brigades, and divisions. It contains 66 regiments of the line, each with 4 battalions, except three which have 3 battalions; 2 regiments of Zouaves of 2 battalions each; 1 regiment of firemen of 4 battalions; and 15 battalions of rifles. There are also 12 battalions of Tripolitan militia for local service. Each battalion of the line, Zouaves and rifles, consists of 4 companies. Two line regiments form a brigade, 2 brigades and a rifle battalion form an infantry division, and 2 divisions form an ordu. Each line and rifle battalion, on a war footing, has 24 officers, 62 non-commissioned officers, and 836 men, the total being 922 men of all ranks, with 51 horses. The peace strength varies from 250 to 550, according to the locality. The total war establishment of a regiment of 4 battalions is 3,764 men of all ranks, with 207 horses. The infantry are armed with the Martini-Peabody rifle. There are 220,000 Mauser magazine rifles (37) in store, but none have been issued. A small-bore Mauser (3) is being supplied. The Redif is organised in two bans. (An enactment for their fusion into one has as yet been only partially applied.) The first ban consists of 48 regiments; 8 of 4 battalions from each of the first 6 ordu districts. The second ban consists of 40 regiments, 8 of 4 battalions from each of the first 5 ordu districts. On a war footing the establishments of the Redif are intended to be the same as those of the Nizam, but battalions are often 1,200 strong. The Nizam cavalry consists of 38 regiments of the line, 2 regiments of the guard, and 2 squadrons of mounted infantry (at Yemen). There is no Redif cavalry organised. The line and guard regiments each consist of 5 squadrons, the fifth being a depôt. The guard regiments are quartered at Constantinople, and belong to the first ordu. Of the line regiments, 36 are formed into 6 cavalry divisions, one to each ordu, and 2 other regiments belong to the garrison at Tripoli. There are thus 202 squadrons of cavalry, of which 40 are depôt squadrons. The war establishment of a regiment consists of 39 officers and 647 men, 686 in all, or, adding the depôt squadrons, 854 of all ranks. Each regiment has 880 horses, inclusive of train. It is proposed to form in the fourth, fifth, and sixth ordu districts 48 regiments of militia or Hamadieh cavalry, commanded by tribal leaders, and associated with the regular army. The tribes will find the men, horses, and equipment, and the Government the armament. Each regiment will have from 512 to 1,152 men in from 4 to 6 squadrons. The field artillery is being reorganised in accordance with a scheme sanctioned in 1891, whereby the force will be considerably strengthened. It is intended that each of the first 5 ordus shall have one battalion with 3 batteries of horse artillery, and six regiments of field and mountain artillery, comprising 30 batteries of field and 6 batteries of mountain artillery, each battery having, on war footing, 6 guns. Each of these groups of 6 regiments will form 3 brigades of which one will be attached to the Nizam, another to the first ban, and the third to the second ban of their respective ordus. The sixth ordu will have two regiments of artillery with, altogether, 12 field and 2 mountain batteries. The seventh ordu will have 3 field and 4 mountain batteries. Crete will have 4 mountain batteries, and Tripoli 4 field and 2 mountain batteries. Turkey will thus have, in all, 15 batteries of horse artillery, 169 field and 42 mountain batteries with a total of 1,356 guns. To the first ordu there are two ammunition trains, to the other five only one The transport consists generally of pack animals. On a war footing, the establishment of a field battery consists of about 137 officers and men with 100 horses. Of fortress artillery there are 38 battalions, of which 18 belong to the ordus, located chiefly at Constantinople and Erzeroum, and 20 to the Ordnance Department. Of these, 12 companies are in the Bosphorus batteries, 8 in the Bulair lines, and the remainder in Mediterranean fortresses. There are 19 engineer companies (pioneers), and 4 telegraph companies distributed among the 7 ordus, the second ordu having, besides, a pontoon train. There are also 12 engineer companies and 4 torpedo companies belonging to the Ordnance Department. The train service, so far as it exists, consists of 13 companies. The supply service is almost entirely staff; extraneous transport would be required for commissariat supplies. The medical service consists only of medical officers and apothecaries; there are no bearers nor cadres for field hospitals. There are 117 battalions of gendarmerie, a military organisation under civil control in time of peace. The following is a summary of the effective combatant services of the Turkish Army : Infantry. Artillery ... Engineers 648 battalions 202 squadrons 1,356 guns : 39 companies ... 583,200 men The war strength of the army, permanent, territorial, and reserve, in 1897 was about 900,000 men. III. NAVY. There has lately been a rumour that an effort was to be made to increase the Ottoman fleet, and overtures have been made to shipbuilding firms in this country and in Germany. There is not, however, any evidence of real progress. A survey of the navy reveals it as mainly an obsolescent, and in great part already an obsolete fighting force. The ships are of such small displacement or were built so long ago (1864-65) as to belong now to the class local defence vessels. On Information concerning the state of the Turkish navy is not readily accessible, but the following table is based upon such information as is available. It excludes transports, training ships, and non-effective vessels. the whole it errs by giving a picture too favourable. Many of the smaller vessels are probably useless. Abbrevia The table which follows is of the Turkish armourclad fleet. tions:-a.g.b. armoured gunboat; bar., barbette; c.b., central battery; t., turret; Q.F., quick-firing. In the column of armaments, light and machine guns are not given. The old sister battleships, now coast-defence vessels, Aziziyeh, Mahmoudiyeh, Orkaniyeh, and Osmaniyeh (6,400 tons), are being, or have been, transformed by having barbette turrets placed at each end of their batteries for the heavy Krupp guns (the hope being to fit them for something more than local defence). An armourclad of 6,700 tons, the Hamidiyeh, was launched at Constantinople in 1885, and is said, after long delays, to have made her trials, but it is believed that not all her guns are even now mounted. This vessel, the Mesoudiyeh, and the unfinished armoured barbette cruiser Abdul Kader, are the largest ships in the Turkish navy. The Mesoudiych is 332 feet long, with extreme beam of 59 feet. She is constructed on the central battery principle, resembling our own Hercules, and has on the main deck a 12-gun battery of 18-ton muzzle-loading Armstrongs, and side plating 12 inches thick at the water-line. The chief armament will be 4 11 inch guns. The Hundevendighiar is a deck-protected cruiser of 4,050 tons, intended to steam 12 knots. For the navy of Turkey the crews are raised in the same manner as the land forces, partly by conscription, and partly by voluntary enlistment. The time of service in the navy is twelve years, five in active service, three in the reserve, and four in the Redif. The nominal strength of the navy is 6 viceadmirals, 11 rear-admirals, 208 captains, 289 commanders, 228 lieutenants, 187 ensigns, and 30,000 sailors, besides about 9,000 marines. Production and Industry. Land in Turkey is held under four different forms of tenure-namely, 1st, as Miri,' or Crown lands; 2nd, as 'Vacouf,' or pious foundations; 3rd, as 'Mulikaneh,' or Crown grants; and 4th, as 'Mülk,' or freehold property. The first description, the 'mìri,' or Crown lands, which form the largest portion of the territory of the Sultan, are held direct from the Crown. The Government grants the right to cultivate an unoccupied tract on the payment of certain fees, but continues to exercise the rights of seigniory over the land in question, as is implied in the condition that if the owner neglects to cultivate it for a period of three years it is forfeited to the Crown. The second form of tenure, the 'vacouf,' was instituted originally to provide for the religion of the State and the education of the people, by the erection of mosques and schools; but this object has been set aside, or neglected, for several generations, and the vacouf' lands have mostly been seized by Government officials. The third class of landed property, the 'mulikaneh,' was granted to the spahis, the old feudal troops, in recompense for the military service required of them, and is hereditary, and exempt from tithes. The fourth form of tenure, the 'mülk,' or freehold property, does not exist to a great extent. Some house property in the towns, and of the land in the neighbourhood of villages, is 'mülk,' which the peasants purchase from time to time from the Government. Only a small proportion of arable land is under cultivation, owing principally to the want of roads and means of conveyance, which preclude the possibility of remunerative exportation. The system of levying a tithe on all produce leaves no inducement to the farmer to grow more than is required for his own use, or in his immediate proximity. The agricultural development of the country is further crippled by custom dues for the exportation of produce from one province to another. The system of agriculture is most primitive. The soil for the most part is very fertile; the principal products are tobacco, cereals of all kinds, cotton, figs, nuts, almonds, grapes, olives, all varieties of fruits. Coffee, madder, opium, gums are largely exported. It is estimated that 44 million acres of the Empire in Europe and Asia are under cultivation. The forest laws of the empire are based on those of France, but restrictive regulations are not enforced, and the country is being rapidly deprived of its timber. About 21 million acres are under forest, of which 3 million acres are in European Turkey. Turkey is a wine-growing country, the total production being estimated at about a million hectolitres annually. Of this amount about 160,000 hectolitres are exported-chiefly for mixing. The culture of silkworms, which had fallen off considerably, owing to disease among the worms, is again becoming important. In the provinces of Broussa, Panderma, and Ismidt the production of cocoons in 1895 was equivalent to 3,439,984 kilogrammes of fresh cocoons, valued at 45,495,044 piastres; in 1896, 5,386,119 kilogrammes, valued at 58,568,561 piastres; in 1897, 4,500,000 kilogrammes. Most of the silk produced is exported, but some is used in the manufacturing of native dress material. The quantity of opium produced in 1896 was estimated at about 4,000 chests of 50 to 60 okes; in 1897, about 8,000 chests; in 1898, about 3,500 chests. The production of oil of roses in 1895 was about 500,000 metikal (208 metikal = 1 kilogramme); in 1896, about 780,000 metikal; in 1897, about 500,000 metikal; in 1898, about 400,000 metikal, or 2,000 kilogrammes. The mining laws of the empire are restrictive, though the country is rich in minerals, coal, copper, lead, silver, iron, manganese, chrome, bitumen, sulphur, salt, alum; coal especially is abundant, but hardly worked. A royalty of 20 per cent. is paid on all minerals exported. There is a good deal of brass-turning and beating of copper into utensils for household purposes. Concessions have also been granted for glass manufactories, paper mills, and textile looms. Carpets, which constitute a considerable article of export (about 150,0007.), are made on hand-looms, and so also are a number of light materials for dress. The fisheries of Turkey are important; the fisheries of the Bosphorus alone represent a value of upwards of 250,0007. The coast of the Mediterranean produces excellent sponges, the Red Sea mother-of-pearl, and the Persian Gulf pearls. Commerce. All articles of import into Turkey are taxed 8 per cent. ad valorem, except tobacco and salt, which are monopolies; there is also an export duty of 1 per cent. on native produce, except cereals, sent abroad, but of per cent. if sent from one part of the empire to another. The total trade of Turkey for six years (estimates for 1896 and 1898) has been as follows: The following has been the value of the trade for two years (March 13 to March 12) according to countries: |