‘The Capitulations. What they are, and what effect their abolition will have upon the status of British subjects in Turkey, upon their interests, their liberties and upon British trade generally.’ [‎2v] (4/28)

established trading stations at Aleppo, Beyrouth Damascus, and
later at Smyrna, Eski-Shehir, Konia, Angora, and other places m
the interior. By 1914 we had but one business house at Aleppo,
nnlv two or three at Beyrouth, none at Damascus, and none in any
of the^nterior towns. THE BRITISH MERCHANT HAS
BEEN ABLE TO SURVIVE ONLY IN THE LARGE SEA
PO^S—PRINCIPALLY AT CONSTANTINOPLE AND
SMYRNA-UNDER THE DIRECT PROTECTION AND
WITHIN REACH OF HIS EMBASSY AND CONSULATE.
The danger to the foreigner lies (1) in the fact that Turkish
law and Turkish customs based on the religious law of the Sheriat
are very different from those of Western civilisation and cannot be
applied to Western peoples, and (2) in the fact proved through al
the centuries of Turkish rule that, without the treaty rights enjoyed
by him under the direct enforcement and protection of his country s
representatives, there can be no security or comfort for him in
Turkey The foreigner must have the protection of the capitulations
to safeguard himself and his family against unjust arrest and imprison-
rncnt, against violation of His Home, against seizure of his property,
against unjust taxation.
Within our memory we have had in the Capital itself men
high in position who used their influence to extort money from
their own subjects. Many were taken from their homes and banished
without trial. We refer to such men as Gahni Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. , Redvan
Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. , Fehim Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. , and others. The latter was finally banished
at the instigation of the German Ambassador, and after the fall
of Abdul Hamid he was killed and chopped to pieces by the
Turkish population at Brussa, who had suffered from his tyranny
whilst he was there in exile. Without the protection which our
Embassies gave us, no one would have been safe from the persecu
tions of such men. The occurrencies date back but to 1908, barely
fifteen years ago. The Turkish population themselves had no redress.
In October, 1914, soon after the outbreak of the Great War,
the Turkish Government took advantage of the preoccupation of
the Western Governments to declare the abrogation of the Capitula
tions. This abrogation was immediately protested against by all the
Powers including Turkey’s Allies, Germany and Austria, and declared
to be invalid on the ground that no treaty can be abrogated solely
by the unilateral decision of one of the signatories.
Turkish rulers to-day are anxious to abolish the Capitulations
as humiliating and unfair to their subjects. There is no doubt that
we do occupy a favoured position and enjoy the protection of our
Governments, but this has been essential and even to-day is necessary,
for under Moslem law we still continue to be strangers and foreigners.
In such matters as personal status, divorce, marriage, succession, etc.,
no Turkish law as it stands to-day could give us justice.
The real question is not the humiliating position the Turks are
supposed to be in, it is the special privileged position we are in
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