The Young Turk Period, 1908-1918 - PSI424

286 The Rise of Modern Turkey, 1808-1975
Table 4.1. Ottoman revenues and expenditures, 1908-1911
Total collections Percent of Expenditures
Fiscal year (kurus.) assessment (kurus.) Balance (kurus,)
1324/1908-9 2,519,791,592 92.16 n.a. n.a.
1325/1909-10 2,692,693,836 96.44 2,775,263,363 -82,569,527
1326/1910-11 2,878,303,078 98.14 3,374,511,319 -496,208,241
Source: Ihsaiyat-t Maliye, vols. I, III, especially I, 402-433.
and organizers were to be executed. The families of those participating in such
bands also were subject to punishment, and their property could be confiscated
by the state. The army was ordered to establish "pursuit battalions" to capture
and disarm the terrorist bands, and all subjects were required to report the
presence of such groups and to cooperate with the army's efforts against them. 38
A Law on Public Gatherings required that permits be obtained to hold any public
gathering, indicating the time and place, the subjects to be discussed, and the
names of its sponsors, so that they would be available for punishment if the
law was violated. No public gatherings could be held within 3 kilometers of
the Porte or Parliament while they were in session. Gatherings could not disturb
the regular flow of traffic in the public thoroughfares or sidewalks. Government
officials had to be admitted to all gatherings so that they could ascertain that the
law was being observed. 39 The Societies Law provided for the registration of all
associations and also prohibited the formation of groups based on nationality or
race or which advocated action to violate the law or public morality, disturb public
order, or attack the empire's unity. 40 A new Press Law more or less confirmed
those of Abdulhamit, making each newspaper legally and financially responsible
for publishing information that might disturb public order, harm individuals, or
incite violations of the Constitution. 41 Printing presses and publishers were restricted,
in the same way. 42 Istanbul and its environs were organized into a new
province, side by side with the municipality, with a police organization (Emniyet-i
Umumi Mudurliigil) established under the governor and, thus, the central government,
to police the capital more efficiently than its own forces had done in the
past. 43 Ottoman society thus was far more restricted in the name of public order
after the Constitution had been restored than under Abdulhamit.
These restrictions were intended primarily to discourage the terrorists and the
more extreme elements of the right and the left. The system of justice, as it related
to the vast majority of subjects, continued to improve. The Ministry of Justice
was enlarged and reorganized so that it could better supervise the courts and
ensure that judges were able and honest. 44 A new system of judicial inspectors
made certain that the courts were not subjected to interference and that judgments
were made in accordance with the law. 45 In addition, the provincial courts were
completely removed from the authority of the governors, and separate courts were
provided in most places for civil, criminal, and commercial cases on both the primary
and appeal levels. 46
The new regime took steps to modernize the armed forces, which had been
neglected in Abdulhamit's later days. New guns, cannons, battleships and other
equipment were purchased on a large scale, mainly from Germany, Britain, and