "Praying heaven to protect you on your way, I wish you a 
 prosperous journey, and may it please God that we meet again under 
 circumstances happier for the Christianity of the East. 
 
 " Commending myself to your friendship, I beg you to accept the 
 assurance of my highest regard. 
 _ " Your Brother in Christ, 
 
 "DIMITRY GIVOIN MILOIKOWITCH, 
 " Archpriest of Negotin, Member of the Consistoire Appellatoire, 
 
 Professor in the Gymnase of Negotin. 
 "To the Rev. W. O. Lamson, Pretre, &c., 
 
 Representative of the League," &c. 
 
 BY TELEGRAM. 
 (THROUGH REUTER'S AGENCY.) 
 
 BELGRADE, January 16, 1877. 
 
 The Servian Government has conferred the Gold Cross of the 
 Order of the Takovo upon Mr. Lewis Farley and the Rev. W. O. 
 Lamson, in recognition of their services to the cause of the 
 Christians of Turkey. 
 
 c 2
 
 86 
 
 THE " ORIENTAL STAR." 
 From the " MANCHESTER CRITIC." 
 
 '"THE LEAGUE IN AID OF THE CHRISTIANS OF TURKEY,' 
 with the view of helping to dissipate the ignorance existing in this 
 country in reference to the past and present condition of the much 
 oppressed Christians in the Ottoman Empire, have decided upon 
 issuing an official gazette, the ORIENTAL STAR, the first numher of 
 which is before us. The opening article, ' The Eve of the Conference,' 
 shows how the obliquity and misconception of British diplomacy have 
 brought England into an equivocal position, in which Turkey regards 
 her as almost pledged to stand by her in all events, and through 
 which Englishmen are presented to the world as upholding the vilest 
 oppression known to the personal experieuce of this generation. 
 From this false position, adds the writer, England must recede, 
 whatever the retreat may cost the pride of British diplomatists. An 
 exhaustive description of the reforms necessary in Turkey follows. 
 We commend the paper to the study of all desiring to have a thorough 
 acquaintance with the question of the day. Mr. J. Lewis Farley, 
 who was one of the first to begin this agitation in England, is the 
 Secretary to the League, and his name is a guarantee for the trust- 
 worthiness of the ORIENTAL STAR."
 
 37 
 
 SICK AND WOUNDED RUSSIAN SOLDIERS. 
 
 From His Excellency P. de Mauritz, Private Secretary of 
 Her Majesty the Empress of Russia: 
 
 " CHANCELLERIE DE SA MAJKSTE L'IMPERATRICE, 
 
 " ST.-PETERSBOUR'G, 
 
 "August 5, 1877. 
 "MONSIEUR, 
 
 "I have had the pleasure to submit to Her Majesty the 
 Empress, the august patroness of the Red Cross Society in Russia, 
 the letter you were good enough to address to me, and I am com- 
 manded to inform you that all offerings which ' THE LEAGUE IN 
 AID OF THE CHRISTIANS OF TURKEY' may send to the said society 
 for the relief of our sick and wounded soldiers will be received with 
 sincere gratitude. 
 
 " In acquitting myself of this command, I take the opportunity of 
 renewing to yourself the assurance of my most cordial esteem. 
 
 " MAURITZ. 
 
 "To Monsieur Lewis Farlev." 
 
 From His Excellency P. de Mauritz, Private Secretary of 
 Her Majesty the Empress of Russia : 
 
 " ST.-PETERSBOURG, 
 
 "August 14-26, 1877. 
 " MONSIEUR, 
 
 "Agreeably with your letter of the 5- 17th of this month, 
 I have to acknowledge the receipt of one thousand roubles which 
 your committee has been good enough to place at the disposal of the 
 Red Cross for relief of the sick and wounded Russian soldier?. 
 Having brought this offering to the knowledge of Her Majesty the 
 Empress, I am commanded to convey to the committee, as well as to 
 its indefatigable secretary, the sincere thanks of our august Pro- 
 
 390734
 
 tectress, who is much gratified at this testimony of sympathy for a 
 work instituted under her patronage. 
 
 "In acquitting myself, by the present letter, of Her Majesty's 
 orders, I also fulfil the duty of informing you that the sum of one 
 thousand roubles offered by your committee has been to-day paid 
 into the fund of the central office of the Red Cross. 
 
 "I take, with great pleasure, this opportunity of renewing to 
 yourself the assurance of my most cordial esteem. 
 
 "MAURITZ. 
 
 " Monsieur Lewis Farley." 
 
 From Aide-de Camp General Baumgarten, President of the 
 Russian Red Cross Society at St. Petersburg : 
 
 " DIRECTION CENTRALE, 
 
 " ST.-PETERSBOURG, 
 
 "August 25 (September 6), 1877. 
 " MONSIEUR, 
 
 "The Central Direction of the Red Cross Society has 
 received with great satisfaction the announcement of the formation of 
 your committee for relief of the sick and wounded Russian soldiers in 
 the present war. The formation of this committee is a striking proof 
 of the good international relations which have never bten found 
 wanting whenever the interests of humanity and civilization were at 
 stake. 
 
 " Having had the honour, in the name of the society, of bringing 
 to the knowledge of Her Majesty the Empress the fact of the forma- 
 tion of your committee, Her Majesty has been pleased to express her 
 high appreciation of your efforts, and has commanded me to convey 
 to you, as well as to the committee, the expression of her sincere 
 gratitude. 
 
 "Accept, Monsieur, the assurance of my most cordial esteem. 
 " The President of the Central Direction, 
 
 " Aide-de-Camp General BAUMGARTEN. 
 "To Monsieur Lewis Farlev."
 
 39 
 
 From His Excellency P. de Mauritz, Private Secretary to 
 Her Majesty the Empress of Russia: 
 
 " CHANCELLERIE DE SA MAJESTK L'!MPERATRICE, 
 " ST. PETERSBURG, 
 
 "August 30 (September 11), 1877. 
 " MONSIEUR, 
 
 " Messrs. Thomson, Bonar, and Co., bankers, of this capital, 
 have handed me the sura of 20,000 roubles, offered by your com- 
 mittee as announced in your letter of 4th September (new style). I 
 have had the pleasure of also bringing this remittance to the know- 
 ledge of Her Majesty the Empress, and I am commanded to convey 
 her sincere thanks .to the members of the committee, and to express 
 to them how much she has been gratified with their gift, destined to 
 relieve so many wounded, and also a large number of necessitous 
 families, sorely tried by the present war. 
 
 " In begging you, Monsieur, to be the interpreter of these senti- 
 ments to the committee, I fulfil the duty of informing you that, 
 according to the desire of the donors, the sum you have remitted 
 shall be divided into two parts, one of which shall be appro- 
 priated in relieving our wounded, and the other distributed among 
 the widows of the combatants who have fallen on the field of 
 battle, and also employed in the education of some of the orphans. 
 This mode of distribution agrees perfectly with the gracious inten- 
 tions of Her Majesty the Empress. 
 
 " I have received the list of the persons who have contributed to 
 this offering, and shall not fail to have it published in our journals. 
 
 "Accept, Monsieur, the renewed assurances of my most cordial 
 esteem. 
 
 " MAURITZ. 
 " To Monsieur Lewis Farley."
 
 40 
 
 THE TREATMENT OF RUSSIAN PRISONERS AND 
 WOUNDED BY THE TURKS. 
 
 From the " DAILY NEWS," October 23, 1877. 
 
 " A conference was held yesterday, at 3, Craven Street, Strand, 
 between the Committee of the Sick and Wounded Russian Soldiers' 
 Relief Fund, 14, Cockspur Street, Pall Mall, and the Committee of 
 the National Aid Society, with reference to the fate of the Russian 
 wounded and prisoners who fall into the hands of the Turks. The 
 action of ths former committee was suggested by a letter received by 
 Mr. Lewis Farley from the Princess Marie Bariatinsky, of which the 
 following is an extract : ' The fate of our poor wounded soldiers 
 and prisoners appals us, and we anxiously seek for some news of them. 
 Those who fall into the hands of the English we know are saved, but 
 alas for the others ! The wounded of Plevna, Lovtcha, and of the army 
 before Rustchuk what has become of them ? We hear nothing of them 
 in the newspapers, while the railway brings us thousands of Turkish 
 prisoners, who are treated and cared for according to all the laws of 
 humanity and hospitality. As I have said, the fate of our wounded 
 prisoners who fall into the hands of the English surgeons is assured ; 
 but can nothing be done to cause the Turkish soldiers to take the 
 Russian wounded to the English ambulances ? Not having any com- 
 munication with the Turkish ambulances and hospitals, we beseech 
 you to communicate with the committees which have ambulances in 
 the Turkish army, and see if they will help to rescue our poor wounded 
 prisoners.' 
 
 " Mr. Lewis Farley, having read the letter, said that while there 
 were between nine and ten thousand Turkish prisoners in the hands 
 of the Russians who were well treated and cared for nothing was 
 heard of the Russian prisoners in Turkey. The Turkish wounded in 
 the Russian hospitals were tended with the same care as the Rus- 
 sians, Bulgarians, or Roumanians, but they did not hear of any Rus- 
 sians in the English or Turkish hospitals. 
 
 *' Colonel Loyd-Lindsay said he believed that when the Russian 
 wounded fell into the hands of the Turkish regulars their safety was
 
 41 
 
 assured though this might not be so when they fell into the hands 
 of the irregulars. All wounded, however, whether Russians or Turks, 
 when brought to the English ambulances were treated alike. 
 
 " Mr. Farley said that the important question was, how were the 
 Russian wounded to be got to the English ambulances? 
 
 "The Rev. W. T. Freer said that the committee were so con- 
 vinced of the importance of taking action that they were prepared to 
 place funds at the disposal of the National Aid Society, in order to 
 carry out the suggestions contained in the letter of the Princess Baria- 
 tinsky. 
 
 " Mr. Lloyd, who had just returned from Bucharest, remarked 
 that before acting in the direction indicated it would be advisable to 
 institute inquiries. 
 
 " Major de Winton admitted that there were great difficulties in the 
 way of carrying out the suggestions contained in the letter of the 
 Princess, but he felt convinced that the National Aid Society would 
 not be wanting in their efforts to give effect to these suggestions, 
 when there was a possibility of doing so. 
 
 "Mr. G. Hamilton Fletcher asked whether specific instructions 
 could not be sent to the agents of the National Aid Society, so that 
 for the future, at all events, the necessary care should be taken to 
 bring in the Russian wounded left on the field. 
 
 " Colonel Loyd-Lindsay said that he would telegraph to Mr. Young 
 at Constantinople and Mr. Leslie at the Shipka Pass to take all possible 
 measures to carry out the suggestions which had been made, and to 
 report immediately the results to him. He would, in accordance with 
 the suggestion of Mr. Farley, ascertain the number of the Russian 
 wounded in Turkish hospitals. He said, however, that there were 
 English officers with the Turkish armies in whom the Government 
 placed great confidence, and who would no doubt report any mal- 
 treatment of Russian wounded and prisoners."
 
 42 
 
 From Aide-de-Camp General Baumgarten, President of the 
 Russian Red Cross Society at St. Petersburg : 
 
 " COMITE CENTRAL RUSSK DB SECOURS AUX MILITAIRES 
 " BLESSES ET MALADES, 
 
 " ST.-PETERSBOURG, 
 
 "September 15-27, 1877. 
 "MONSIEUR, 
 
 " In acknowledging the receipt of your kind letter of 15th 
 September, I have the honour to inform you that we perfectly 
 appreciate and agree with the views of your committee in reference to 
 their having an English representative at the seat of war, from whom 
 they will be able to receive uch information as may he useful and 
 necessary. 
 
 " Mr. Lamsou shall be specially recommended to the care of 
 Mr. De Richter, the delegate of our Society at Bucharest, by whose 
 aid he will be certain to obtain everything required for the fulfil- 
 ment of his mission. 
 
 "Accept, Monsieur, the assurance of my sincere esteem. 
 
 " A. BAUMGARTEN. 
 "To Monsieur Lewis Farley." 
 
 (By TELEGRAM FROM BUCHAREST.) 
 From "THK TIMES" Special Correspondent. 
 
 " BUCHAREST, 
 
 " October 12, 1877. 
 
 " Doctor George H. Lumson, of the Sick and Wounded Russian 
 Soldiers' Relief Fund, arrived here this evening, and will proceed 
 at once to assist the Medical Departments in caring for the wounded. 
 Doctor Lamson served in the French Army during the last war, 
 and was in Servia last summer during the campaign."
 
 From the Special. Correspondent of the "STANDARD:" 
 
 " BUCHAREST, 
 
 " November 13, 1877. 
 
 "Doctor Lamson has had wide experience in his vocation, for he 
 served through the Franco-German war, and last year through the 
 Servian war. He represents Mr. Lewis Farley's Committee, and 
 enjoys the unique advantage of being the only foreign surgeon re- 
 cognized by the Russian Red Cross Society. In the latter capacity 
 he devotes a portion of his time to the Russian Central Military 
 Hospital in Bucharest. This gentleman, when the hospital was 
 ready at the end of last week for their reception, proceeded himself 
 to Turnu Magurelli, and from the overflowing tents and hospitals of 
 that huge lazarette selected thirty of the worst cases he could find. 
 Distinguishing his charges by a linen brassard bearing the imprint, 
 ' Spitalul Engles,' he brought them up himself to the new hospital, 
 where everything was ready for their reception. The men had all 
 been wounded in the last unsuccessful allempt to storm the Turkish 
 redoubt near Gravitza, their hurts having been received principally 
 in the hands and arms as they were endeavouring to escalade the 
 parapet of the place. The poor fellows were in a sad condition. 
 Unwashed since they had been before Plevna for, as they said, 
 they could not get water enough to drink, much less for ablution 
 they were much depressed from exposure, and with several the cases 
 were complicated by frostbite ; they are, however, for the most part, 
 doing well. There were two or three cases causing some anxiety. 
 One was that of a young man (a Roumanian) shot in the hand, who 
 required amputation of a finger ; but from exposure he had become 
 smitten with consumption in both lungs, and it was feared he could 
 not stand what sounds like a comparatively trivial operation. There 
 was one case of gangrene which gave every indication of a fatal ter- 
 mination. The comfort and care the patient has since received have 
 apparently turned the scale, and there is now every prospect of his 
 recovery. He was isolated in a large airy compartment, and sitting 
 by his bedside, when I visited the hospital, was a middle-aged 
 peasant, who had walked 40 miles to see his wounded boy. It was
 
 44 
 
 very pleasant to note the mingled expression of joy on the father's 
 face, now that he was assured the son he had given up for lost would 
 be restored to him, and of gratitude to those who were showing him 
 such devoted attention." 
 
 From the Baroness de Rahden, Directress of the Central 
 Depot of the Russian Red Cross Society at St. Peters- 
 burg : 
 
 " ST. PETERSBURG, 
 
 " September 8-20, 1877. 
 " MONSIEUR, 
 
 " Will you allow me to suggest the things most necessary to 
 be sent for the future for our soldiers ? The wounded often spend 
 long nights in open cars, and want good blankets, warm jackets, and 
 stockings on their painful journeys from the battle-fields of Bulgaria 
 to the Roumanian hospitals or sanitary trains. Anything woollen 
 will be most welcome. I am authorized by Her Majesty the Empress 
 to express this wish for the central depot, in which, you will re- 
 member, I take a part. 
 
 " Believe me, yours faithfully, 
 
 "C. RAHDEN. 
 "To Monsieur Lewis Farley." 
 
 From the" JOURNAL PE ST.-PEIEUSBOUKG :" 
 
 " October 20, 1877. 
 
 " We learn that, thanks to the committee organized by Mr. 
 Lewis Farley, two shipments of blanket?, woollen vests, and stock- 
 ings, medical stores, &c., for our wounded, have arrived from 
 London on board the steamers Onega and Viatka, and that a third 
 shipment is shortly expected by the steamer Odessa.
 
 45 
 
 From the "JOURNAL DE ST.-PETERSBOURG:" 
 
 "November 2, 1877. 
 
 " We learn that the English Committee, organized in London 
 by Mr. Lewis Farley, has just made a fourth shipment of various 
 articles destined for the sick and wounded of our army. This ship- 
 ment comes by the steamer Strelna for our capital, where we hope 
 it will arrive before the entry into the port of Cronstadt is stopped 
 by the ice." 
 
 From the "JOURNAL DE ST.-PKTKRSBOURG :" 
 
 " November 1G, 1877. 
 
 " A letter from Mr. Farley announces a further shipment (the 
 fifth) of blankets and woollen clothing, of a superior quality, on board 
 the Lena, for our sick and wounded. The articles composing this 
 shipment will be forwarded to the Rev. Mr. Lamson at Bucharest, 
 in order that he may have a special stock of warm clothing and 
 medical stores during his visits to the hospitals. Two other ship- 
 ments are en route, but, in view of the probable freezing of the port 
 of Cronstadt, they will be landed at Riga and at Reval. 
 
 '' The Rev. Mr. Lamson, delegate of the committee, leaves St. 
 Petersburg to-morrow for Bucharest. The time he has passed in 
 our capital will certainly not be lost to the humanitarian caiue which 
 he serves with so much devotion. He has seen, and he will be able 
 to make known to his compatriots, the earnestness and zeal that all 
 here, the highest classes included, manifest in giving their time and 
 labour to the work of the Red Cross, and the gratitude, with which 
 they receive the testimonies of sympathy, modest as they may be, 
 which come to us from abroad."
 
 THE LEAGUE 
 
 IN AID OF THE 
 
 CHRISTIANS OF TURKEY. 
 
 FOUNDED DECEMBER. 1875. 
 
 GENERAL 
 
 Major J. Alexander. 
 
 William E. Bayley, Esq., J.P. 
 
 The Eev. E. P. Blakeney, D.D., Eural 
 
 Dean and Vicar of Bridlington. 
 The Eev. J. S. Bright, M.A. 
 F. A. Channing, Esq. 
 W. M. Cooper, Esq. 
 The Eev. A. A. Corfe, M.A. 
 \V. B. Daw, Esq. 
 
 The Eev. Arthur A. Dawson, M.A. 
 Captain H. T. Ellis, E.N. 
 J. Lewis Farley, Esq. 
 The Eev. J. Ed. Flower. 
 The Eev. Wm. Thos. Freer, M.A. 
 The Eev. H. D. French, M.A. 
 The Eev. J. Lincoln-G-alton, M.A. 
 Geo. Gladstone, Esq., F.E.G.S. 
 The Eev. S. Baring Gould, M.A. 
 The Eev. Francis M. Gregory, M.A. 
 The Eev. David Griffith, M.A. 
 Daniel Gurteen, Esq., J.P. 
 Surgeon-General W. Johnston. 
 Lieut. -Gen. E. Kaye, C.B. 
 The Eev. W. O. Lamson, M.A. 
 The Eev. W. H. Ley, M.A. 
 Thomas Lowther, Esq. 
 W. H. Marston, Esq. 
 
 COUNCIL 
 
 W. Mather, Esq. 
 
 Thomas G. Mead, Esq. 
 
 The Eev. Henry H. Methuen, M.A. 
 
 G. Meynell, Esq. 
 
 The Eev. Frederick Meyrick, M.A., 
 Eector of Blickling, and Preben- 
 dary of Lincoln. 
 
 The Eev. J. E. Millard, M.A. 
 
 Eichard Mullings, Esq. 
 
 The Eev. Arthur Pertwee, M.A. 
 
 Sir James H. Eamsay, Bart. 
 
 Sir John Blencowe Eobinson, Bart. 
 
 The Eev. B. W. Savile, M.A. 
 
 John L. Saxton, Esq. 
 
 T. J. Sells, Esq., J.P. 
 
 James Shaw, Esq. 
 
 The Eev. W. E. Wood Stephens, M. A., 
 Prebendary of Chichester. 
 
 The Eev. John Stock, LL.D. (Presi- 
 dent of the Yorkshire Association 
 of Baptist Churches.) 
 
 Admiral Sir James Sulivan, K.C.B. 
 
 The Eev. Henry F. Tozer, M.A. 
 
 Arthur L. Vernon, Esq. 
 
 The Eev. A. H. Wratislaw, M.A. 
 
 The Eev. E. A. Were, M.A. 
 
 The Eev. Cecil Wray, M.A. 
 
 OBJECTS OF THE LEAGUE. 
 
 The objects of the League are to aid the Christians of Turkey in obtaining 
 their freedom from Mussulman oppression, and to assist in relieving the 
 distress arising out of the war. 
 
 The League was the first to arouse sympathy in this country for the 
 oppressed Christians of Turkey, by placing their condition in its true light 
 before the British public. It svas also the first to send relief to the sick and 
 wounded in Servia, as it was also the first to send relief to the sick and 
 wounded Eussian and Eoumanian soldiers. 
 
 Much permanent good has been achieved, but much more remains to be 
 clone. Even after p:jace is made, there will still be some millions of Christians 
 in European Turkey, as well as in Asia Minor and Syria, whose interests re- 
 quire to be efficiently represented. The work \vhich has been done is evidence 
 of what may be accomplished in the future, and the Council earnestly appeal 
 to those friends who have already shown their practical sympathy, as v.-ell 
 as to every one who desires the advancement of liberty and civilization. 
 
 Subscriptions may be paid to Messrs. Eansora, Bouverie, and Co., Banl-<-iv, 
 1, Pall Mall East, S.W.; to the Members of the Council; or to 
 
 J. LEWIS FAELEY, Secretary. 
 
 14, Cockspur Street, Pall Mall, London, S.W., 
 January 1, 1878. 
 
 CLAYTON & Co., Temple Printing Works, 17, Bouverie Street, Fleet Street. 
 
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