§ SIR DOMINIC CORRIGAN (for Sir JOHN GRAY)asked the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Whether any advance has been made in securing that the evidence of Christians shall be admitted in courts of justice in Turkey on a footing equal to the testing given by Mahometans; and, whether certain inhabitants in that country at present suffer from disabilities in reference to military service and the devolution of landed property?
§ VISCOUNT ENFIELDSir, the latest reports from Her Majesty's Ambassador at Constantinople state that in all the Turkish Courts, excepting those administering the Koran Law, there has been an advance towards placing Christian evidence on a footing of equality with that of Mahometans. In all criminal cases, without exception, Christian evidence is admitted in the new Court. Christians are not taken for military service, and pay a tax instead; but this is now regarded by them more as an advantage than as a disqualification. With regard to landed property, Sir Henry Elliot says that the subjects of the Sultan, of whatever creed, as well as all foreigners, are stated to be upon the same footing.