Vice-Consul Doughty-Wylie to Sir G. Lowther.
I HAVE the honour to forward the following in continuation of my letter of yesterday:
I heard to-day that the Greek Patriarchate had demanded the dismissal of the Mutessarif of Mersina. I wired to your Excellency that if this was correct it was due to local intrigues that the man had saved Mersina from massacre, and was an excellent official. The local enmity against him arises from the fact that he is the first Ottoman official there to refuse bribes and to refuse to be entirely ruled by the Greek clique in Mersina, headed by a certain M. Mavromati, who is the Russian Consul. Personally, I would like to see this official made Vali of Adana. The present man is a reactionary Kurd of whom nothing can be expected.
The Roumeliot officers here are beginning to see more and more the difficulties of their position; they say that there is nobody here they can trust, nobody who is not an intriguer and a fanatic. Reaction is not, I think, likely to take any active shape while they are here, but the whole feeling of the country is or will be against it. I sincerely hope that they will see that their only way is punish offenders.
A still more ludicrous account than that telegraphed to your Excellency of a certain Abdullah Bughdadli as President of the Turkish Relief Committee is that the same man is also President of' the Commission of Inquiry into the massacre, of which he was one of the principal authors. This appointment seems to be caused by his being an old friend of the Vali’s.
Troops to-day have been sent to Sis, Osmanieh, and Baghshe, all, I think, redifs.
Efforts are being made with some success to recover stolen goods, of which all the Turkish and Arab houses in this quarter are full. The Turks at present are too rich and the Armenians too terrified to work. Some of the barley is already falling, the wheat will not begin for another ten days, by which time I hope there will be more labourers.
I inclose a copy of a letter to Mr. Peet from Mr. Lawson Chambers.
Late this evening I received two bits of news:
1. That a man I sent out under escort this morning to arrange for a Turkish bailiff to bring in his harvest, which is pledged to the German factory, had scarcely crossed Adana bridge when he met some Bashi-Bozouks. They said, “If you go on further you will never come back.” The escort urged him not to fear but to go on. But he had not the courage to do so. This confirms what I hear several times every day, that no Christian dare go out to gather his harvest, and utterly despises the Vali’s assurances that all was perfectly safe under his protection.
2. A certain Arab Notable employed by me on the Relief Committee was sent for to the konak to-day, at which loot had been gathered from his quarter of the town. He was told in the konak to pass round the word that all the loot need not be given back, but only a little without value; further, that statements were expected of hundreds of Turks and Arabs killed in that quarter. I rode through the quarter several times myself. It is the quarter in which I was wounded, and I am perfectly certain that a very few Turks were killed in it, while hundreds of Armenians were burnt alive; the women were outraged and then killed. Every house is full of plunder. The Arab Notable, who from the first did what he could to help, and is a friend of mine, sent me word secretly of these messages from the konak. He says he is in danger, and does not know what to do. I have wired to your Excellency in cypher as follows:
“Vali and his reactionary party sending round secretly to Notables not to give back all booty, and to complain to Government of the loss of hundreds imaginary men. Threats still common. Trouble between Arab and IInd Army Corps troops not impossible. Feel that Vali should be removed.”