Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1871.djvu/497

 ARMY AND NAVY. 46 1

sum of 14,000,000/. may be fairly t;iken as the maximum figure of the national ordinary revenue, and 5,43G,000/. as the charge of the two categories of debt. There remains, therefore, a balance of 8,564,000£, available for all the purposes of government. Now, of this sum, about 5,393,000/. are required for government expenditure in the provinces, being collected and distributed on the spot, and net comingtothe capital at all. This would leave a balance of 3,171,000/. available for all the central expenditure payable at the seat ol government.' ' It must be acknowledged that the successive ad- ministrations have exerted themselves to the utmost to keep faith with their foreign creditors, in honourable contrast with several Christian governments. The country, however, is beginning to stagger under the load which has been so recklessly heaped upon its shoulders.' Mr. Barron concludes: — 'Next to the maintenance of peace, the first condition of solvency for the Turkish Treasury is a total abstinence from all future loans. The experience of the past shows that these operations never produce any results at all com- mensurate with the sacrifices which they entail. Every future con- version or manipulation of the debt must be strictly avoided, and the pure and simple fulfilment of existing engagements be adhered to. To make both ends meet by means of the normal resources should be the whole aim of Turkish statesmen.' Since the date of the report here quoted, the debt of Turkey, external and internal, in- creased by more than one-fourth, and it is calculated that the annual charge consumes fully one-half of the revenues of the empire.

Army and Navy.

The military force of Turkey is divided into — 1st, the regular active army, called Nizam ; 2nd, the reserve, or litdif; 3rd, the contingents of auxiliaries ; and, 4th, the irregular troops. The regular active army consists of six corps or ' ordou,' under the command of a field-marshal, or ' mushir,' with their head-quarters at Scutari, Constantinople, Monastir, Karbrout, Damascus, and Bagdad. Each ordou consists of two divisions, commanded by a general of division, or ' ferik.' Each division is divided into three brigades, commanded by generals of brigade, or ' livas.' The ordou consists of eleven regiments, namely, six regiments of foot, four of horse, and one regiment of artillery. Besides the six ordous, there are three detached corps — one brigade on the island of Candia, numbering 4,000 regulars, 3,500 irregulars, and GOO native can- noniers — a total of about 8,000 men ; a second brigade in Tripoli, consisting of one regiment of foot, and one of horse, to the strength of 4,000 men ; and a third brigade, of 4,000 men, at Tunis. The three detached corps muster, therefore, to the strength of 16,000 foot and horse.