462 THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, NOVEMBER 2, 1914.
Instead the ships were allowed to remain in shelter and to exercise on a basis of bellige- rent rights, and then it was suddenly announced that they had been purchased by Turkey who retained the German crews and dismissed the British Admiral from his executive com- mand of the Turkish Fleet.
At the same time the passage of the Dardanelles was sown with mines and all British merchant vessels in those waters or coming through from the Black Sea were held up, first on the pretext that their cargoes were wanted for troops whom Turkey was mobilizing, and then that the presence of mines rendered it unsafe for the vessels to proceed. This was not only totally unjustifiable interference on the part of a neutral state with the trade of Great Britain involving both shippers and merchants in heavy loss but it paralysed the movements of all British shipping in the Black Sea, amounting at the time to sixty or seventy vessels, since not only was it impossible to get through into the Mediterranean, but there was nothing to prevent the Goeben and Breslau passing into the Black Sea and destroying all the ship- ping collected there. The Dardanelles have now been closed in defiance of international- treaty.
Another reason for grave disquietude has been the unfriendly treatment by responsible Turkish officials in Bagdad and Mesopotamia of British subjects and the open incitement of the population by Turkish official circles against Great Britain and her allies.
Notwithstanding all this provocation His Majesty's Government intimated that if Turkish were substituted for German crews on the Goeben and Breslau, if British mer- chant shipping was not impeded, and if Turkey would honourably carry out the duties of a neutral state, all these illegalities and hostile acts would be overlooked, and a solemn and written guarantee would be given that Great Britain will scrupulously respect the inde- pendence and integrity of the Ottoman Empire.
Furthermore assurances were given that at the conclusion of peace Great Britain would see that no conditions were laid down which would impair that independence and integrity and that economic conditions of a character favourable to Turkey would be obtained.
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In spite of these assurances the attitude of Turkey towards Great Britain became in- creasingly provocative. Evidence continued to reach His Majesty's Government of military preparations in Syria which could have no other purpose than to facilitate attack upon. Egypt; and of active propaganda carried on by Turkish and German agents among Bedouin Arabs in regions adjoining the Egyptain frontier. Similar intrigues were set on foot else- where and reports were even received of the despatch of Turkish emissaries to India with a view to stirring up anti-British feeling among Indian Mahomedans.
Great Britain the greatest Mahomedan lower in the world and the faithful and con- sistent friend of Turkey, whom she has steadfastly helped to recover the stability shaken in the Balkan Wars, would see with the greatest regret that Turkey had been decoyed into ranging herself on the side of England's enemies, and adopting an attitude as unjustifiable as it would be ungrateful, but it cannot be denied that the present situation shows that there is a chauvinistic element endeavouring to drive Turkey into war with England for the benefit of Germany and of Austria, the secular enemy of the Turkish State.
A striking illustration of the extent to which intrigues have been carried on is furnished by the case of a German employé in the Alexandria City Police who lately returned from leave viâ Constantinople saying that he had been excused from military service. He was arrested
on suspicion on landing, and on him were found a detailed map of the Suez Canal, a sheet of cypher messages concealed in his tarboosh, and other compromising correspondence. He bad also entrusted to members of ships' companies two boxes of detonators for exploding dynamite and nitro-glycerine.
Further a steady stream of German officers and men both naval and military together with all kinds of war material has flowed unceasingly into Constantinople, which has been con- verted to all intents and purposes into a German military base. German officers are known to have penetrated far into the interior of the Turkish Empire in the endeavour to stir up agitation against Great Britain and her allies. All these movements, it is impossible to doubt, have been carried out with the direct connivance of the Ottoman Authorities and can point to only one conclusion.
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