Page:Islam, Turkey, and Armenia, and How They Happened.djvu/206

200 the reports of the American missionaries and the European consuls and the impartial investigators, both from England and America, and even the information from the Turks and Kurds themselves, the awful news proved to be true, and public opinion was so aroused in England that the representatives of the Great Powers came together and prepared a scheme of reforms for the six provinces where the Armenians were greater in number, namely, Erzeroom, Van, Bitlis, Diarbekir, Harpoot and Sivas.

These reforms, which were mild and in the line of what the Turkish Government had frequently promised, and the execution of which was entrusted to the Sultan, involved civil offices, judgeships and public appointments of Moslems and non-Moslems in the six provinces proportionately. This, however, while simple justice, was a bitter pill to the Mohametans, who had ruled over the Christians with a rod of iron for five hundred years. The scheme was presented to the Sultan on May 11, 1895, but he obstinately refused to accept them. Spring and summer passed, the anniversary of the Sassoun massacre arrived, no redress had been secured, nor the punishment of a single official, while the greatest butchers were decorated by the Sultan. On the 30th day of September, some Armenians being indignant of this delay, which would mean the sleep of death for their race, made a demonstration to present a petition to the Grand Vizier in an orderly way, which led to a riot in Constantinople, and several hundred Armenians were