HC Deb 08 February 1861 vol 161 cc192-8
SIR JAMES FERGUSSON

said, that in rising to ask the question of which he had given notice, he did not intend to enter into the general policy pursued with re- gard to the melancholy state of affairs which had recently occurred in Syria; but to make his questions intelligible, he trusted the House would permit him to make a few observations on the subject, as it was necessary to glance at the changes which had taken place in those affairs since the House was prorogued. Had it not been for occurrences to which he should shortly refer, he should have been content to wait for information through the Reports of Her Majesty's Commission, but as those occurrences touched, as he should briefly show, the honour of this country, he thought it imposed an obligation on Her Majesty's Government to interfere without delay. The Government had sent an extraordinary Commissioner to act in conjunction with those of other Powers in the settlement of the unfortunate affairs of the Lebanon, and at the same time those Powers had sent a force to act with the troops of the Porte in the pacification of the country. The troops were furnished by the French Government, but acted in the name and on behalf of the whole of the Powers. Previous to their arrival, however, the Turkish Government had, by the energetic measures of Fuad Pasha, quelled the disturbances, severely punished the most guilty, and afforded protection to the peaceful inhabitants of the country. He must, however, remind the House that the outrages which occurred in Syria were of two classes distinct in their locality and nature. In one case an old and chronic feud between tribes in the Lebanon burst forth. It was not necessary to allude to the cause, and up to the present time the cause was shrouded in mystery. But it was the fact that a fierce conflict arose between the Druses and the Maronites, ending, in a short period, in the entire subjugation of the latter, and while other tribes crowded to join in the disturbance, the Druses fell upon the Maronites, and committed atrocities which were scarcely ever heard of in modern times, though doubtless familiar to barbarians. In the other case the lowest of the population of Damascus, who had long been a serious annoyance to the Government, and had set it at defiance, taking advantage of the small number of troops there—not more than 500—by a sudden outbreak fell on the Christians, and for some days a scene of rapine, murder, and conflagration raged almost unchecked throughout the city. The same scenes would, in all probability, have happened in Beyrout, in Sidon, and in Smyrna but for the vigorous attitude assumed by the commanders of ships of war on that station. But the acts of the Turkish authorities succeeded in restoring tranquillity. The lower classes of Mahomedans, who caused the outbreak in the towns, had been crushed, and the wild tribes who had committed the atrocities in the mountains, had retired with their ill-gotten gains into the desert before the arrival of Fuad Pasha; but as it was likely that some of the more powerful chiefs had connived at the outbreak, and might have shared in the spoils, it was thought right to put certain of the Druse chiefs and of the Turkish officers on their trial. An extraordinary court was, therefore, formed at Beyrout to try the Druse chiefs and the Turkish officials, by whose supineness the war had assumed such formidable dimensions. Before that tribunal lately some of the most powerful Druse chiefs had been arraigned. He was in possession of evidence which he could not doubt, that this trial was, perhaps, the grossest perversion of justice which history recorded, and had been characterized by an absence of care for the commonest principles of justice, which called for the interference of those countries which were guaranteeing the integrity of Turkey, and taking part in the pacification of Syria. He was told, and he believed it could not be denied, that these chiefs were all prejudged—that they were brought before a court strongly prejudiced against them—and that, although they voluntarily submitted to their trial, not one of them had any hope of an honourable acquittal. It had long been foretold that the Turkish Government would take advantage of this outbreak to destroy the independence of the Lebanon; and he himself, when the news of the massacres reached England, expressed the opinion that the disturbances had long been foreseen, and that when the Druses had subjugated the Christians they would themselves become the next victims. However that might be, it appeared certain that the prisoners were subject to the grossest indignities. These chiefs were assailed in the court by knots of Maronites, and reviled in the grossest terms; they were cross-examined in the most unfair manner, and in a language which they did not understand, and answers were taken down which they did not give. If the information which had reached us by means of the public press were correct, all these chiefs had been con- demned to death, while the Turkish authorities who were tried with them had only been sentenced to exile. Now, he wished to know from the Government whether this version of the proceedings at the trial was correct, and whether they intended to interfere in order to prevent the execution of sentences which were unjust and unsupported by evidence? It could not be urged that we had no right to interfere in this matter, because for the last twenty-five years we had constantly been interfering in the affairs of Turkey; for more than twenty years we had protected the Lebanon, and we had now a Commissioner at Beyrout, who was engaged with the representatives of other Powers in framing a plan for the future government of the country; and, above all, the country was now occupied in the joint names of the European Powers by French troops, for the acts of which force we were responsible. Hitherto the French troops had encountered no resistance, and in consequence not a semblance of a conflict had taken place; but, if a band of desperate men, no matter how few in number, were roused to arms, there was no knowing what might be the consequences to Turkey or to Europe, or how long the occupation of Syria might have to be continued. The Druses were men of heroic courage, and were actuated by principles similar to those which formerly obtained among the highland clans of Scotland. A few persons, and among them some Englishmen, had done their best to keep them quiet, and had hitherto been very successful, but if they saw their chiefs executed before their eyes by wholesale, upon evidence which was notoriously unjust, they would be goaded by despair to the ferocity of wild beasts. Such deeds could not be done in a corner. Lord Macaulay had told us that the massacre of Glencoe remained long unheard of in London, and that the intelligence of it did not reach Edinburgh for some weeks, but the eyes of all Europe were fixed upon Syria, and if these men were executed it would be known throughout all the East that the arm of England had been powerless to save them, and the knowledge of this fact might act most prejudicially against any exertions which it might be our duty to make on behalf of others. He did not say more than he fully believed when he declared that if these men fell by the sentence which had been passed upon them, the curse of innocent blood would be upon those who had not interfered for their protection. He should conclude by asking the Secretary of State for foreign Affairs, Whether Her Majesty's Government have received any information respecting the Tribunal before which the Druse chiefs have been tried who voluntarily surrendered themselves to the Turkish authorities; whether the evidence taken before that Tribunal is in the possession of Her Majesty's Government; whether it is true that these men have been condemned to death, and, if they have, whether the Government intend to make any representations to the Porte upon the subject?

LORD JOHN RUSSELL

Sir, in reply to the question of the hon. Baronet, I beg to say that I am able to state that the Court before which the Druse chiefs who surrendered were tried was an extraordinary tribunal, appointed under the direction of the Sultan. That tribunal, according to Her Majesty's Commissioner, Lord Dufferin, was as fair a one as the authorities could appoint. With regard to the trial it is impossible for me to corroborate the various statements which have been made by the hon. Baronet, but various circumstances have come to the knowledge of Her Majesty's Government which tend to show that the trial of these Druses was not a fair one; that evidence was pressed against thorn which they did not understand, and to which, therefore, they could not reply. We cannot, of course, give any opinion as to their guilt or innocence without knowing upon what evidence they were convicted, but before the trial began Her Majesty's Commissioner and the representatives of the other Powers had made an agreement with Fuad Pasha that none of these men should be executed until the evidence upon which they had been convicted had been considered by them. I asked the Turkish Ambassador at this Court how it happened that all the Turkish authorities who had been tried were sentenced only to exile or imprisonment, while the Druses were condemned to death—a circumstances upon which Lord Dufferin in his despatch had remarked as an evidence of partiality. The Turkish Ambassador affirmed that by the law of Turkey those who were concerned in murder were punishable to death, but that those who had only permitted it, or had been guilty of other crimes, could not be legally sentenced to that punishment. With regard to the sentences, I have already said that the Commissioners in Syria will have all the evidence laid before them, and that if they think that that evidence is insufficient, or has been unfairly taken, it will be in their power to remonstrate with Fuad Pasha against their being carried into effect. I think that what I have stated answers the question of the hon. Baronet, because it is not possible to say whether the Government will make any representation to the Porte with regard to the trial until we know the opinion of the Commissioners; but I assume, from what I have stated, that until the opinion of the Commissioners is known, no steps will be taken to execute these sentences. I may avail myself of this opportunity to state that there have been other trials which have taken place, not at Beyrout, but in the mountains. Fuad Pasha took means to occupy the greater part of the mountains, and when the Druses returned to their homes I think 800 persons who were accused of being concerned in the massacres were arrested and confined, in order that they might be tried on that charge. It is said that twenty Druses have been condemned to death, and we have been informed that the French Minister for Foreign Affairs (M. Thouvenel) has expressed his opinion to the Porte his opinion that it would be unnecessary cruelty to execute twenty persons, and that one or two executions would, at the present time, be sufficient to satisfy the justice of the case. With regard to the general observations of the hon. Baronet it is undoubtedly true that the Maronites and Druses were animated by a furious hatred of each other. The Maronites were armed, and the Druses, therefore, expected that they should be attacked. The Maronites, on the other hand, were apprehensive of being themselves attacked, and, being mutually animated by the most violent animosity, those massacres took place which we have all so much to lament. As an instance of the fierceness of the different races, I may mention that, according to the report of Lord Dufferin, Fuad Pasha having asked the Bishops of the different Christian sects how many of the 8,000 adult males in that part of the country ought, in their opinion, to be put to death in expiation of the massacres which had taken place, the Bishops, by their signatures to a paper, required that no less than 4,600 of the 8,000 should be executed, and it was with great difficulty that Fuad Pasha and the Commissioners got them to reduce their demands to 1,200, which they said was the lowest number that ought to be sacrificed. Her Majesty's Government and the Commissioners of the European Powers generally will endeavour to obtain justice; but, what with the nature of the Government, and what with the bad feeling between the tribes, the extent of which is evident from the demands of these Christian Bishops, the hon. Baronet will, I apprehend, see that this is a matter of no small difficulty.