DRAMATIC SECRET ESCAPE
Yildis is without its master. At nine o’clock this morning the British battleship Malaya steamed slowly out of Constantinople harbour, having on board the Sultan Khalif, his small son, and a few faithful courtiers. For the present the destination of the ship is kept secret.
The circumstances of the Sultan’s departure from the capital this morning, unknown to all save a handful of the initiated, are entirely in keeping with the atmosphere of mystery in which the doings of the Imperial Palace have been traditionally enveloped. Ever since the Sultanate was declared abolished a detachment of the Grenadier Guards had been stationed at the barracks adjoining the Palace, but on Wednesday evening Sir C. Harington received a message from the Sultan informing him that he feared for his life and liberty, and asked as Khalif of all the Moslems for British protection and transport facilities from Constantinople. Immediately Sir C. Harington put himself in touch with the acting British High Commissioner and Admiral Sir O. Brock, Commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean Fleet.
In making arrangements for the carrying out of
the Sultan’s request the great difficulty with which the British representatives and the Sultan were faced was not knowing who among the Imperial entourage could be trusted. On his side the Sultan did not dare to tell even his own family, lest his intention should reach the ears of Refet Pasha. One other British official – the acting first dragoman of the British Embassy – was let into the secret, and yesterday, through the channel of the favourite eunuch, details of the plan for his departure were conveyed to the Sultan by him.
It was a miserable, cold, rainy morning when, a little after eight o’clock to-day, there issued from the side door of the palace a little party, consisting of the Sultan, his small son, First Chamberlain, Chief Musician, and one or two servants. Waiting for them were the acting dragoman and Sir C. Harington’s aide-decamp. Rapidly the party took their places in two British motor ambulances and drove without hindrance down the hill on which Yildiz stands to the British naval base at Tophane. Out of the crowded street the cars turned into the big open space by the quayside, where complete privacy was assured. Here awaiting the Sultan was Sir C. Harington. In driving rain he embarked without delay on a barge lying alongside and went aboard the Malaya, where the Sultan was received with all the usual honours. A few minutes later in the captain’s cabin were assembled the Sultan, Admiral Sir O. Brock, and Mr. Neville Henderson. The latter welcomed him in the name of England, and received from him in return a message for transmission to the King. While the entourage were obviously much alarmed, the Sultan, according to an eye-witness of the proceedings, remained extraordinarily calm and collected throughout and made it perfectly plain that his departure from Constantinople in a British ship did not imply any intention on his part to abdicate.
At the time of telegraphing this news it is unknown to the general public, though it will certainly have reached Refet Pasha. The intention of the National Assembly to try at a later date the Sultan and his Ministers shows the feeling in Angora with respect to him. An outcry by the Nationalists about British interference in Turkish affairs is certain, though it is possible that some may realise that his departure does not mean that he has abdicated, and that in any case there remains the Khalifate. It is as Khalif that he asked and was afforded British protection from the Nationalist menaces, and it is fully expected here that, apart from the outcry about British meddling in the internal affairs of Turkey, the Nationalists will declare that England is setting the Sultan up as a candidate for the Khalifate. Whether to-day’s events are to have a more forcible result than mere outcry remains to be seen.