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I<br />
54 ARMENIA AND ITS SORROWS<br />
of Canon MacColl <strong>and</strong> Dr. E. J. Dillon, have made<br />
this abundantly clear.<br />
ItL-lSQ^ the. Sublime Porte issued decrees prohibitinoj<br />
'Christian worship <strong>and</strong> education. This- should be<br />
especially noted in view of the fa^t that by the Treaty<br />
of Berlin the same Government promised toleration<br />
for all religions, <strong>and</strong> the British Government received<br />
Cyprus as a pledge, <strong>and</strong> also as a recoo-nition of the<br />
rii;hts of Engl<strong>and</strong> to see that the promise in question<br />
was duly carried out. How it has been carried out,<br />
we now proceed to show.<br />
Christians arc forbidden to build churclios, <strong>and</strong><br />
only after much delay <strong>and</strong> extensive bribes can they<br />
obtain permission to repair the old ones. There must<br />
be no bells, lest the religious feelings of the Mussulmans<br />
should be wounded, <strong>and</strong> for the same reason<br />
there must be no loud singing during the service.<br />
The most insulting language is applied to Christians<br />
in all public <strong>and</strong> official documents. They are<br />
described as " dogs " <strong>and</strong> " pigs," <strong>and</strong> in burial<br />
certiticates they are said to be not " dead " but<br />
" :<br />
damned." Here is a specimen<br />
" We certify to the priest of the Churcli of Mary<br />
(in <strong>Armenia</strong>) that the impure, putrid, stinking carcase<br />
of , damned this day, may be concealed underground."<br />
The above was not the spiteful work of a petty<br />
official : it was all quite in order, <strong>and</strong> was attested hy<br />
the British Ambassador.<br />
One of the Blue Books on " Eeligious Persecution<br />
in Turkey " states, on the authority of Her Majesty's<br />
Ambassador <strong>and</strong> Consuls, that the Porte, has definitely<br />
jefuscd to permit the estal)lishment of Christian<br />
scliools, <strong>and</strong> has prohil)ited the publication of the<br />
Bible in the Turkish tongue. In ISOl meetings for<br />
worship in private houses were forbidden. The next<br />
step was to prohibit Christian literature. So far did<br />
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