NEWS OF THE WEEK.
THE year 1909 seems likely to prove as restless and momentous as 1848,—the annus mirabilie of upheaval and revolt. On Tuesday afternoon London learned by short and vague telegrams that Constantinople was in a state of revolution, and on Wednesday morning the Times corre- ePondent at Conbtantinople summed up the condition of affairs by declaring that "a catastrophe has overwhelmed the new regime in Turkey." Subsequent telegrams show that though the forms of the Constitution are still preserved, this is likely to prove an accurate account of what has happened. The facts, as far as they are known, may be summarised WS follows. At dawn on Tuesday the soldiers of the First ArmY Corps left their barracks, led as a rule by their non- commissioned officers—it is said that in certain cases com- missioned officers were with them disguised as private soldiers—and surrounded the War Office and the Parliament The Minister of Justice was killed by the soldiery in mistake for the President of the Chamber, Ahmed Riza; the Minister of Marine was wounded ; and one or two officers of inferior rank who attempted to resist the movement were summarily despatched. The first demand of the troops was for the dismissal of the Grand Vizier and the Ministry, and also of the President of the Chamber. In their place they asked for Tewfik Pasha as Grand Vizier, and Edhem Pasha as Minister of War, and for changes in all the other offices, including the General in command of the First Army Corps. Ismail Kemal Bey, an Albanian, was named to succeed Ahmed Riza as President of the Chamber.
