ملف رقم ٣١٤٢ لسنة ١٩٠٣ "سكة حديد الحجاز" [ظ‎‎١‎٥‎٤] (٤٨٨/٣١٧)

Inclosure in No. 4.
«
Quarterly Report.
THE summer months have passed with great tranquillity throughout the Vilayet of
Erzeroum. Crimes of all sorts have been rare ; and, except during a few weeks, when thep
fear of serious events in Sassoun caused considerable excitement and anxiety, the popula
tion has been remarkably calm. In view of the serious difficulties of (he Ottoman Empire
in European Turkey, and of the insurrection in Macedonia, this tranquillity is very
striking. It is true that, at one moment, reports from Erzingian and the surrounding
district were alarming; but inquiry showed that the stories circulated in iegard to the
situation there were unfounded or very much exaggerated ; and it appears that they were
the result partly of the arrest of a number of foolish young Armenians who were in
correspondence with the revolutionaries in Russia, and partly of intrigues to obtain the
removal of the Mutessarif, who is unpopular with Mussulmans and Christians alike,
owing to want of tact and roughness of manner, as far as I can understand, rather than to
any actual mal-administration. i • ii
Nazim Bev the Vali of Erzeroum, has undoubtedly gained much in authority and
reputation during the past months. It is realized that, under a somewhat hesitating
and verv quiet manner, he conceals a strong will and firm determination to maintain order;
and I think that there can be no doubt of his desire to administer the province in a just and
enlightened manner. He is without strong prejudices, and always willing to hear both
sides of a question ; and, being a wealthy man, young, and with considerable influence at
Constantinople, be is able to take his own line without fear. Moreover, he has, by tact
and prudence, placed himself on a friendly footing with the Mushir, a most important
condition if any Vali here hopes to carry out his views ot administration. The measures
which he has adopted, with the concurrence of the Mushir, in regard to patrolling the
Passin and Khiais districts, and so controlling the Kurds, have met with complete
success ; and he has, to a considerable extent, limited the carrying of arms.
As already stated, affaire in Sassoun were, for a time, very threatening; and the
expectation of any serious trouble there gives rise to fears ot more extended disorders.
Both Mussulmand and Christians remember that the massacres of 1895 had their
immediate origin in the everts in Sassoun in 1894; and such memories are in themselves
a source of danger in a country where panics are frequent and where a combination of
nervousness and fanaticism forms the ruling spirit, fortunately, the design of the
authorities to use the presence of a considerable number of revolutionaries who had been
allowed to assemble in the mountains of Sassoun as a pretext for military iterations, with
the assistance of the nomad Kurds, against the Armenians—with the probable object of
removing them from their mountain strongholds once for all—was put a stop to by the
representations of the Embassies. Orders have recently again been given to use military
force against the revolutionaries in Sassoun, but not until the nomad tribes have left the
mountains ; and, under these circumstances, even if these orders are carried out, it may
be hoped that the operations will not entail serious excesses. The season for operations
in the mountains is nearly over now, and winter, the great pacificator in these region;?, is
at hand. . .. r u- u
Various bands of Armenians have crossed the frontier from Russia, some of which
have been successful in reaching Sassoun, while others have been met and turned back.
They show very little disposition to face opposition; and I fancy that many of their
movements have been undertaken as an “ acquit de conscience,” the result of some sort
of agreement between the Armenian Committees and those in Macedonia. The Russian
authorities would appear to show but little energy in preventing them from entering
Turkey. , . -
Considerable discontent is evident at the heavy increase of taxation, the tax ot
10 piastres per head on horses and cattle falling very hard on the peasants. The harvest
is very abundant; but the high cost of transport by road to the sea coast prevents any
piofitable expoit of grain. (Signed! CHARLES S. HAMPSON.
Erzeroum, September 30, 1903.