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    opens-for merit and personal qualifications , to produce that series of remarkable men . erf every description with , whom the Ottoman history abounds—on the other , by depriving the state vessel of the necessary balance , it gave it those rough and frequent shocks , whose violence menaced , more than once to overwhelm it . In fact , as the power was based on nothing fixed or solid beyond itself , whenever its own strength failed it , or the- traditionary feeling gave way , it knew not whither to turn . On every change in the Government the whole edifice began to totter . There was only one thing among those forming the ancient system of Turkey , which , could have furnished the idea of a nobility like that which the middle ages produced in Europe ; those were the Governors and Derebeys who had succeeded , in proportion as tlie empire grew weaker , in usurping the hereditary government of their Pachalika or tenures , an < 3 whom Sultan Mahmud in a great measure destroyed . Even at the present day , the remnants- of this feudality try to incite insurrections in certain distant provinces , such as Bosnia and Lebanon , and carry on a desperate contest against the reforms of the Porte .

    Thus , then ^ division clergy , nobility , and the third estate , which is still in vogue through a great portion of Europe , cannot be applied , either to Turkey past or present . Politically and civilly , Turkish society is an unity , and admits neither ranks nor distinctions beyond the official hierarchy of the functionaries of state . In fact , these , as In Russia , form an immense body , whose degrees , as well as the prerogatives' attached to them , have been regulated with , the most minute care by the canons of the Ottoman Sultans , those rigid observers of ceremonial and etiquette . These ranks , eaeh of which corresponds with »¦ step'in the army , were thus fixed in the Official Annual fertile year 12 < 36 of- the Hegira . ( I 860 ) . Independently of the official titleg > attached , either to their person or their office , etiquette ^ has established : fop each class of functionairieSj from , the "Vizir down to the lowest-employe of the lEalemdej cer tain ; formulae , employed either in addressing ot "Writing to them , which vary in- the mostr extraordinary inanrrer , but to which the Ottoman ceremonial attaches the utmost importance . These forntulasy however : have

    become greatly simplified ; during tSe reigri of the last Sultan , with reference to the . great officers of- the crowns andthe otherdignitaries of the empiitt . As-to ; the-latter , although , distinguished from the mass of' the population by the title of ridjal , they cannot be regarded as forming an aristocracy in the state , as they do not possess any hereditary , or T indeed , other privileges- Blore than this , whatever inay- be the authority they may exercise ^ there is not an Osmanli who lives- on Ma property , or by the fruits of his labour , that does not affect towards them , a species of disdain , ttiafr of-the ;¦ free mtam towards the slave ; slasnes not by his birth , or his evil fortunej for then he' might be pitied ; but through his free will , aad a desire to satisfy Ms ambition . - - : In fact , the time is not very remote * when the fusion ; of the law which placed all

    the functionaries * of the empire- hv absolute dependence on ; the- Srritanwaa in full force , and when the Sultan , -prhodid' not dare to injure the meanest of his subjects , could ¦ with impunity strangle' or- decapitate the'first dignitaries of the empire . By the ancient ' laws of the empire ^ the officers of th& seraglio were the slaves of the Sultan , and : to whatever rank they attained they were still considered to exist in that relation ? to be incapable of acquiring personal- property ; and their wives , children , and fortune , a 3-w * ll as them 8 elves r were at alt times at the disposal of their master . Though , the 1 , strict interpretation , of this'relative connexion , waa no longer'now prized , andf . men tuHlertook office who were not and never , had been slaves , yet the origin of the-Jnotionsfeillcontinued to operate : the functionary was put to death * the moment he ¦ displeased ; bis . vinaster , and . Mb / property was taken possession of by the Sultan ^ aa if the man was still his-bondman .

    This , state of things- 'was-the most effective of- all in sapping-fche foundations of the Turkish ; empire ^ Bjp Tanking a-11 thoae who were invested with a . Government office with slaves , it furnished , them , in reality with the vices of slaves , perfidiousness , baseiiesHj . covetfrtianttsS ) . and , Iovei of money ^ It was not surprising that the governors of provinces ; neglected no- means of plundering the people , when they were obliged , to purchase that , right dearly ; when-they knew that they could not maintain thernselvesi in the place ; or occupy others without making just , pecuniary sacrifices * $ when , in a woro % the sovereign , sold all ' the eminent places , and , after his example , the ministers . and the men who disposed of any employment only gasve ^ it to the highest bidder . Through a * very anaient 1 custom w-hieh mistrust doubtlessly introduced , every important , place wasi granted only for a year ; a new firman was necessary for a person to he retained in it . The pachas , above all , whose extensive power afforded the means .

    of securing themselves from the sovereign ! authority , were regularly changed every yeai ? , and th-e Sultanseldom deviated from the custom , when he had it in his power ; but the pacha ,, on ; his side ; , knowing that gold could absolve a man from tlie worst crbnesj hastened- to amass it , and if to Mb criminal ambition he found courage , boldr ness ,. and talents r ho obtained , with the three tails , an- eminent pachalik , ( He then endeavoured to maintain himself in hia post by preventing , on the one hand , the complaints * respecting hi 3 conduct reaching the throne , and , on the other , by performing acrupuloualy the engagements ho had contracted toward the imperial treasury . After a while th& vassal would grow bold , and the Sultan suspicious , and the end of the turbulent pacha would be his death by the bowstring , and tho production of the imperial firman , which All the spectators- in txan kissed with inspect , and placed on -their heads- in token of submission .

    Thais , then , if wo desire to find tho pure typo of the Osm-anii , we must seek him without the . official regions in the- social classes , who live isolated from tho Government . These again maybe divided into two categories : the-artisans and the proprietary . Iko artisans ore divided into guilds , under the name of Esnafs , eaoh haying its ' Iriaiya ( inspector . ) , and placed under tho jurisdiction of the Sfcamboul EiFendi ; theso . guilds- are i-yery numerous . An historical document quoted by Von Hammer , on tho . ocoaaion of tho fdto » given by Sultan Mahmud HI ., at tho circumcision : ofi his son im 1682 , contains a list of one hundred and forty-eight guilds -which took part in the proaoasion . Tho same writer ; who has taken hiu 1 description oi ? tho corporations from the elaborates work of tho celebrated Turkish traveller and liistorian livlia , observes * hat tho establishment of ' guilds dates from the moat flourishing epoch of tho Uagdhad Ghalifcsi The . example of Christian religious fraternities and monkiah congregations fluggeated . tho id ' oa otfthese , associations to tho Commanders oE tho Faithful . According to popular belief , however ^ tho first Esnaf waa instituted by Muhammad and his inimodiato successors ., Each , company or craft reverenced aiul atiU . acknowledges a , patron Habit , asiattao case with sqmo guilds in Europei

    Saddlers , jewellers ) engrave ™ , and booksellers , aro placed in , tho fiist rank among those coppcrabiona-wlwso business ifl > confined to tho bozoatana and tcharchis , when they eacliiioccnpy re . sapooato quarter-. Tho boyostaiw originally consisted of isolated ! buildings , oaoh witli . four gatoa , and oponang nearly at cardi iial points . Thoso gates wero , and , still ace > designated otftor fchu principal trades carried on in booths immediately around or bon « ath thoir respective porches . 3 ) y degrees , now shops * alloys , anil inolomiroa cluatorod nvound the original dopOfcs , until tho whole woro enclosed within walls , arched , rooflid , and proridod with ffatos , ol' which there are twelve largo , and about twenty small .. Tlioy aro cloned entirely upon Fridays , and shut during tho ucmamden of thewoek at mid-day-The outside ^ of general tchurchl , ia- accessible every da-y in the wcelc ^ from aunrlao to Bunaot , aithoughunust : dealers withdraw at tho hour of aftornoau prayer , which

    takes place , at all seasons of the year , between mid-day and sunset . The general inclosure , called bazaar , by Perotes and strangers , is termed teharchi by the Turks With the exception of the two bezestans , the bazaars are not surmounted by domes " the distinctive ornament of almost all public edifices . ' The boatmen nearly all corne from the provinces of the interior , and chiefly from Anatolia , to seek their fortune in Constantinople . Their object being -to save all thev can , they generally club together , and five or six hire , for from fifteen to twenty piastres a month , a large room , in which each has his carpet and cushions . They give a similar sum . to some old man ( generally a relative of one of the members ) to take care of the room and prepare supper . This veteran is rather councillor or judge than servant , and as age is nowhere so respected as in the East , he passes his life very happily and serenely . All his expenses are paid , and tlie young men who employ him furnish him the assistance he might expect from relations or servants . At the end of five or six years the Kaikji has generally amassed what he considers a sufficient sum , with which to return to his native countrv .

    The -whole body are subject to severe police and corporate regulations . Transgressions are punished by fine , confiscation , or corporal punishment . The officers consist of the Kaikji Bashy and two "Vekils , one for the city and one for the suburbs and of several inspectors , overseers , and foremen- Boys entering as apprentices must work until they receive a certificate for fitness from the foreman and chief civil functionary of their quarter . Each Kaikji is compelled to register his name in the books of the Kaikji Bashy , and pay a monthly tax of eight piastres if married , and sixteen if single , for a licence . As there are no liberal professions in Turkey , except the public functions , the class of proprietors is the only one -which represents our middle classes , and this is gradually dying away . The Turkish gentleman who lives on his property either resides on his farm in the in town house

    country or a . In the first , he manages his estate , attends to his house , and exercises hospitality ; in the other , the education of his children , prayers , alms , and the enjoyment of the kef employs all his time . But he unites with this native indolence a reserve , a dig-nity , a nbbility of feeling , an affection for his children , kindness to Ms servants and slaves , and a delicacy in his treatment of the harem ,, which , are truly admirable . ' He is proud , though without the slightest admixture of vanity , more especially of his religion . He believes that the empire is hurriedly approaching to its end , and if he be rich , he desires that he may be buried in Asia , in the great cemetery of Scutari , in order that the presence of the infidels may not sully the asylum where his bones Test , whenever the Turks have lost 'S ' tamboul . He believes in the impossibility of any regeneration of Turkey , and is consequ - entlyj as far as his apathy will permit him , a bigoted opponent of reform .

    This spirit , however , is gradually dying put in the face of progressive reform ; but whether the feelings of which it was the expression are not ba ^ ecl on truth , it is a difficult task to decide . Is it immutably decreed that Turkey must fall , in spite of all the ameliorations of every description which have taken place during , the last few years ? or will she eventually emerge from her difficulties , and reassume that position which her past history and her present exertions on the path of reform justify 3 ier in claiming ?

    THE SLAVERY LAWS .. Eventually commerce with foreign nations introduced a new class of slaves , whose sale yvas considered perfectly legal . Some were derived , from Abyssinia , and the negro countries bordering the stajes of Barbary : the others came from Georgia and Armenia , and were renowned for their beauty and purity of race . In addition to these , all children born of slaves , white or black , whose parents have not been enfranchised , or who are the issue of female slaves by unknown fathers ,, or by men not entitled to manumit the mothers , that is by any other inan than the proprietor , are unconditional slaves . In the event , also , of the female being the joint property of husband and wife , or mother and son , the power of manumission does not rest : with the man alone : thus , unless the mother or wife consent , the child , is regarded as a slave . But "when the child ' s father is a freeman , having , the right to libeaate , or when he has received permission from his co-pi-oprictor to hold commerce with the slave , then the child's freedom is absolute .

    Tho number of slaves is gradually diminishing in Turkey . In the first place war provides none . A . s for those imported from foreign countries , they annually become rarer , either in consequence of a change in the manners of the Turks , or through the obstacles ' the government raises against the sale . Thus , for instance , an Imperial decree , issued at the close of 1847 , ordered the slave-market to bo closed , and this disgraceful traffic , which was formerly openly carried on , lias now become a clandestine operation , only enjoying the tolerance of tho law , and which is gradually dying away . Tho number of slaves entered on the lists of the Staniboul-Effoiidi does not exceed 52 , 000 , of whom 47 , 000 arc female slaves , -white and black , which gives an average of 12 per cent , on the population , after deducting tho non-Mussulman subjects and strangers .

    The average price of strong newly-imported slaves ia as low as 1500 piastres , and never exceeds 2500 . The ordinary price for second-hand slaves , clean , healtlw , and wolL-instructod , avorngos from 2500 to 3 O 00 , and ncvor exceeds 5000 . White women , when young and without defects , average from 10 , 000 to 15 , 000 piastres . The maximum-was 45 , 00 0 ; but tins is rare , and only in cases of great boo-Uty and extraordinary accomplishments . Slaves brought from Egypt—that is , tho blacks of Sonnaar and the higher regions—axe not so valued as those imported via Tripoli . The duties of slaves aro all within doorn , and domestic . The master doo « not < le * - mand more from them than from , tho other servants of tho house , with whom thoy are mixed up . Attached to his person , or to that of hia wives , they usually live in tho selamlolt or tho liarom , and enjoy tho same sedentary and liv / . y lifo iw thoir patrons . Aa for tho eunuchs , to whoso chargo tho hnrom was formerly entrusted , they now only exist in the Royal Palace , where thoy arc divided into four duimbura

    ( odora ) , under the supremo command of the Kislar Aghassi , or Chief of tho Maidens . This officer formerly ranked very high , and in Iuh quality of inspector and sidministrator of tho holy cities , took precedence after tho Grand Vizir , Sheikh ul Islam , «» d Oapudan . Eacha . Ho w « a chief comptroller of tho Imperial household , domain *) , and vukufti : tho confidential counsoUov of tho Sultan , tho keeper of hid purse , and almost of his person . All mon , from tho Grand Vizir to tho youngest clerk at tho Porto , courted and feared him . In short , ho may bo said to have governed the empire . Tims , upon many occasions of revolt , tho dirtcontontoil Janissarioa directed their principal fury against those rnon . When Muhammad II , fteod himself from tho thraldom of tho Janissaries , he alH <> shook of ? the trammels of those functionaries . Tho Buyuk Aglia waa stripped of all political power , and although ho wim permitted to retain the nominal inspectorship of tho holy city mid domaiuH , ho w « n shorn of nil real influenco ,. and limited to tlio mere superintendence of thu harein .

    liy the oodo which regulates tlio ripjhl ; of masters over Hlavos , it will bci seen Hint tho condition of slavery hx Turkey ia far HUperior to that which obtained in anoiont Homo . Tho Muamilmaa luw rcoognlHOH in tho nlavo a human bolng , intorpoucw at each moment of hia cxititonuo to proaorvo and dofond him , and Qonsldariii £ him rather « fl boloiifjing to si specie *) than as private property , reserves ) for him tho powor of rouovoring his liberty by aevoral mothodn , oilhor by furni » hing him niuaun of purchasing himself , by his own lubour , or by Hugguatlng to Inn patron ovory imaginable muUiod of onfranohfooinont . In this way it . han established different conditions of slavery which are ho many stops leading from bondage to IVoedoin .

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    978 THE LEADER . [ Saturday , ^*^*^^*^*^ M **** ^^^ ^^ *^ ** ^^ ^^^^ ** ^ " ^^**^™^ * ' ^^^ MIMe ^ ^ ^ ***^^ ^^ * ' * *^^^* ^^™ *^ ^ MM ^ ^™™''' ™ " » " ^ " ^ M" *^ " * M ' ' ^ " * l-11 **™ ' ™* WT' * a ' "' ' "'*' l' * a ***^* ' * ^ ' * *" *™™™'"' wjni ^^""' iiTTirriaiaiEttfaaBMQaaat ^^

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Oct. 14, 1854, page 978, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2060/page/18/