come to the conclusion, unbiassed either by prejudice or partiality, that the Greek character does not possess those elements required in a people called upon to rule. There is far more truth and natural virtue in the Turk and the Slavonian-a fact which reveals itself to the observation of the traveller in a thousand ways.

In the character of the Turk and the Slavonian, there are many points of resemblance the same patriarchal habits and manners, the same hospitality, the same rough, honest bearing in their demeanour, which inspires you with the confidence, that in reposing in their faith you will not be deceived; and if we trace the history of the Turk from the time of the virtuous Othman, and his horde of valiant shepherds, to the day when his race firmly seated themselves on the Bosphorus, we shall find them practising many virtues. It was not until they became captivated with the usages of the conquered race, and moulded their simple, equitable laws after those of the more subtle Greek, and imbibed his venal and rapacious spirit, that they became degenerated.

Peter of Russia, in the difficult task of civilizing his people, had only to contend with their barbarism, since they were for the most part of one race and of the same faith; whereas the Sultan has a people composed of various nationalities, professing creeds the most hostile, obstinately wedded to the most absurd prejudices, and arrived at that point of semi-civilization when man,

satisfied with his own proficiency, resolutely denies the necessity of further advancement.

With so many obstacles to surmount, so many reforms required to correct the abuses, the misrule of centuries, it must be admitted the situation of Turkey is most critical. At enmity with her Mussulman population, she sees that great arm of her strength withered, without, on the other hand, having gained the confidence of her Christian subjects; since, by persecuting their Church for centuries, a hatred, now become hereditary, has been engendered in the people, who regard with suspicion the sincerity of the intentions which have dictated the various reforms of the government, and will continue to do so, as long as they see themselves at the mercy of an executive purely Mussulman.

The Sultan may issue hatti-sheriff after hatti-sheriff, invest Christian and Mussulman with equal civil rights, abolish the privileges of the Spahi, curb the rapacity and oppression of the Pacha, it avails nothing; the canker still remains, and must continue eating into the vitals of the State, until there is a thorough change-a thorough reform in everything relating to the political, religious, and social state of the Rayah. The distinction between him and the Mussulman must be removed; the Sultan must govern all his subjects, whatever may be their creed or nationality, impartially; they must be equally eligible to rank and office; churches must be built for the Christians, as well as mosques for the Mahometan;

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seminaries endowed for them; the clergy rendered independent; and by elevating to power the Patriarch of Constantinople, as supreme pontiff of the Oriental Church, become, as it were, his Grand Vizier in spiritual affairs between him and his Christian subjects. Unless this is done, France may threaten, and Great Britain fill the Bosphorus, the Dardanelles and the Grecian Seas with her ships of war, but they cannot prevent internal insurrection, and, it may be, the Emperor of Russia, from calling to arms, in his character of political pontiff, a people the most fanatic and superstitious of any existing.

I do not pretend to say that the patriarchal democrats of European Turkey, even of the Slavonian race, would accept the Czar of the North as their sovereign; I think they are too republican in their opinions and tendencies-too much attached to their own peculiar laws and customs, and which, to a certain extent, they enjoy under the rule of the Sultan, to submit to the bureaucracy and enlightened despotism of Russia, however much it might improve their condition. It is not alone to the political question, of "What is to be done with Turkey?" that we would direct the attention of the humane and enlightened reader, but to the chaos which must succeed on the dissolution of Turkish rule in these provinces; when all the fiercest passions of man's nature-religious bigotry and national prejudice would then, unrestrained, burst forth, and kindle a flame,

whose final extinction may be no easy task. Even the Emperor of Russia, however desirous he might be to establish himself on the ruins of the Turkish empire in these provinces, must shrink from the undertaking of taming down the wild spirits of Albania and Greece, the inveterate enemies of his race, who, together with the Arnouts and the Mussulman warriors of Bosnia, by intrenching themselves in the fastnesses of their native mountains, would be enabled to convert the country into a second Caucasus.

It is easier to re-model a government, than to construct a new one; and since the Sultan still holds the sceptre, every humane and enlightened government, apart from political motives, should lend its aid and counsel him in carrying out such effective measures of reform as may be necessary to allay the irritation existing among the Rayah population, without which the regeneration of the Ottoman empire must be regarded as a chimerical vision. In the first place, it is evident, those absurd laws of the Koran, founded in superstition and ignorance, and which exclude the Christian from all political rights, must be abrogated; and till that barrier, raised by religious fanaticism, which elevated one class of the people, and degraded the other, is entirely removed, the power of the Sultan, in this part of his empire, rests on a volcano.

With every desire to amend the condition of the Rayah, the evil still remains-religious prejudice and

caste-to frustrate the intentions of the most just and equitable government, and must continue, so long as the laws are administered by a fanatic ignorant Mussulinan. The traveller is daily reminded of this, in his intercourse with Turk and Rayah-in the one he sees an overbearing arrogance, and in the other a humiliating degradation. In obedience to the old Mahometan laws, a Rayah is restricted from using certain colours when he paints his house, or decorates his person. He is not permitted to enter a town on horseback, if it is the residence of a Turkish dignitary; should he meet with one during his route, he must descend till he passes, or escape by another direction; the meanest Turk holds the power to send him on an errand, or make him carry a package; if struck by one, he dare not resent the injury; and should he by chance meet a Turkish lady, he is not allowed to look at her, since it is possible he may blight her good fortune with the evil eye.

It is true, the higher class of Rayahs, such as merchants and traders, inhabitants of towns, aware of their newly-acquired rights, do not humiliate themselves in presence of a Mussulman; but the poor Rayah of the village and the commune, ignorant of the privileges which have been accorded him, still obeys, and like a good Christian, if he is struck on the right cheek, turns the left; and should he be sufficiently daring to assert his rights, and refuse the homage required by the privileged class, the whip of the oppressor quickly