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Crete was under Mustafa Pasha's rule, between 1830 and 1854. He was an able and well-disposed man, but these two qualities would not have been sufficient to secure him success if he had not been invested with full powers.

The Christians are clamouring for a strong Government, and in this they are perfectly right; but no Government can ever be strong under the circumstances just explained. The Mussulmans have so little hope left of their own Government ever realizing this desideratum that they have reverted to their idea of a foreign occupation, which means for them an English occupation, and Mussulmans of high standing have often been heard to say, jokingly, that if they knew that the murder of some English traveller or officer would bring about that result, they would commit the crime.

Besides the distrust of the population towards the Government, and their habit of always looking to Greece for orders, the Porte finds another obstacle in the humanitarian principle which induces Europe to raise her voice periodically against real or supposed outrages. This tends to confirm the delusion of the Christians that they can at all times reckon on her support, and is sufficient to encourage their highest aspirations. They cannot, and will never, understand a disinterested intervention.

The appointment of a Governor-General with the assent of the Great Powers appears to be the only measure that might establish a satisfactory and permanent state of things in this island. If it be impossible to solve the present difficulties by any such arrangement, a temporary relief can only be found in the reform of the Tribunals, the gendarmerie, and the assessment of the tithe. The question of reform under these three heads is not a new one, for it will be seen by reference to the correspondence of this Consulate that it has been the stumbling-block ever since the Halepa Pact. The population has continually suffered from the irregularity in these three branches; and the Christians, who are now so loud in blaining the Turks, themselves do nothing towards introducing improvement in this respect, when under five successive Christian Valis they had the whole government in their hands. All their time was taken up with political feuds, and the commonweal was the last thing thought of.

The Christians in the towns are loudly demanding the appointment of a Christian Governor-General, and the names of Photiades, Adassides, and Carathéodory Pashas are suggested; but all of them admit that the presence of a Christian at the head of the Government would inevitably result in the population being again split into two political camps. The most sanguine among them say that some time will elapse before this takes place, but do not pretend to

deny that such will be the ultimate result. Very little, however, was said on this subject in the villages. Even in Amari, one of the men who spoke to me having mentioned that they wanted a Christian Governor, another man hastened to explain that they referred to the Kaïmakam, who is a Mussulman, and not to the Vali.

I have noticed that the despondency of which I spoke in my despatch of the 4th ultimo as prevailing among Christians with regard to their prospects, is as strong as ever. Generally, they do not approve of the murders committed by outlaws on gendarmes, &c, which are productive of trouble to the Christians, as those who live near the scenes of murders are imprisoned or disarmed; but at the same time they will do nothing to prevent assassinations, but, on the contrary, assist the authors to escape by all means in their power.

The failure in the election of Elders, of which I have already spoken, is sure to be followed by a similar failure in the polling for the return of the electors, who, in conformity with the rule laid down by the Firman, are to elect the Deputies to the General Assembly.

The dates of the two elections have been fixed for the th April and th May next respectively.

So far from wishing to co-operate with the Government, the Christians would like all their co-religionists in Government employ to resign their posts, and thus throw the whole responsibility of the administration on the Porte. Inferior men have been and will no doubt always be found to occupy posts to which salaries are attached, but the superior class of Christians now hold aloof from the Government. Under these circumstances, the Porte would do well not to flinch from the task of reorganizing the Administration, which the whole Mussulman, and the bulk of the Christian, population expect, and hope to see performed as soon as all means have been exhausted of inducing the Cretans to take advantage of their privileges. If this expectation be not realized, it is difficult to foresee what may happen, but it certainly will be nothing in favour of tranquillity.

Real reforms, in the three branches of which I have spoken, will satisfy the whole population, for they are sick of the uncertainty of their present situation. Though it is not likely they would produce a permanent change for the better, they would give a temporary rest, the duration of which would depend on the working of the reformed bodies.

In connection with the reform of the Tribunals, of which I spoke at length in my despatch of the 4th ultimo, a summary procedure should be adopted for claims under £T. 30, which form

the bulk of the law-suits here, and which to the great detriment of the population, are now treated with the expensive formalities and endless delays which attend important cases. This change is of the utmost importance.

With regard to the gendarmerie, it has been superabundantly proved that no order can be maintained by a purely native gendarmerie, but it has also become evident that an exclusively foreign gendarmerie lacks the knowledge of men and localities which is indispensable to render them really efficient. Some cases have occurred wherein innocent men have been shot dead or wounded, while outlaws, including Liapis himself, have been sitting in the same café and drinking each other's health. As the Christian population complain of the gendarmerie in general, and of several native Mussulman gendarmes in particular, a full inquiry should be made into their conduct, followed by immediate dismissal when a charge is proved, and, as the Christian element in the native. gendarmerie is not fully represented, their contingent should be raised without delay to at least two-thirds of the native force. Their presence with the Mussulman gendarmes would have the double advantage of securing the latter against murderous attacks and of putting a stop to any real or supposed ill-treatment on the part of the Mussulman gendarmes towards Christians.

I may here repeat what has again and again been urged, not only by the local authorities and Consuls but by the whole population, Christian and Mussulman, that the introduction of capital punishment would do more to re-establish order than any other reform or privilege that may be devised.

Another real grievance to redress is that, in violation of the Firman, native Mussulman officers of high rank are kept in the service, while Christians who held the same rank are discarded from it. Many of the just complaints of Christians are due to these officers, who have private feelings of animosity against their Christian countrymen.

When these two branches of the service are corrected, the equitable levying of the tithe-money will be a very easy task. The Marquess of Salisbury.

ALFRED BILIOTTI.

P.S.-No real improvement is likely to take place in the gendarmerie so long as natives of either creed are admitted into it above the rank of Sergeant or, at most, Lieutenant.

A. B.

No. 37.-Consul Biliotti to the Marquess of Salisbury.—(Received March 17.)

(Extract.)

Canea, Crete, March 4, 1891. DJEVAD PASHA, who, as I had the honour to report in a previous despatch, had proceeded to Amari for the purpose of investi gating personally the incidents which had occurred there, also visited Candia, whence we returned together yesterday by steamer.

His Excellency showed me three documents written in Greek. No. 1 was a denunciation by several of the leading Christians at Amari of four of their co-religionists for having fired on the Kaïmakam of that district on the 13th ultimo (vide my despatch of the 16th ultimo). This document was drawn up by them on Djevad Pasha's promising that he would pardon the authors of the outrage. The four men were given up to him by their co-religionists, and released according to his promise a few hours after.

No. 2 was a declaration from a well-to-do Christian that Giorgis Zambettakis, the Christian who was murdered on the 13th ultimo near Platania (ride same despatch) had been shot by accident by a Christian whose name he refuses to divulge, the bullet being intended for the Mussulman Ahmed Voulkaki.

No. 3 was a report respecting the death of a Christian shepherd who, just before Djevad Pasha's arrival at Amari, had accidentally fallen over a cliff.

I have not the slightest doubt as to the authenticity of these documents.

Djevad Pasha pointed out to me, with regard to the violation of the youth at Patso (vide despatch of the 7th ultimo), that when the corpse was discovered there was nothing in the appearance of the clothes which were on it to indicate that a shameful outrage had been committed. They were not torn nor pulled about, and the sash of the breeches was not unfastened; but the first thing that the communal surgeon did was to cut open the breeches to ascertain, as he said, whether he had been violated before death. I had heard these same details from the Kaïmakam of Amari, who, as I reported, has since changed places with that of Mires.

Djevad Pasha further informed me that, in order to avoid any possible retaliation on the part of the soldiers who had been fired upon by Christians when accompanying the Kaimakam on the 13th ultimo, he had given orders that the battalion to which they belonged should be removed from the district and replaced by another, and that he had made the Christian and Mussulman leading men of the district sign papers, which he showed me, binding them to keep the peace in their district, and to give up outlaws.

Hassan Bey, the Colonel of gendarmerie, who accompanied

Djevad Pasha to Amari, made an inquiry into the complaints against five native gendarmes whose names had been given him, as they had been given to me, by the Bishop of that district; and although nothing was proved against them, he gave orders that they should be transferred to another district, or dismissed if they refused to go there, so as to do away with all cause of complaint on the part of the Christians of Amari.

When, on the evening of the 2nd instant, I called at Rethymo on my way back here, Mr. Vice-Consul Trifilli informed me that the presence of the Vali at Amari bad produced a most salutary impression, and that the public tranquillity had not been troubled in any way since his departure, and that some hope was entertained of its not being disturbed for some time.

According to information given by the Governor of Rethymo, the Albanian gendarmes at Garazo (vide despatch of the 20th February) were alone to blame in the incident which resulted in the murder of one Christian and two Albanians, and which the Christians there could not satisfactorily explain to me. I understand that the Demarch has been imprisoned since my passage through that village for having made contradictory reports to the Government.

From a hurried conversation with Mr. Vice-Consul Calocherino on my return to Candia a few hours before my final departure for Canea, I gathered that Djevad Pasha's visit to that town had given full satisfaction; but that all the efforts of his Excellency to induce the inhabitants to carry out the elections there had proved as fruitless as at Rethymo. The town politicians put forward the last Firman as a pretext for their abstention, and they declare that nothing short of its repeal will induce them to form a General Assembly. Djevad Pasha told them that they were under an erroneous impression in thinking that the Firman had abolished any of their privileges, and he promised to issue a Memorandum which would dispel all doubt on the subject. But it is pretty

certain that no explanation will satisfy them.

As I was leaving Candia, I was told that it had been ascertained that Liapis had taken part with the outlaw Gallioli in the murder of one gendarme and the wounding of another at Zaro, which I reported in my despatch of the 7th ultimo.

Great excitement prevailed at Candia when I was there, owing to the rumour having been circulated that the whole population was about to be disarmed, a measure which it would be impossible to carry out here without effusion of blood. This rumour arose from a Circular of the Porte inviting the inhabitants of all the provinces of the Empire to give up within six months the rifles in their possession against the payment of £T. 1, and warning them [1890-91. LXXXIII.]

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