Turko-Servian War

The Bulgars took little or no part in the Turko-Servian War in 1875 ; but when the war ended in the virtual emancipation of the Serbs, the time had manifestly come when it was incumbent upon their neighbours to take action which might force the hand of the Czar, and thus necessitate Muscovite intervention. The whole story of the abortive Bulgarian rising in 1S76 is singularly obscure. What its intrinsic importance was, who were its leaders and instigators, and what, if any, was the programme of the insurgents, are all matters on which it is difficult to express any definite opinion.

The one thing certain is that the rising was suppressed by the Turks with relentless severity. That it must have been so suppressed is evident priori to any one acquainted with the Eastern system of administration. So long as the Giaour pays his taxes and respects the authority of Islam, he is allowed to do pretty much what he likes in other respects; but, if he rises in rebellion against his rulers, the hand of his lord and master comes down with overwhelming force. Not to strike without necessity, but when you have to strike, to strike a knock-down blow, such is the principle of Oriental statesmanship. Less than a score of years ago, a village near Keneh, where English tourists now make halt daily during the Nile season, rose in insurrection against the authority of the then Khedive, partly in resentment of excessive taxation, partly in deference to religious fanaticism.

Local Mahdi

A local Mahdi had taken it into his head to preach the duty of returning to the true faith of Islam, had denounced Ismail Pasha as one who consorted with infidels, and had exhorted the faithful to refuse obedience to the officials of the Government The appeal met with some response, and next time the tax collectors appeared at the village they were driven away with violence. On learning this, the Khedive sent down a body of troops under orders to surround the village with a cordon, and to kill every man, woman, child, and living thing within the precincts. The order was carried out literally, and no more was ever heard of the Keneh Mahdi or of the Keneh insurrection.

And, what is more, I could never discover that this wholesale massacre offended in any way such public opinion as exists in Egypt It was only the regular way in which insurrections had always been dealt with; and, after all, it achieved its purpose. If the Turks act in this fashion towards men of their own faith, it is only natural they should have, if possible, still less scruple in inflicting condign punishment on rebellious subjects belonging to an alien race and a hostile creed. I have not, therefore, the slightest doubt in my own mind that the insurrection in Bulgaria was put down by the Turks in a fashion utterly inconsistent with our ideas of law and justice, not to mention humanity.

But whether there were fifteen thousand, or fifteen hundred, or one hundred and fifty Bulgarians killed, or which of the various atrocities alleged to have been perpetrated had any foundation in fact, I have no idea myself, nor have I met with anyone who could give me reliable information on the point I have seen enough of Eastern countries to entertain the utmost distrust of any specific statement of fact with regard to occurrences which are alleged to have taken place there, no matter on what authority the statement may be based.

We at home are too well acquainted with Mr. Gladstone’s utter incapacity to see more than one side of any question, to repose implicit confidence upon the evidence on which he founded his famous indictment of the Bulgarian atrocities. Still Mr. Gladstone’s pamphlet served its purpose; and undoubtedly the Anti-Turkish demonstration, led by Mr. Gladstone, encouraged the Russians in the mistaken belief that England would acquiesce in any fresh aggression against Turkey, and thereby contributed directly to the outbreak of the Russo-Turkish War.