Vice Consul Wylie to Sir G. Lowther.
I suggested to Captain Thursby, by means of Commander Carver that an official from the Captain (if he were so disposed) to the Vali would have a calming effect on the town. Captain Thursby much improved on this by asking the Captains of the French and German ships to accompany him, and to make a formal visit together.
On this day we fed 1,100 people.
Great anxiety was felt about Hadjin. Letters were sent by zaptiehs urging on the Vali to send Mr. L. Chambers (junior) to make peace. The Vali, saying he would be killed, declined to take the responsibility.
Also this day I received answers to my telegrams from Konia, Caesarea, Marash, Aintab, and Ourfa, saying that all was quiet.
Thursday, April 22. The German Engineers, and Mr. Gunter (Englishman), of the Indian Telegraph Department, were brought in by an escort sent out at my request Bagshe and Osmanieh. I inclose an interesting Report from Mr. Gunter. [not printed] Surgeon Connell of H.M.S. “Swiftsure” arrived. News from Hadjin was still very grave.
Thursday, April 23. Captain Thursby, with the Captains of the French and German ships, together with French and American Consuls, arrived to pay official visits. The programme was arranged as follows:
Visits to the Vali, Ferik, American Mission (Mr. Chambers’ house), the Jesuit Fathers, the French Nuns, and the German factory, where M. Stoeckel is very kind and extremely useful in feeding refugees in concert with us. Two other visits, to the French dragoman’s house and the Armenian Catholic Bishop were suggested by the French dragoman. I felt bound to oppose both, unless the French Captain and Consul particularly wished for them, as a joint official visit to the Armenians would certainly have been misunderstood, and if the Captains visited one dragoman they would have been expected to visit all, for which there was no time.
The question of the landing of Consular Guards was raised. I submitted to the meeting the copy of my letter (referred to) to the Vali, and it was pronounced to be entirely in accord with their instructions.
I could not go with them on their round, but was present when the Vali and Ferik paid their return visit at Mr. Trypani’s house. Various questions were mentioned, the most urgent, that of the protection of Hadjin, being raised by Captain Thursby and myself. I offered again to send an Englishmen with a Turkish escort to make peace; it is very difficult for Turks to approach Hadjin, as they are apt to be taken for enemies and fired upon. My proposal was for the Englishman to leave his escort outside the danger zone and, going in alone, to tell the Armenians to surrender, under guarantee of safety. There are in Hadjin English, American, and I think, German ladies, but no foreign men. Their lives would be in the utmost danger in the event of the storming or burning of the town.
Captain Thursby backed up this idea, but the Vali was much against it; he said that it was too great a danger, and that the fact of sending an Englishman would be misunderstood by certain Turks, already fearful of foreign interference.
Hadjin is four days distant from here.
At the time of the meeting I had not had the news which I have had since, that a Canadian lady was among the missionaries, but I have assumed during this crisis the protection of Americans and other foreigners, as there was nobody else to do it. Captain Thursby told the Vali that we would speak and act for our American friends as we would for ourselves, until such time as their own ships arrived. The American Consul was present; he is a native of Tarsus, and had only arrived at Adana that morning by train. He cordially agreed in all that we said.
On the Valis persistant refusal, a joint Turkish and Armenian deputation was suggested by me as an alternative. This was accepted. It was ordered to start at once, but in the end no Armenian could be found to go.
After the Vali had gone Captain Thursby told me that he would try and arrange what I wished about regular railway communication and the use of the railway wire to communicate with the ships. The ordinary telegraph is a mile and a-half away through the middle of the town. The use of this wire might become of first importance, if other communication became dangerous, or was cut, as is now the case with the wire to Constantinople.
Mr. Eason returned to his ship, his place being taken by Second Writer Trussler.
I sent to Hadjin a long telegram addressed to Miss Lambert, an American, telling her of the collective meeting with the Vali, and what had resulted from it.
I advised her, in the name of us all, to assemble the Armenian leaders, and urge them to surrender to the officer commanding the regular troops, who would defend them against Bashi-Bozouks.
Saturday, April 24. The Russian and Greek Consuls arrived from Mersina. (The Russian Consul is acting also for the Italians.) The Greek Consul asked me if I had official news that the English ships would, in case of necessity, protect Hellenic subjects. He had also asked Captain Thursby this, who replied that he had no instructions, but that, in case of necessity he would so protect them. I answered in the same sense as Captain Thursby had done.
I received a long telegram from Miss Lambert at Hadjin, saying that the Armenians there were most anxious to surrender, but that no officer or regular soldier was visible; that they were being fired upon by Bashi-Bozouks, and that part of the town was burning; assistance was imperatively necessary. The Vali had many times assured me that there are at Hadjin, sent from Fakeh, 150 to 300 regular troops, and that they had driven away the Bashi-Bozouks.
I sent Mr. Trowbridge, American missionary, to the Vali, with a copy of this telegram. While we were copying it, another, still more despairing, arrived. I wrote to the Vali, by Mr. Trowbridge, the most urgent letter I could think of, to speak in my name of the universal horror that the burning of these poor ladies would excite in all civilized men. The Vali replied by a Circular telegram to all officials, civil and military, to the Ulema and all Notables, that peace must be made, that the fire must be put out, that white flags must be hoisted and respected, and that the officer in command would be held responsible. This was a good telegram, but from his assurances three days ago he sent a similar one, which it seems had no effect. Later the Vali wrote to me that had better news from Hadjin, that the fire was only on the outside of the town and was being got under. Hadjin, which I have never seen, is said to be built of wood.
Dr. Christie, of Tarsus, paid me a visit. He has 4,000 refugees in his school ground. There is not room for them all to lie down at once, so the men stand all night and the women all day. I presume they dare not yet return to their homes, which have, for the most part, been burnt.
Fortunately, there were only approximately fifty Armenians killed in Tarsus. This, I think, is partly owing to energetic orders from the Mutessarif of Mersina, and perhaps more, to the timely arrival of the guard from here.
The following are the present figures of the relief work, copied from lists made out by the heads of communities: 14,450 people without means of subsistence.
We are at present giving absolutely starvation rations of about one-third of a pound of bread per day. This must, I think, be doubled to enable the people to live, but it costs at present 83 l. [Turkish pound] a-day. When we can get the factories to reopen some of this will be lightened, but the harvest, good as it is, will suffer enormously from lack of hands to gather it.
Besides the 83 l. spent in flour alone, there are necessary expenses for transport of food, rice, soup, and milk for the wounded and children, and hospital expenses, there being several hundred patients already.
I telegraphed to your Excellency a rough proposal for the Committee of Relief, with Mr. Chambers (senior) as President. Since that time Mr. Chambers has pointed out to me that there is no one here except myself who can even hope to co-ordinate the various religions and nationalities into one general scheme. I have therefore telegraphed to your Excellency, proposing myself as President and Mr. Chambers as Secretary.
If you approve, I will approach the Vali, and try to secure the sympathy and help of the Government. Further, I hope to persuade a leading Hoja, a friend of mine, to serve on the Committee.
The country, generally, cannot be said to be safe or quiet. There are still murders and threatening of renewed massacres. Fighting still goes on at other places besides Hadjin. The Christian population is altogether panic-stricken, both Armenian and Greek.
Reports. I have the honour to inclose the following Reports: