September 10, 1890
CONSTANTINOPLE, Sept. 9. — The Kurds have set fire to the crops of the Armenians in many places in the vicinity of Bitlis. The Porte has dispatched troops to Ismindt (sic!) (Ismidt) in consequence of the receipt of reports of several Conflicts there between Armenians and Circassians.
The Extraordinary Council returned the Armenian Patriarch’s memorandum relative to the persecution of the Armenians, and intimated that his demands were inopportune. The Patriarch in turn returned the Porte’s memorandum, and with it sent a communication in which he said that this was the first time that the Government had taken the extreme step of returning an official document to the Patriarchate, and that he declined to be responsible for the grave consequences such action might cause.
The Government has issued a decree appointing a commission to inquire into the causes of the discontent in Armenia, and to consider the question of the privileges and immunities of the Armenian and Greek Churches.
