APPENDIX. (continued 2)

Last year, one of those superlatively ignorant persons was appointed to the office of receiver of the revenue in one of the islands. This man, who before was continually uttering curses and execrations against the authors of the Nizam-y-Gedid, having gained five thousand piasters by the perception of the imposts, and hoping it was continued to him for another year that he might gain five thousand more, upon meeting with his friends and companions, said to them, “Ha! comrades, there is no harm in this Nizam-y-Gedid; I, indeed, at first opposed it, but it was from want of sense; for the impost upon wine is not paid by those who drink it, but is levied upon the wine which is sent to Russia, so that the money comes out of the pockets of the Russians; 278it were better that it was twice as much; I now understand the matter, and I make vow never to speak a word against the Nizam-y-Gedid.” See how this man, in consequence of gaining a few piasters by an institution which he had been in the habit of abusing, is not ashamed afterwards to praise it. Such, however, is the nature of all the lower orders. To sum up all in one word: if the clamour and execrations of a rabble, who makes no difference between good and evil, obliges us to abandon the said institution of new troops, (which Heaven forbid!) the enemies of our religion will find so much the more facility in invading us; and as one of their kingdoms maintains three hundred thousand regular troops, they will mount upon our necks on seeing that the Ottomans cannot discipline a hundred thousand. At that time we shall not derive the least service from those knaves who disapprove of the Nizam-y-Gedid; they will merely say that it was thus ordained; that there is no contending with destiny; and if a great calamity befalls (which Heaven avert!) they will, without making more words about the matter, become the authors of trouble and distress.

279

SECTION VI. Wherein is explained the purpose for which exercise is intended.

In the time of his Highness the late Emperor, during the period of my two captivities, I have often, in the course of conversation with Russian military men, questioned them, saying, “by what secret prodigy hath it come to pass, that you Muscovites, who were formerly a very stupid and easily vanquished nation, have for some time back obtained such success over the race of Osman?” They, in reply, said, “Since you are ignorant of the causes of our superiority, you shall be made acquainted with them. The Russians, in former times, did not possess the knowledge of tactics, and were therefore beaten by their enemies. A man called Mad ^[97]Petro, having in his travels seen the world, and acquired an intimate knowledge of the advantages thereof, became Cral of Muscovy, and subjected the Russians, whether they would or no, to the restraints of discipline. In order to try what progress they had made in it, he declared war against the King of Sweden, and avenged himself of him. He then went in an expedition 280towards the Crimea, reduced whatever fortresses he thought proper, and began to break the power of the Tartars. Afterwards, when we concluded a treaty with you, we demanded for our Cral the title of Emperor; and as you could not oppose us, the Sultan Mahmoud Khan (of excellent memory) in writing to us, granted that title. Then in the war with Sultan Moustapha, we approached Adrianople, and made peace on our own terms. And see, in the present war, we have, with very few troops, defeated your numerous forces; and after taking the fortresses of Hotim, Bender, Ibraïl, Ismail, and Otchakoff, and conquering Moldavia and Wallachia from one extremity to the other, we passed the Danube with eight thousand men, and routed the Ottoman army consisting of fifty thousand. As you have no troops able to face ours, know that this time also, after being well beaten, you will make a worse peace than the former one.” In this manner did they answer this poor person^[98]; and truly before much time had elapsed, it came to pass that such a treaty was concluded.

SECTION VII.

It is a difficult thing to find out the spies that go to and fro in the camps of the followers of Islam, and it is necessary to explain how much 281injury is done by them. As this matter requires attention above all others, let us relate some events which have happened to us, with the consequences resulting from them.

In the war with the Russians, during the reign of the late Emperor, Sultan Moustapha, two hundred thousand unknown and undisciplined troops were drawn together. In this multitude no one knew the other, and if a father had searched for his own son, he could not have found him. If each day some hundreds separated themselves and went off, no one knew it, nor even could have said to them, ‘stop! remain!’ In so disorderly a camp, the spies from the side of the infidels came and went each day and night, and acquainted the Russians with every thing that passed in our army, and the secrets of our government became known to the enemy. For this reason, whenever a forward movement of our army was resolved upon, they surprised the camp towards morning, the day before it was to be executed, and routed so large an army of the Ottoman race, without allowing them to open their eyes, all being buried in sleep. We have learned by experience, that as the infidel race are very cunning and deceitful, they have often effected, merely by wiles and stratagems, things which we never have been, nor ever will be, able to bring about with our hundred thousand men. Among all the wiles which 282that wicked race have put in practice, there is one extraordinary stratagem which it is worth while for us to describe. During the said war, three poor men belonging to the assembly of Janissaries, having concerted together, went out to gain some information of the Russians: after it was quite dark they seized, on the Muscovite borders, a certain Ghiaour, one of those who were employed in getting forage, and, satisfied with their success, were conducting him to the camp, when, their prisoner being a cunning hog^[99] that understood Turkish, said to them, “Sirs! if you set me at liberty, my father, who is a rich man, will recompense you largely.” They, believing his words, conducted him back to the Russian confines, where he soon found a surreptitious pimp^[99] whom he called father, to whom they delivered him. This man, who was also a very deceitful rogue, said to them, “I am greatly pleased at your bringing my son here and not killing him, and I am very much obliged to you.” With these and other expressions of gratitude, he gave them five ducats, and continued thus: “I have not been able to reward you as I ought to do, but allow me to show you something, and let that be another recompense.” So saying, he carried them in disguise into his own camp, and placed them at the edge of a large 283tent; here the comrades perceived that there was a great bustle before the tent, and that within they were weighing gold and silver coin in a large balance, and were then filling with it some casks placed near. In the tent were men habited in divers sorts of Mussulman dresses, and the casks filled with money were continually distributed amongst them. The traitor, after showing these things to the three comrades, took them to his own tent, and said to them, “Comrades! see what I have shown you. Part of this money is to go to your government, and part to the Vezier and other Generals of your army. We have purchased your country with money; the sum that has just been given is the price of Constantinople which we have bought and shall soon enter. My motive for informing you of this is that you may henceforth look to yourselves; do not remain in your camp, nor even lose time at Constantinople; but go to your own country that you may not be made prisoners. Keep all this secret, and say nothing of it in your camp.” With these words he led them back to the Ottoman confines. The comrades returned to our camp, and being all three simple fools, they gave implicit confidence to the falsehood contrived to deceive them; and whenever they met their friends and acquaintances they said to them, “Breh! what did we come here for? Our chiefs have sold their country and are now receiving the 284money for it: we have seen it with our own eyes; why should we stay here? all that passes is but lost labour.” By this means they struck with consternation many who were as great asses as themselves, and these spread confusion and alarm through the whole Imperial camp. Finding this pretext of going home, a great number of the troops went off and dispersed, like a flock of young partridges.

The Russian hogs, availing themselves of so favourable an opportunity, brought the devil among us. But the best of the story is, that they all laughed at us in relating it to each other, saying that in order to disperse a Turkish army, they had only to weigh a little gold in the presence of three of their men, and then send them to inform the rest of it. Thus, on account of so many ignorant fools, who understand nothing of the wiles and machinations of the enemy, it is necessary that we should give our troops such a form of discipline as may prevent similar disorders, and the danger of the spies who mix with our men and can never be discovered.

How is it possible for us without such a system, to avenge ourselves of our enemies, to defend our Empire, or to gain the least advantage? As the deep cunning of the Russian race was not at first so well known, our precious heroes of soldiers made use of such expressions. “The 285Muscovite infidels are dogs of fishermen, whom we can suffocate only by spitting upon them; if we each of us throw a stone, we shall destroy them all.” These Janissaries who are merely vain boasters, good only for swaggering on the pavements, falling by thousands into the hands of the Russians through their total ignorance of military affairs, at length saw and learned the power and stratagems of the enemies of our faith. But to what purpose? since the children and daughters of so many noble and pious persons of the Mahometan community have continued even to this day (a space of nearly forty years!) in the possession of the Russians; and the children whom they have produced remain depressed and afflicted, a weeping prey in the hands of soldiers, officers, and other reprobates.^[100]

If a rabble of men, ignorant of the world, who pass their whole time in festivity and play, or in buying and selling, or in idleness, were in the first place to learn thoroughly the things which belong to purity, and then, in order to preserve their religion unsullied, were to avoid discourse with infidels and designing men, and examine whether their own observance of it did not require some 286correction, there is no doubt that they might attain to the summit of the good things, both of this world and of the world to come. If they contend with us, saying, “We understand questions of purity, we preserve our religion, and there is no doubt of the validity of our marriage contract^[101]”; in that case, although what they maintain be true, yet, as the knowledge of the affairs of this world is apt to occasion many great sins, let them not lengthen their tongues on a subject of which they certainly know nothing, and to which their understandings cannot reach. If this business of the Nizam-y-Gedid seem obscure to them, let them acquire information from men who, like this humble individual^[102], have reached their eighty-seventh year, and have gained by experience a thorough knowledge of the world, and have brought to light what things have injured, and what have turned to the profit of, the Sublime Government. Let them not talk of things void of sense, for as the troubles of man proceed from his words, so reason is given him as a defence against his words.

287

SECTION VIII.

Many simple persons, who do not know why the treasure of the Nizam-y-Gedid was instituted, and whence this money is collected, and to what purpose it is expended, say sometimes, “the water of the old cistern is not exhausted; why then is the new revenue made a separate treasure?”^[103] We have already stated how difficult a thing it is to explain public affairs to people who are plunged in the darkest ignorance, and to make those who cannot read the common alphabet understand science; although we were to labour until the day of judgment, we should not succeed. If a man is capable of receiving the words of truth from his outward ears into his mind, we proceed to relate matters as they really are.

Wars have been carried on for seventy or eighty years in a rude manner, and with weak and irregular troops, during which time the followers of Islam having been often defeated, His Highness Sultan Suleÿman Kannuni thought proper to form the body of the Janissaries, whom he divided into different divisions, assigning to each their particular regiments and quarters. He considered, however, that these troops could not 288be assembled and kept together for the love of God only, but that it was also necessary to establish funds for the purpose of providing meat, drink, &c. for them, as well as to appoint them a pay suitable to their expenses. After consulting with the wise and experienced men of the time, he regulated the administration of the revenue in the following manner. A small part of the monies drawn from the provinces that had, by right of conquest, become subject to his illustrious predecessors, was appropriated to the subsistence of military men who served on horseback and otherwise. The Emperor appointed by the canon^[104] that, from the annual product of the revenues, and from the sums which every one who succeeded to the farming of them, paid according to his means, as an anticipation price, provision should be made for meeting the expense incident to these corps, whether in war or in peace. After these arrangements had been made, it frequently happened that, in good times, no war took place for twenty years together, during which some of the military men who belonged to the corps, having turned old, departed in peace. As the papers granted them to enable them to draw their pay fell into the hands of their servants, relations, or 289comrades^[105], it was not suffered that the allowances appointed for several thousand men should be received by persons who did not belong to the military profession, who were novices in affairs, or apprenticed to some trade. As few of them left sons capable of taking the place of their fathers, and opposing the enemies of our faith, men of war became very scarce, and it was therefore necessary to levy fresh troops, and assign new funds for their support, the old revenue being exhausted. Besides this cause of the impoverishment of the royal treasure, the price of all commodities had greatly augmented since the time that the canon was promulgated. For instance, at that period an oke of the flesh of mutton was sold for four aspers, but in the course of time it rose to twenty-five paras, and other things were dearer in proportion. Thus an increase having taken place in the price of the necessaries which were furnished to the corps at its institution, the royal funds provided for that purpose were no longer able to meet the expense of the times, and as they were nevertheless obliged to find some means of going on, the rents of the Sublime Government began to run into each other; that is to say, that in order to provide for the expense 290of the current year, they sold the revenue of the succeeding one, and so on. Hence resulted a deficiency in the Imperial finances. Even the treasures, which had been amassed with a great deal of trouble previous to the Russian war that broke out during the reign of the late Sultan Mustapha, were in that war entirely drained and consumed, although every thing was then very cheap when compared with present prices, and after peace, the finances could not recover themselves, but the expense still exceeded the revenue. The enemies of our religion being informed of our want of money, were thereby confirmed in their purpose, and obtained complete success. But besides the difficulties in which our government found itself involved in peaceable times, owing to the deficiency of the ordinary revenue which did not suffice for the current expenses, there have been moments during war in which it stood like a man who has both his hands tied down to his sides, and knew not which way to turn itself; for as there was no ready money, nothing could be accomplished, and nobody showed any inclination to engage in a holy war; nothing was considered but pay, rations, and the privilege of being exempted from active service.

Thus hath the want of a well-organised system of finance been clearly proved, the whole revenue of the state not being sufficient for the exigencies 291of these times. The following example will point out the truth of this to the people at large. Suppose the case of a man, who twenty or thirty years ago enjoyed an income of one piaster a day, and regulated his expenses accordingly, if that man continued on the same scale how could he live at present, when every thing is four or five times dearer than at that period, and make the two ends of the year meet with his piaster a day? In like manner, we may apply this consideration to the actual condition of the Sublime Government. Behold, while the royal finances are in so great a state of penury, not a single person, whether rich, poor, or tributary subject, will give a single piaster to the treasure, under the name of a voluntary contribution, towards carrying on war; and, in short, no man will go to war gratis, and at his own expense, only to please God, or for the love of the prophet or the emperor; the formation of troops proportioned to those of the enemy, and the providing of military stores, which may equal theirs, are things which must be accomplished, not by words, but by money. The truth is, that the treasury does not possess a fixed revenue sufficient to defray contingent expenses, and, to sum up all, the old revenues of the Sublime Government were calculated for the old expense; and as two hundred and forty-five years have elapsed since the publication of 292the canon, the expense having constantly increased whilst the revenue was never augmented, His Highness, the Emperor, has looked out for some remedy in such difficult circumstances, and has laboured to establish a revenue proportioned to the amount of expenditure of these times. But that the requisite funds might neither be taken by violence, nor derived from casual contingency, it was thought proper to draw them from the peculiar possessions of the government and the sources dependent thereon. A treasure having been with much difficulty amassed, in which were to be deposited the money raised under the title of Iradi-Gedid, the following reflections presented themselves relative to the manner in which they were to be regulated.

The produce of the imposts at the time that the canon was promulgated, was farmed out in small branches to those who bid for them the highest, and authority was granted to them to receive each a part of the tribute on their advancing a certain sum in proportion to their respective means, and on condition of their paying a thousand piasters a year to the crown besides; thus a man was able in three years to reimburse himself of the small sum which he had advanced, and then if the contract was continued to him for the course of his life, he could make a clear profit of forty or fifty thousand piasters; 293and perhaps of an hundred thousand if he lived long enough. The contractors continuing to give the crown only a thousand piasters after the first small sum advanced, the whole benefit of the revenue accrued to them, but the profits of the public treasure were not augmented and continued the same. A new method having, therefore, been found absolutely necessary, has been adopted, and in such a manner as to leave no person any pretext for complaint. The arrangement is this: that when the perception of an impost, which belongs by right to the treasury, falls vacant, it is no longer farmed out in consideration of a small sum, but is taken possession of on the part of the Sublime Government, and the management of it is carried on for the benefit of the new treasury; the sum which continues to be paid to the crown, as well as the profits derived from the perception of the impost, are appropriated to the pay, clothing, and allowances of the troops of the Nizam-y-Gedid, and to the special exigencies of the war department, such as the providing of cannon, ammunition, tents, camp equipage, military stores, and the expenses of the park and train of artillery.

As the accountants of the old treasury are wholly employed in the collection and management of the funds appertaining to it, a director was specially appointed for the purpose of 294watching over that part of the administration, and by his ability the whole has been properly regulated. These are then the advantages which result from the expense of the troops being defrayed by this new financial arrangement. The old revenue hath not been thereby prejudiced, and the charges of the new troops are provided for. This business has been conducted in so masterly a manner that no just cause is left to any one to cry out against it; and the new revenue, like the new system of discipline, being established on the best footing, causes no loss or damage to any man, but, on the contrary, tends manifestly to perpetuate, until the last day, the duration of the empire and of the people of Islam, as must be evident to all persons endowed with penetration.

When we have by so distinct an exposition rendered all these points clear, those men who are acquainted with the difference between alum and sugar, good and bad, and in whose essence is a leaven of science, will, no doubt, listen to reason, and, by Divine grace, being brought under conviction, will submit themselves to the book of God, mighty and powerful!

THE END.

Printed by Strahan and Spottiswoode,

Printers-Street, London.

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES

Silently corrected obvious typographical errors and variations in spelling.

Retained archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings as printed.

Re-indexed footnotes using numbers and collected together at the end of the last chapter.