gtzian" and the
"Hunchak." The programme of these two Societies is to make every effort
and adopt every means to attain that end from which no Armenian ever
swerves, namely, administrative independence under the supervision of
the Great Powers of Europe. I have enquired of many Armenians whom I
have met, but I have not found one who said that he desired political
independence, the reason being that in most of the Vilayets which they
inhabit the Armenians are less numerous than the Kurds, and if they
became independent the advantage to the Kurds would be greater than to
themselves. Hitherto, the Kurds have been in a very degraded state of
ignorance; disorder is supreme in their territory, and the cities are in
ruins. The Armenians, therefore, prefer to remain under Turkish rule, on
condition that the administration is carried on under the supervision of
the Great European Powers, as they place no confidence in the promises
of the Turks, who take back to-day what they bestowed yesterday. These
two Societies thus earnestly labour for the propagation of this view
amongst the Armenians, and for the attainment of their object by every
means. I have been told by an Armenian officer that one of these
Societies proposes to attain its end by means of internal revolts, but
the policy of the second is to do so by peaceful means only.

The above is a brief summary of the policy of these Societies. It is
said, however, that the programme of one of them aims at Armenian
political independence.

Any who desire further details as to Armenian history or societies
should refer to their historical books.

THE ARMENIAN MASSACRES.--History does not record that the Kurds,
fellow-countrymen of the Armenians in the Vilayets inhabited by both
peoples, rose in conflict with the latter, or that the Kurds plundered
the property of the Armenians, or outraged their women, until the year
1888, when they rose by order of the Turkish Government and slaughtered
Armenians in Van, Kharpout, Erzeroum, and Moush. Again, in the time of
Abdul-Hamid II., in 1896, when the Armenians rose and entered the
Ottoman Bank at Constantinople, with the object of frightening the
Sultan and compelling him to proclaim the Constitution, he ordered a
massacre at Constantinople and in the Vilayets. But hitherto there has
been no instance of the people of Turkey proceeding to the slaughter of
Armenians on a general scale unless incited and constrained to do so by
the Governm