HC Deb 17 July 1876 vol 230 cc1486-95
MR. DISRAELI

Sir, before I read to the House the despatches that have been received by the Government from Sir Henry Elliot since the Question of which Notice was given by the right hon. Gentleman the Member for Montrose (Mr. Baxter), with the indulgence of the House I should wish to make, in as condensed a shape as possible, a reference to certain previous circumstances, as otherwise they will be unintelligible. I will endeavour to do that with the utmost brevity possible, and with the wish to avoid all controversial matter; but it is necessary that the House should understand what is the opinion of the Government, formed on the best information they have in their possession, as to the origin of those disturbances in Bulgaria that have led to these terrible deeds. The first information received by the Government was in a series of despatches received May 15th from Sir Henry Elliot at the outbreak of these disturbances, and was as follows:— On the 4th of May Sir Henry Elliot reported that an outbreak had occurred at the village of Otloukeni, not far from Philippopoli, and that it was known that revolutionary agents were working actively among the Bulgarians, and that arms and ammunition had been introduced in considerable quantities. On the 7th of May the Turkish Government at once despatched 5,000 troops to the spot, and there is little doubt that the leaders were Servians and other emissaries of the Revolutionary Committees. That was the statement of Sir Henry Elliot; but this was the statement of M. Dupuis, our Consul at Adrianople, the nearest Consulate to the scene of disturbance, upon the matter to which the Question of the right hon. Member for Montrose referred. M. Dupuis reported— That the organizers of the movement were pursuing the same atrocious policy as was followed in Herzegovina by burning and ravaging all villages, whether Mussulman or Christian, if the inhabitants refused to join them. The Austrian Consular Agent at Philippopoli reported that five villages had been burnt by the insurgents. On the 9th of May, Consul Reade, Rust-chuck, reports that a Circassian village—this is important to notice—near Avratalan had been burnt, and the Circassians were sure to take their revenge. On the 12th of May Consul Dupuis reports that the local authorities, as well as the Turkish Beys, were enrolling Bashi Bazouks and other volunteers, and that the burning by the insurgents of the village called Bellova seems to have been attended by horrible cruelties to the small Turkish Guard in charge of the place, who, being overpowered, were hacked to pieces by the insurgents. He also reported that he had heard from the Greek Consul that the Greeks in Philippopoli united with the Turkish Guards to maintain order and to repel any attempt on the place by the insurgents. Consul Reade also reported that the discipline of the Turkish troops was admirable. That is the origin, so far as the Government have authentic information, of the atrocities in Bulgaria. It is necessary for various reasons, as we shall see, that the House should be acquainted with these events, because I must ask the House to consider first who were these Circassians, who, no doubt, perpetrated great atrocities, and whose conduct has been retaliated upon and revenged in the same spirit. The Circassians are described in the public journals, and I know in conversation, as irregular troops of the Turkish Government; but the fact is, they are not irregular troops of the Turkish Government, or of any other Government. They are the men, or the descendants of the men, who 20 years ago commanded the sympathy and admiration of the House of Commons. They are men who, at the Treaty of Paris, a very strong Party in the House of Commons, consisting of Members of both sides of the House, believed were extremely ill-treated by the English Government in particular. In consequence of their country being yielded up to Russia, a great proportion of the population refused to live under the Russian Government, and appealed to their Suzerain, then the Sultan, to give them lands in part of his dominions. In consequence there was a considerable migration of the population, and they were portioned out in various parts of Turkey, not only in Europe, but in Asia. These men have lived peaceably for 20 years. Their conduct has been satisfactory, and there has been no imputation on them of savage or turbulent behaviour. They have cultivated farms and built villages, and during the whole period I think there has been no complaint of these men. But we know, of course, what Eastern populations are, and the Circassians are a courageous and an armed population. Naturally, therefore, if their villages were burnt and their farms ravaged, it need not be a matter of surprise that they should take matters into their own hands and endeavour to avenge themselves. It is necessary that the House should be made aware of that. There prevailed there a guerilla warfare of local vengeance and personal passion, and there is no doubt that from that time, which was towards the end of May, scenes took place during this guerilla warfare of a description from which, with our feelings, we naturally recoil. But all this time, no doubt, our Consuls—and the House will soon have ample evidence of the fact—were in communication with the Ambassador, and the Ambassador was—I will not say remonstrating constantly with the Turkish Government, for the Turkish Government were most anxious to be guided by the advice of the British Ambassador, but he was using his influence with the Turkish Government to prevent, as much as he possibly could, these distressing scenes. The Grand Vizier said to our Ambassador that— It is impossible to add to the stringency of the instructions he had sent to put an end to the disorders, and to disarm the Circassians, the Imperial authorities being ordered to do that by force, if they resisted, but that he (the Grand Vizier) noticed the omission of all mention of the horrors practised on the Mussulmans by those who had attempted to get up the insurrection. There is no doubt, from the evidence before the House, that acts on both sides, as necessarily would be the case under such circumstances, were equally terrible and atrocious. Now, previously to this declaration of the Grand Vizier, Sir Henry Elliot said on the 16th of June that the Bulgarian insurrection appeared to be unquestionably put down, although he regretted to say with cruelty, and, in some places, with brutality. He said— I am not disposed to accept the accounts which come from the sources to which it would not he difficult to trace the origin of the movement, which are exaggerated to a degree which must deprive them of the slightest credit; but there is evidence that the employment of Circassians and Bashi-Bazouks has led to the atrocities which were to be expected. I have now stated to the House the origin of this insurrection, and given a general view of what subsequently occurred until the day on which the statement appeared in the newspaper which has been referred to in the Question of the right hon. Gentleman—namely, Monday, the 26th of June. The accounts of the Consuls which will be seen by hon. Gentlemen and the conduct of our Ambassador with regard to the Porte, which also will be made known to them in detail, are, no doubt, the results of a distressing state of affairs which a guerilla warfare in such a country and among such people must always furnish; but there was nothing in those accounts which at all justified the statements that appeared in the public Press, and which are the foundation of the Question of the right hon. Gentleman. On Monday, the 26th of June, the Duke of Argyll called attention to the first statement in The Daily News. I will not read that statement, because hon. Gentlemen are generally familiar with it and it is of considerable length. In the Blue Book it occupies many pages of print, and therefore I think it would be inconvenient if I were to read it in extenso on the present occasion. The statement is dated from Constantinople. It was headed "Moslem Atrocities in Bulgaria," and it announced that 30,000 inhabitants had been slain, that 100 villages had been destroyed, that girls had been burnt alive, and that there had been a massacre of the children in the school-houses. A statement appeared the same day in another paper of equal authority—The Times—in which we were told that 10,000 persons were in prison and enduring torture. [Mr. W. E. FORSTER: That was a fortnight after.] It was not after the Question was put to me. It was also said that 1,000 girls had been sold in open market. The consequence of this was that inquiries were made in both Houses of Parliament, and, immediately after the Question was put by the Duke of Argyll, Lord Derby telegraphed to Sir Henry Elliot. After he had telegraphed, however, there appeared in The Daily News an additional article, which occupies seven or eight printed pages in the book. Thereupon Lord Derby wrote a despatch, which, if the House will permit me, I will read, because it contains the cream, the pith of the statements in The Daily News, as they were put before our Ambassador by Lord Derby asking for inquiry— The Earl of Derby to Sir Henry Elliot, Foreign Office, July 13, 1876. Sir,—With reference to my despatch, No. 501, of the 28th ultimo, I enclose, for your Excellency's information, additional extracts from the "Daily News" of the 8th and 10th instant, reporting the occurrence of further atrocities in Bulgaria and elsewhere, and I have to inform your Excellency that this matter has been again under discussion in both Houses of Parliament. It is stated that in the district of Philippopoli alone 25,000 innocent lives have been taken, whilst by others the number is fixed at about 12,000. It is reported that upwards of sixty villages have been pillaged and burnt, and the inhabitants reduced to beggary and starvation. Large numbers of Bulgarian girls and children are said to have been sold publicly as slaves at Philippopoli and elsewhere, and numbers of Bulgarians to have been undergoing torture in prison. In one instance, where the fugitives fled for protection to a convent near Novo Selo, 40 girls were seized, violated, and subsequently burnt alive in a straw-loft. Similar atrocities are reported to have occurred at Gabrovo and other places, with the connivance, in many instances, of the Turkish authorities. I have to instruct your Excellency to report to me how far reliance is to be placed in these statements. Your Excellency has already on different occasions remonstrated with the Porte against the employment of Circassians and Bashi-Bazouks, to whom many acts of cruelty have been ascribed, and Her Majesty's Government desire that you should, whenever you have reason to believe it necessary, urgently impress upon the Porte to see that its irregular forces are kept from committing atrocities which discredit the Ottoman cause. Her Majesty's Government trust that the reports which have been circulated, and to which I have referred in this despatch, will prove to be unfounded. In a conflict such as is now taking place in European Turkey, it is, unhappily, almost inevitable that acts of unnecessary violence and bloodshed should at times occur, and should give rise to reprisals on the other side. But the Porte will not deny that it is the duty of a civilized Government to use its utmost endeavours for the repression of such, barbarities on the part of its own forces. The emergency of the moment or the nature of the country may render the employment of irregular troops a matter of necessity; but, unless these are kept under proper control, it is probable that the indignation which will be roused throughout Europe by the accounts of cruelties and outrages, and the sympathy felt for the inhabitants of the oppressed districts, may go far to counterbalance any material successes which the use of such undisciplined levies may secure. Her Majesty's Government feel, therefore, that they are acting in the interests of Turkey herself, no less than in those of humanity, in warning the Porte against the toleration of acts committed by its troops which would arouse the reprobation of the civilized world. The House will observe that I am now trying to put before them the statements which appeared in The Daily News. I have given the pith of the first statement in The Daily News, and I have allowed the House to collect the pith of the second statement from this despatch of Lord Derby. I will now proceed to read the further statements which were made by The Daily News before we recently communicated with Sir Henry Elliot. After the two long communications to which I have been referring there appeared the following in The Daily News of July 10th:— (By Submarine Telegraph.) (From our own Correspondent.) Paris, Sunday night. A Vienna telegram, dated this day, published by the 'Courrier de France,' says:— 'A horrible massacre of Christians, lasting two days, has just occurred at Gabrovo and surrounding villages. There were upwards of 10,000 victims. The Turk sent from Constantinople to direct the slaughter is Ibrahim Bey.' On the 13th of July Lord Derby wrote to Sir Henry Elliot as follows:— Foreign Office, July 13, 1876. I transmit to your Excellency a further extract from the "Daily News," reporting that in the district of Tatar Bazardjik cartloads of the heads of murdered women and children were boastfully paraded as their revenge after each defeat. It is, moreover, affirmed that Bulgarian women are now sold publicly in the streets. Her Majesty's Government are waiting to receive intelligence from your Excellency as to the truth of these reports. The enclosure in the letter was as follows:— Belgrade, Tuesday night. In the Tatar Bazardjik district in Bulgaria, the Bashi-Bazouks have, it is said, boastfully paraded cartloads of heads of murdered women and children. These exhibitions are their revenge after each defeat. Young women are now, it is affirmed, regular articles of traffic, being sold publicly in the villages by the Tartars and the Turks. There was one more telegram which appeared in The Daily News of the 13th of July, and Lord Derby at once telegraphed to Sir Henry Elliot as follows:— Foreign Office, July 13, 1876, 3 40 p.m. The following appears in the "Daily News" of to-day:— 'Belgrade, Tuesday night. 'In the Tatar Bazardjik district in Bulgaria, the Bashi-Bazouks have, it is said, boastfully paraded cartloads of heads of murdered women and children. These exhibitions are their revenge after each defeat. Young women, are now, it is affirmed, regular articles of traffic, being sold publicly in the villages by the Tartars and the Turks.' It is very important that Her Majesty's Government should be able to reply to the inquiries made in Parliament about these and similar statements of atrocities. Inquire by telegraph of the Consuls, and report as soon as you can. The right hon. Gentleman opposite (Mr. W. E. Forster) pressed me more than once on that subject, and very properly so; but he will see from what I have read that there never was any delay on the subject on the part of Her Majesty's Government. I will now read the despatches which have come from Sir Henry Elliot in reference to this matter. I wish first to explain, however, that when I stated that we had not received any despatches from our Vice Consuls referring to statements in The Daily News, of course I did not allude to despatches received since our last telegram. This is Sir Henry Elliot's letter, dated, as the House will see, on the 6th, and received on the 14th, and it includes the statements of the Vice Consul, which I will not read as the House will have them in their hands so soon— Therapia, July 6, 1876. My Lord,—I have the honour to enclose two despatches from Mr. Vice Consul Dupuis upon the present state of Bulgaria, and the excesses committed in the suppression of the insurrection. These have unquestionably been very great, as was inevitable from the nature of the force which the Porte was, in the first emergency, obliged to employ, but it is equally certain that the details which have been given, coming almost exclusively from Russian and Bulgarian sources, are so monstrously exaggerated as to deprive them of much claim to attention. Cases of revolting cruelty have been mentioned to me in such a circumstantial manner as to make it almost impossible to doubt this truth, but which proved on investigation to be entirely fictitious; and, without impartial agents on the spot, I am unable to say more than that I am satisfied that, while great atrocities have been committed, both by Turks upon Christians and by Christians upon Turks, the former have been by far the greatest, although the Christians were undoubtedly the first to commence them. I have spoken to one of the most influential Bulgarians upon the subject of the sale of Bulgarian children, to which Mr. Dupuis alludes, and he told me that it had also been reported to him, but that he had been unable to ascertain that anything of the nature of a traffic in them was going on. Many fatherless children had been received both into Turkish and Greek families, but he looked upon them as having been taken chiefly out of charity. I said I had already made representations on the subject to the Porte, and he promised to give me the result of the further inquiries he was making on the subject; but that the Circassians, who have no compunction in selling the children of their own countrymen, would scruple to sell those of the Bulgarians is not to be supposed, and I have not a doubt that many such instances must have occurred. I have already informed your Lordship that very strict orders were given for the disarming of those lawless people, but the operation was found to be extremely difficult, and proceeded but slowly. For weeks past I have never seen one of the Turkish Ministers without insisting upon the necessity of at once putting an end to these excesses, and the answer has been invariably the same. They (the Turkish Ministers) deny that the cruelties have been upon a scale at all approaching to what they are represented; they point out that the horrors committed upon Turkish women and children are passed over in silence; and they plead that they had no alternative but to use the irregular force at their disposal to put down an unprovoked insurrection fomented from abroad, the authors of which are responsible for the sufferings which have been entailed upon both Christians and Mahomedans. On the same day Sir Henry Elliot wrote again— Therapia, July 6, 1876. My Lord,—Since I wrote my preceding despatch the Greek Minister has called upon me, and spoke of a Report he had received from his Consul at Philippopoli, where there is no British Consular Agent. This report mentioned a marked improvement in the state of public security, and the disarming of the Mussulmans was being proceeded with. He said the Governor was acting extremely well, but was badly seconded by some of the other authorities. I asked whether any of the Greek Agents in Bulgaria had spoken of children being sold as slaves, and he replied that none of them had spoken of it. We now come to a telegraphic communication from Sir Henry Elliot, dated "Constantinople, July 14." He says— I have been prevented by illness from replying to your Lordship's telegram about cruelties in Bulgaria until to-day. I can add little to the statements in my despatch of the 6th instant. There is no British Consular Agent except at Adrianople, Rustchuk, and Burgas, and they have seldom been able to guarantee the truth of the reports that reached them. There can be no doubt the instigators of the insurrection began by committing atrocities on Mussulmans and burning Bulgarian villages with the view of creating exasperation between the two races. In this they succeeded, and when the Bashi-Bazouks and Circassians were called out, they indulged in every kind of misconduct, killing and outraging numbers of innocent persons. I have not been able to verify the reports of cases of wholesale slaughter which have been brought forward, which come mostly from quarters not entitled to much confidence. A Bulgarian, upon whose statements I have several times made known cases of maltreatment to the Porte, assured me that the accounts published were grossly exaggerated, and he expressly stated that he had no complaint to make of the conduct of regular troops. It, however, appears from other sources that the regular troops have at other times been guilty of great excess. Bulgarian children have certainly been sold, but I cannot find that there has been anything like a regular traffic in them. Until I received your telegram I had heard nothing either of cartloads of heads being paraded, or young women publicly sold, but I will make every possible inquiry. It was supposed here that the abuses had been put a stop to for some time. Now I have given pretty well to the House, and without any concealment, the general character of the reports. Of course there will be details in some of the Consular reports, but it would be most wearisome for the House to be furnished with them now. The statements in the journals must be examined and compared, and they may be susceptible of various interpretations, but it would be impossible for me at this moment to enter into any discussion of this kind. The whole of the Papers will soon be in the hands of hon. Members. One statement, however, I think I ought to make. I ought to say that in consequence of Mr. Dupuis'despatch, which was the first despatch we had ever had from the Consul at Adrianople referring to cases at all like those related in The Daily News, he was ordered immediately to repair to the scene of these outrages. There is one thing which I think is consolatory amid these dreadful circumstances—there appears to be a complete failure throughout in creating anything like a religious war. I cannot trace in any manner that the feeling of religious animosity has prompted, I will not say every deed, but has prompted the general conduct of the masses of the population on either side; and the last telegraphic despatch which we received on Friday night from Sir Henry Elliot is so remarkable upon this subject that I think it my duty to read it to the House— Therapia, July 14, 1876. Volunteers are offering themselves in considerable numbers for service against the Servians, and the Christians, both in the capital and in the provinces, are enrolling themselves. It is proposed to give the volunteer corps a flag, on which the crescent and the cross are displayed side by side. Nothing can be more striking in the present crisis than the almost unanimous loyalty shown by the Christians, and the hostility they feel against the Servian aggression. This despatch gives a different view from the one commonly circulated. I do not want to enter into any discussion now. There will be opportunities for doing so afterwards; but these statements made to Sir Henry Elliot on such high authority, and not as reports sent to him or as the result of his own observation, seemed so remarkable that I thought they ought to be communicated to the House. Without entering into controversial matters, I think I have placed the House fairly in possession of all the information which the Government have received, and which will enable them to form some general idea of what has occurred since the commencement of these terrible scenes, so that when we come, as I suppose we shall, to really discuss the subject, with the ample information which will then be in the hands of hon. Members, they will, at least, have something which will guide them in the investigation of these matters.