"A RESIDENCE IN BULGARIA."
[TO THE EDITOR OF THE 'SPECTATOR:]
SIR, —In the review of A Residence in Bulgaria which appeared in the Spectator of February 27 (and which unfortunately only reached us to-day), it seems to us that your critic, who is at least as Philo-Rayah as we are Philo-Turk, mistakes the intention of our book on several points. He appears to think that we uphold the Turkish Government, whereas even a mere glimpse at several of the chapters would have shown him that no one can be more hostile than ourselves to the present mis-Government ; the remedy we suggest is certainly unlikely to be appreciated by the majority of Englishmen, for it consists not in beautifying Pera for the benefit of tourists, but in substantial reforms in the system of government in the provinces, and whilst improving the condition of Mussulman and Christian subjects, "levelling up" the condition of the former by no longer compelling him, alone, to pay the tax of blood which to the Rayah is commuted for 4s. 6d. annually.
Your critic believes that "the majority of 'Turks' in Bulgaria are descendants of converts." There are many Mussulman nationalities in European Turkey, and that to which he refers is probably the Pomak,, descendants of Poles and Bulgarians, but this race is certainly not in the majority in these provinces, and it preserves unchanged its physical and moral Slavonic type, scarcely ever intermarrying with Osmanlis. The Osmanli type is a very distinctive one, and as easily distinguishable from that of the Pomak as a Tartar from a Circassian ; if "there are no Turks in Turkey," there is at least a vigorous Mussulman race, which is neither Tatar, Shipetar, nor Cherkess, and which certainly is not descended from Greeks, Slays, or Armenians—a race which believes itself to be derived from the victorious soldiers of Ertoghrul, and whose country squires (the Aghas) keep their pedigrees with as much exactitude as does the similar class in England.
On one point your critic entirely misrepresents what we have said on the subject of tithe-farming ; true, we assert that the beylikjee expects 100 per cent. profit, and that the peasant pays, not one-third, but three times what reaches the State, the difference of two-thirds being pocketed by the tax-farmer, and of course lost to the Government,—though the peasant only pays his tenth of the produce.
We have not omitted to advocate a certain amount of State interference in ecclesiastical matters, but if the Porte prevented the Bishops from selling their parishes to the highest bidder, would there not be an outcry in England that religious toleration in Turkey was a mere phrase, and that Christianity itself was assailed in the person of its hierarchy ?
We must confess the imputation of entertaining a slight objection, in common with many of our countrymen, to dirt, especially in its multiform phases amongst the Rayahs. Your critic also gently censures us for our disapproval of drunkenness; a "social glass" now and then may be all very well, but surely 183 days of unlimited indulgence in wine, spirits, and their corollary—idleness, is a little too much, especially as the other 182 days of the year are only distinguished by a slight diminution in the consumption of liquor, and a slight increase in the amount of labour performed ?
It is no reason because Spaniards and Italians may be dirty, and that faults may exist in the churches or priests of Ireland and Italy, that cleanliness should be neglected by the Rayah peasant and morality by the Rayah Papas or Vladyka. If our Bulgarians and your critic's acquaintances amongst the Tipperary men are duplicates, we can only hope that some Philo-Rayah M.P. will call the attention of the House to the state of education in that county.
afforded to us, we are happy to be able to make an amends honorable to the friends of the Bulgarians by confessing that another year's experience of this country has convinced us that the Bulgarian, as he is and as we have described him, is by far the best of the Rayahs in European Turkey.—We are, Sir, &e., THE AUTHORS OF "A RESIDENCE DI BULGARIA." Erekli, Vilayet of Adrianople, April 27, 1869.
[Surely our critic's point is conceded ? He evidently uses the phrase "Turkish Government" as equivalent to Mussulman government of any kind. Now this the authors themselves admit they wish.—ED. Spectator.]
Previous page
