NEWS OF THE WEEK.
THE news from Turkey is as bewildering, as sensational, and, we fear we must add, as Utopian as ever. Up till now the Turkish people generally, including the mob at Con- stantinople, have behaved exceedingly well ; but we must never forget that such a phenomenon is common in the early days of revolutions. At the beginning of the great French Revolution, in the first days of the revolution of 1848 in Paris, and at the initiation of most of the revolutions in the Italian and German States at the same period, nothing struck observers more than the gentleness, good behaviour, and public spirit of everybody. Unfortunately this did not prevent the Revolution of 1848 in Paris ending in street- fighting in which twelve thousand men lost their lives, or sanguinary action and reaction being the final outcome of the ferments in other parts of the world. We have dealt else- where with some of the special anxieties which statesmen must feel in contemplating the Turkish Revolution, but may note here that the new Ministry, which was formed on Thursday, is distinctly a good one. The Grand Vizier, Kiamil Pasha, is a man admitted by all who know him to be not only of high character, but possessed of statesmanlike views. If we could feel that he was really master of the situa- tion, and could use a free hand, it would be quite reasonable to be optimistic. If, however, he is only to be "the drudge of the Army," we fear he will not be able to do much. Cromwell, no doubt, described himself in one of his speeches as "the drudge of the Army," and yet he managed to temper the evils of military despotism with civil statesmanship. But the gifts of Cromwell are not given to many men.
