tDIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE. 
 
377 
 
fleet cannot, consequently, be considered as in a high state of efficiency.
There% 
is not a single rifled cannon on board any vessel in the navy. 
With such a small and inefficient navy, as yet altogether composed of wooden

vessels, there is reason to fear that in a war with Russia the Turkish naval

power would be seriously crippled, if not altogether destroyed. It cannot
be 
safely relied on as one of the trustworthy defences Of the empire. 
I have the honor to be, with great respect, your obedient servant, 
E. JOY MIVORRIS. 
Hon. -WILLIAM H. SEWARD, 
Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. 
Mr. Morris t Mr. Seward. 
[Extract.] 
No. 78.]           LEGATION OF THE "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 
Constantinople, January 28, 1864. 
SIR:     *           *                                  *         * 
Among the most useful of the latest reforms projected by the Porte is the

c reation at Constantinople of a tribunal of arbitration for the equitable
settle-v 
ment of all commercial disputes between the Porte and foreigners, and between

Turkish subjects and foreigners resident in the Ottoman empire. This court,

which is soon to be called into existence, will consist of three members,
an 
English, French, and German lawyer, each with salaries of $C000 per annum,

to be paid by the Porte. Such a tribunal, conducted with integrity and impar-

tiality, will facilitate the settlement of many vexatious and important questions,

which otherwise would be exposed to the long delays incident to diplomatic

negotiation. The Turkish tribunals are all stained with the vice of venality,

and their corruption is so notorious that recourse to them is avoided as
much 
as possible. I regret to say that the lust of money, and the corrupting ten-

dencies associated with it, overspread the whole surface of Turkish administra-

tion, corrupting every branch of it to such a degree as to stifle both the
sense 
of honor and duty and the instincts of patriotism. The Greek empire, in the

last stages of its decline, has had no parallel in corruption which approached
it 
so closely as the Turkish government at the present time. Such wide spread

political profligacy is a surer indication of approaching dissolution than
any 
other evidence of weakness in the Turkish empire. 
The Turkish government is, at present, in great distress for want of money.

The income is not sufficient to meet the annual outlay, and hence the necessity

of foreign loans. The troops have not been paid for several months in the

capital, and in the provinces the arrears cover a much longer period of time.

The civil employds in the capital have also not been paid for the last three

months. It has lately attempted, without success, to obtain a loan of two

millions of dollars from the New Ottoman Bank. A scheme for a forced loan
is 
now being devised. The amount of the actual debt of the empire is distributed

as follows: 
Miscellaeieous debts, purses...  .......   ..............806, 127 
War and navy debts, purses...............................1,076, 171 
Interior and finance debt, purses..............................487, 674 
Other debts, purses.......................................609, 032 
The purse is equal to 500 piastres, and 23 piastres represent an American

dollar. 
The hostile attitude of the Danubian Principalities, almost openly menacing

war against the Suzerain power of the Porte, and the apprehension of a general