17-27 Nov., 1888.]   TUEKEY AXD EUSSIA.                      [No. 62 j^

[War Indemnity.]
 

No. 624:.—EXCHANGE OF NOTES between the lurkish
Minister of Foreign A fairs and the Russian Ambassador
at Constantinople, respecting the measures tahen by tlie
Porte for payment of the Russian War Indemnity and the
accumulated deficit,    17th-27th November, 1888.

[See Convention, 14th May, 1882 (No. 592).]

(Translation.)                        Constantinople, ^"^-th November, 1888.

Excellency,—I considered it my duty to transmit to my
Government your Excellency's Note, dated 22nd July, 1888, in
which you kindly informed me of the measures taken by the
Sublime Porte with a view to paying the War Indemnity and
the accumulated deficit.

The Imperial Government cannot give a preliminary
opinion on the practical value of these nev/ measures. It will
be able to judge them only from their result. At all events, the
examples of past times are not of a nature to inspire absolute
confidence in the efficacy of the recently decreed measures.
That the Imperial Government may be in a position to judge
of their scope by following and observing their application, th.Q
Minister of Imperial Finances considers it indispensable :

1.   That the Sublime Porte furnish the Imperial Embassy
with complete and precise data on the terms of the contracts
made with the farmers of the tithes (whose obligations, accord¬
ing to your Excellency's said Note, are to be fulfilled to the
Banque Ottomane), on the account, the nature, and the place of
deposit of the securities given by the said farmers of the tithes
for their engagements, and on the means of enforcing strict
execution in case of omission on their part.

2.   That it indicate to the Embassy the precise term of the
instalments to be made by the farmers of the above-mentioned
tithes, and placed at the disposal of the Banque for the next
payment.

3.   That the Sublime Porte also indicate the exact term of tlie
first "annual" instalment of dBT.lOO.OOO destined for paying off
the deficit, and to accompany this communication with the above-
mentioned data concerning the guarantees of the contracts
representing the tithes in the vilayets of Aleppo and Mamouret-

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