The Characteristics of Oriental Governments.
IN the Sunday School Times, President Washburn, of Robert College, Constantinople, gives, under the above heading, some very interesting points concerning Oriental Governments, which help to throw light on some parts of Bible history. From his long residence in Turkey, Mr. Washburn is peculiarly adapted to treat of this subject. The following is from the article in question:— "It is impossible for an Occidental, brought up under the influence of Roman law and Christian civilization, to comprehend and fully enter into the spirit of Oriental governments. At best, he can only criticise them from his own standpoint, and form imperfect notions of the mental development that has made such governments possible. "The fundamental idea in such a government is that the people exist for the benefit of the king, and not for him as a man, but as a king. It makes no difference to the people who he is or what his character may be. They do not see him or know him as a man. It may be this man to-day or that man to-morrow. He has no personality. He is the king,—the god of the people; and he holds his place by right of his power to win it. The people in their relation to him have no rights. He cannot wrong them; for his will is the only right. His ministers and officials rule in the same spirit. They represent this supreme and irresponsible king, and each petty officer looks upon those under him as created for his benefit. No official has any interest in the people, except to plunder them. His one thought is to secure the favor of the supreme ruler. "It is not easy even for a minister to see the king. He can go only when he is sent for, and, when in the august presence, he can do nothing but answer questions, as he is prostrate or on his knees before the throne. The king is secluded, and has no personal knowledge of what goes on in his empire, so that he can be pleased only by what he hears, not by what he sees. If there are any persons who see the king frequently, and have his confidence, it is plain that they must be the most influential persons in the kingdom. Now, it almost invariably happens that these persons are the women, the eunuchs, and the private servants of the palace. Whoever would really influence the king, must do so through them. Hence these persons have always been the most important factors in all Oriental governments. "There is nothing in the book of Kings more thoroughly characteristic of this form of government than the story in the first chapter concerning Adonijah. Even the bold prophet Nathan did not venture to go and advise David himself. He worked through the harem, and persuaded Bath-sheba to go to the king in advance, and plead the case of Solomon against Adonijah, 'who doth reign, and David our lord knoweth it not.' No one had dared to tell him. If it had been in Turkey, Solomon would have bribed Abishag to set him right with his father. "We of the West cannot conceive how a nation can exist without fixed laws, without security to life and property, without regard to the interests of the people, with an administration based on corruption, and controlled by light-minded women, eunuchs, and slaves. But human nature has a wonderful power of adapting itself to circumstances, however unfavorable, and under such governments things are very often not as bad as we should expect. Natural affections and sympathies, conscience, ideas of right and wrong, reason,—all exist in some degree wherever man exists, and they have their influence. If the king happens to be a great man, especially if he is also a good man, his acts appeal to his people more strongly, and rouse their enthusiasm and devotion more surely, than can the acts of any Western government. "It often happens that justice is administered more summarily and satisfactorily than it can be under our system, and it makes a far stronger impression upon the people. It is only irresponsible despotism which can administer what we call poetic justice. Even great wrongs are sometimes more quickly and easily righted under such a government, where everything depends upon the will of one man, than under our elaborate system of legislation. If they are not, the people blame the ministers, and not the king. "When the king himself is seen by leading men to stand in the way of the interests of the country, he is easily removed. He is simply killed, and another man put in his place. The people care nothing about it. It does not concern them. When Abd-ul-Aziz was deposed and murdered, I do not suppose that a single Turkish peasant gave a second thought to it. There was still a sultan on the throne. It made no difference to them who it was. "The story of Nathan and David in 2 Sam. 12 is an admirable illustration of another check which is often seen in Oriental governments upon the acts of kings. One who is recognized as a holy man may denounce the king to his face with perfect impunity, and tell him truths which no minister, however powerful, would dare to hint to him; and the probability is that he will be listened to, and his warning regarded, although, occasionally, a bold critic may be made to disappear, never to be heard of again. "Another common characteristic of Oriental governments is the recognized right of personal appeal to the king himself. This form is still maintained by the Ottoman sultans, who never fail to show themselves to the people every Friday, at which time any person, however humble, may make known to him, by petition, his wrongs or his wants. Justice or favor obtained in this way makes a far deeper impression upon the recipient than anything known under our Western administration of justice, especially if there is anything of that rough, shrewd sense in it which we find in the famous judgment of Solomon (1 Kings 3). "When the king is too far away, his ministers or his governors may be approached in the same way, and their acts of summary justice give supreme satisfaction to the people. I can recall many such in Turkey; but it must always be remembered that Eastern ideas of justice have little in common with ours. I was once talking with a well-educated native of Constantinople about a famous minister of justice, now dead. The gentleman told me that this minister probably had not his equal in the world, that his justice was like the justice of God; for he often decided difficult cases without hearing a word of evidence on either side, from simply looking at the parties. This was my friend's ideal of a minister of justice. "I suppose that in ancient times the people were as well satisfied with these Oriental governments as we are with ours; and I am certain that every modern notion which has been introduced into the Turkish government has been regarded by the Turkish peasants in Asia Minor as a new burden. The truth is that our Western ideas of government are the result of centuries of discipline, and an outgrowth of our very complex civilization. No doubt they are higher and better than those of the Old World in the East. I have nothing to say in favor of Oriental governments. Those which still exist are, no doubt, an obstacle in the way of a higher, better Christian civilization; but we can never understand history, or pass a fair judgment upon the acts of Oriental sovereigns, until we have carefully put aside all our modern ideas of government, of law, and of natural right, and put ourselves, as far as possible, in the place of those who had no such ideas, who could not possibly have comprehended them, and who were quite satisfied with their own ideas. If we would take the pains to do this, we should find that most of our difficulties with Jewish history would disappear at once. At best, we can do this but imperfectly; but we should at least hesitate to condemn what we cannot comprehend; and we should judge only so far as we can understand."