ATTEMPT TO CLOSE AMERICAN MISSION SCHOOLS IN TURKEY.
A CORRESPONDENT at Constantinople informs the London press that the Porte has decided to close the Protestant college at Anatolia, and has informed the United States minister that the sultan does not desire the return of Dr. Merrick. The government at Washington, the report says, has informed the Porte that American missionaries must be in nowise prevented from returning to Asia Minor from Europe. The Porte claims that no school can be opened in Turkey without a special firman. This will affect Americans chiefly, since there are between 30,000 and 40,000 children in the country under American instruction. The American Minister has taken the position that, as by the treaty between Turkey and the United States, American citizens have the right to pursue a vocation in Turkey, no permits are necessary in the present case. The granting of permits, he adds, would be equivalent to a restriction upon the treaty rights of American citizens, and unless his position be maintained, the whole American system of missionary education in Turkey would be endangered.