Constantinople has been the scene of a serious riot. On
Wednesday a band of alleged Armenians seized the Ottoman Bank, first killing the gendarmes who guarded it, and having barricaded it, defended themselves for some time against the soldiers sent to dislodge them. It is said in the official report that while in possession of the bank the Armenians hurled a number of bombs into the streets, but the Sultan always has bombs on the brain. The official account is, indeed, in every way a most extraordinary document, and is full of frightened phrases and talk about Nihilism and Anarchism. Perhaps, however, the strangest part of all is the statement that when the twenty-five desperadoes ultimately surrendered they were not put into prison, but were sent on board Sir Edgar Vincent's yacht, and that they will be expelled from Ottoman territory. Yet they committed murder and threw bombs. The ways of the Porte are, indeed, inscrutable. No attempt was made to seize the valuables in the bank, and the incident, what- ever its origin, is pronounced to have been purely political. There is clearly a great deal behind the whole transaction
which has not yet been made public. In any event it is a very ominous occurrence.
