CHAPTER XI. INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION. FROM time to time reports concerning the government of Cyprus Civil adminishave reached us through Her Majesty's Consuls in the island, and tration. they have invariably described it as most unjust and corrupt. In 1845, it was stated that the government was administered by a Pasha from Constantinople, who was changed every year, that embezzlement and oppression prevailed in every form, that the rapacity of the government officials, and even of the Greek clergy, knew no bounds, that the entire administration of the island deserved the strongest condemnation, and that Cyprus was considered to be the most oppressed part of the Ottoman dominions. In 1854-58 some improvement was reported. The administration was then stated to be on a more satisfactory footing, and the presence of the European Consuls was considered to have contributed towards a more equitable mode of government. It is, however, more with the character of the government at the time of the occupation by Great Britain that we have here to deal. It appears that the island has lately been governed by an official called the "Mutessurif," who is sent from Constantinople, and is generally of the rank of Pasha. The Mutessurif is president of the central" Mejlis" or council, which holds its sittings at Nicosia, being assembled whenever summoned by the Pasha, and always once a week; it is the highest civil and criminal tribunal, and its decisions are embodied in documents called "musbata," which are signed by all the members present. The council is composed of thirteen members besides the Pasha, of these, nine are Mussulmans and four are Christians; of the former, six sit in virtue of their office, viz. :-* The Cadi. The Mufti, or highest Mussulman religious authority. The Administrator of Mortmain property. The Administrator of Crown Lands. The Public Registrar. The number is made up by three Mahomedan representatives of the town. * This list is from the reports of Consuls White and Sandwith; Mr. Lang in a recent contribution to Macmillan's Magazine gives a slightly different composition as follows:-The Pasha; the Mufti, the Greek Archbishop; the Financial agent; the Evcaf-nazir, or administrator of Mussulman religicus property; three Mussulman and two Christian notables, making only ten in all. The Christian members of the council are: The Archbishop of Cyprus, who sits ex-officio. This court takes cognizance of all matters of an administrative or financial character connected with taxes, tithes, and customs duties, also such civil suits as do not immediately concern questions of inheritance, as these fall within the Cadi's jurisdiction, or, in the case of Christians, are managed by their own ecclesiastics; it further considers appeals made from the district courts of the island. The island has been hitherto divided into six districts which are governed by "Kaimakams," who are aided by councils, and who report to the governor. There is a further subdivision of the island into sixteen minor districts, or " cazas," of which the chief functionaries are called "mudirs." The following are the names of the districts and sub-districts : It is reported that the administrative and judicial affairs of the Kaimakamliks are managed by two courts, viz., the Mejlis Idari and the Mejlis Davi; the former is the administrative council, and is composed of eight members, of whom five are Mussulmans and three are Christians, as follows:-the Kaimakam as president, the Cadi as judge, the Christian Bishop of the district, three Mussulmans and two Christians elected by the people. The Mejlis Davi has five members, viz., the Cadi as president, two Christians and two Mussulmans. This tribunal disposes up to the sum of 5,000 piastres, and can inflict punishment for a period not exceeding three months. The Mejlis of Tidjaret, or commercial tribunal, sits at Larnaca, and has six Turkish and six European members. From the large Mussulman majority in the council of the Mutessurif, it is very evident that no initiative can be taken by the Christian members, and as the Pasha had power, if dissatisfied with the selection of any particular elected representative member, to compel him to resign his seat, and can appoint another in his place, any member who makes himself obnoxious by voting. against the Mussulman majority can easily be got rid of. The subservience of the members to the wishes of the government is further increased by the fact that the salaries which they draw are distributed by the Pasha, consequently the council has proved to be no protection whatever against the evils of an inactive administration, for not only are the Christian representatives in reality, though not avowedly, the choice of the governor and the Kaimakams, but, should any of them maintain an independent attitude by checking abuses, they would inevitably be deprived of their seats. Thus, in the council where all the most important interests of the country are adjudicated, and which is the tribunal at which all appeals from inferior courts are finally decided, there are nine members to represent the Mussulman element and interests; viz., one-fourth of the population and one-sixth of the property; whilst only four members guard the interests of the remaining important majority, whilst over all a Mussulman functionary of the highest rank in the island exercises his important influence. Consul Sandwith, in a report of 1867 upon the condition of the Christians in Cyprus, notices these facts, but says that it would not, however, be fair to draw the conclusion that justice is always denied to Christians, though such an inference might appear to be justified by the constitution of the several courts, and also from the fact that the rejection of the evidence of Christians is one of the fundamental Mussulman laws. The following quotation from his report indicates clearly the position in which the Christians in Cyprus have hitherto been situated as regards the administration of justice. "It must not be forgotten that the members of the Courts are open to bribery, and the rich Christian suitor is often more than a match for his poor Mussulman adversary. The civil disabilities, too, under which the Christians lie are materially mitigated by the important circumstance that they are the wealthiest class in the island, being the principal landowners, and, in trade, no less than in agriculture, possess a pre-eminence over the Mahomedans. Enjoying thus the many advantages which accrue from the possession of superior wealth as well as intelligence, they are not unfrequently able to induce the local Councils to accept their evidence against Mahomedans. This is especially the case in places where the latter are few and poor, and dependent, it may be, on the Christians for their means of living. In such cases, it may truly be said that the Christians get justice for themselves, and in spite of the spirit of the institutions provided for that purpose by Government. It is in the capital, where the most important causes are heard, that they labour under the greatest disadvantages, for there alone is observable any spirit of Mussulman fanaticism, the rest of the country being singularly free from its baneful influence. The Mussulmans having there been long in the ascendancy, in the possession of considerable property, and their exclusive spirit kept alive by the presence of the Government, which is more or less animated by jealousy of Christian influence, and the members of which are constantly recruited from Constantinople, a certain hostility to the Greek population displays itself, the more remarkable from its absence elsewhere. It is of the utmost importance, therefore, that the Medjlis which holds it sittings there, should fairly represent the interests of all parties in the island, its members being chosen from its several districts, instead of, as at present, from the town itself, and provision should be particularly made that it be not overweighted by the presence of so many as seven irremovable Turkish functionaries. "The two Courts where Christian evidence is received, are, first, the Medjlis el Tahkik, where the more important criminal and police cases are tried, the members of which are both Christians and Mussulmans, and which holds its sittings at Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus; and, secondly, the Medjlis el Tijaret, sitting at Larnaca where commercial suits are heard, the members of which consist of equal numbers of Europeans and natives, each important Consulate sending a delegate, and the natives being half Christian and half Mussulman, making a total of twelve. Thus fair guarantees of justice are afforded to the population of this commercial town, where, too, the several Consulates are able to watch the proceedings of the Court. At the capital the Medjlis el Tahkik cannot adequately attend to the criminal jurisdiction of the whole island, the majority of cases being disposed of by the District Courts where Christian testimony is inadmissible. "Another grievance of which the Greeks have to complain is the unequal distribution of the personal tax called "verghi," of which they pay in most villages more than their fair share; but this is an evil which would be quickly remedied could they make themselves heard in the Central Medjlis. "Though they have just cause then to complain of the inferior position which they hold in the eye of the law in the instances already mentioned, both Mussulmans and Christians have equal cause to be dissatisfied with the mal-administration which, in these days of commercial activity, arrests the development of the resources of the island. The government derives a revenue of £230,000 from Cyprus, and the expenses of administration amount at most to £30,000, the surplus of £200,000, finding its way to the Treasury at Constantinople. Nothing whatever is spent on the improvement of the country, no roads are constructed, no bridges thrown across the winter torrents. But these and other instances of a careless or vicious administration which could be enumerated are not exclusively detrimental to the interests of the Greek population, and, therefore I refrain from dwelling on them here. But I think that there can be no doubt that the evils which press equally upon Turks and Greeks are more intolerable than those of which the Greeks alone have cause to complain." Consul Lang, during his nine years' residence in Cyprus, appears to have gained considerable knowledge of the working of the administration; he considered that the representatives of the people were assigned an important position in the councils of the island, and that it was partly from servility and partly from incapacity on the part of the elected members, that so little advantage was reaped by the people, but this was a defect, not in the system, but in its execution. It seems that in Cyprus, it is not so much the laws themselves, but rather the administration of the laws which needs reform. The Ottoman Government is noted for publishing innumerable firmans, laws, and ordinances, which leave but little room for improvement as regards either completeness or natural equity; and it has been either the disregard or the mal-administration of these laws, which has done so much injury in the country. It is said that there is a code of commercial law based upon the Code Napoléon; also that the criminal code is both comprehensive and sensible; the property laws appear to be somewhat complicated, but it is believed that when they have been thoroughly investigated, a clear system will be found to pervade them. The foundation of Turkish law is the sheri, a religious compilation comprising the Koran and a series of maxims. This law cannot be altered by the secular power, but supplementary and elucidatory enactments suited to modern requirements, may be, and have been, added; these are known as the destour, or Ottoman secular law. The annex of the recent convention between Great Britain and Land tenure. Turkey (see page 27) seems to recognise four different ownerships of land-State land, Crown land, Church land, and private land; the legal distinctions between these various tenures will have to be investigated by the land commission, a task which will probably require some delicacy of perception, for it appears that the distinction between State and Crown lands is scarcely sufficiently defined or universally accepted; moreover, under a despotic power like Turkey, it may be difficult to say what constitutes the personal property of the Sovereign, and what belongs to the State. All barracks, police grounds, lighthouses, custom-houses, police stations, and such like, are clearly State property, also all lands affected for the pay of salaries and the maintenance of revenue, these go therefore with the proprietorship of the island. Mr. Haddan says that the Mussulman law invests all freehold rights in the head of the State, and no subject can hold landed property in his own right; further, the tenure of land is entirely dependent upon cultivating, or otherwise rendering productive, the property in occupation, and all holdings neglected for three years lapse ipso facto to the State. The 10 per cent. tax upon the produce may therefore be considered merely as a rental, the nonpayment of which is punished by ejectment. Thus Mr. Haddan considers that the greater part of Cyprus, being unoccupied and uncultivated, is at the entire disposal of the British Government. The wording of Article IV of the Annex of the Convention* does not show what land is to be considered as belonging to the Sultan personally, and the State property scarcely seems to be separated from the Crown property, but there can be no doubt that the two are distinct, and will be so dealt with.† As regards the ecclesiastical, or vakouf, lands, and the private lands, there will probably not be so much difficulty, as the laws with regard to these are tolerably clear. At Nicosia a register book has been kept containing the names of all owners of land, with an alphabetical index. All transfers and sales are noted in this book, and a certificate of registration called a hodjet is given to the buyer; this document, together with the registry, constitutes a legal title to the possession of the land. The Zaptiehs, or Turkish policemen, in the island are said Police force. to number about 275; one of their chief duties hitherto has been to assist the persons who farm the taxes to collect their dues, and also to exact those to be paid direct to the government. It appears that this duty has in very many cases been performed by the Zaptiehs in a most arbitrary manner, and has often been accompanied by acts of needless severity, and even brutality; consequently the police force is very generally unpopular amongst the Cypriotes, and the bitter feeling which exists has sometimes culminated in reprisals. This force being now under English control, will be brought under a stricter discipline, and its members taught to respect the * IV. That the Sublime Porte may freely sell and lease all lands and other property in Cyprus belonging to the Ottoman Crown and State, the produce of which does not form part of the revenue of the island referred to in Article III. This question, which is of great importance, is further explained in letters from the "Times" correspondent in Cyprus, contained in the issues of that newspaper of September 9th, and October 9th, 1878. |