Both Mohammad Ali Pasha and Sultan Mahmoud II utilised the Armenians in realizing their wide-reaching reforms. As Lord Cromer observed, it was from the reign of Mohammed Ali Pasha and forward that Armenians began to assume high offices in the Egyptian government. 181
Bertrand Bareilles states: "Sultan Mahmoud II selected his first administrator, for implementing reforms, from amongst the Armenians." 182
When, at the beginning of the 20th century, the administration and organisation of the Ottoman Empire began to adopt a western structure, it was the primitiveness of the Turks that forced them to turn to the Armenians to ask them for help. The Armenians, together with the Greeks, provided the government with many of the best administrative officers in the Ottoman Empire. Seignobos writes: "The Armenian mountain-dwellers held the majority of posts which demanded a sober person and one with special knowledge of the lowlands throughout Asia Minor." 183
Sir Edwin Pears, in describing the general administration of the Ottoman Empire, writes: "This organisation found clever, competent and reliable workers, in particular amongst the Armenians. When these people understood that it was impossible to turn a blind eye to corruption and bribery, which were ingrained habits of the Orient, and that the government would help them in their battle against these improper customs, they turned into competent and honest officers of the government. And it was they who for the first time proved that even Turkey could educate able and honest civil servants." 184
Bertrand Bareilles adds: "The majority of the government officials in the Ottoman Empire selected a Greek or an Armenian as their advisor in reform issues and these ‘chewed the cud for them', as it is called." The author, who is one of France's foremost Turkish experts, mentions two names amongst these "advisors", Dr. Serop Vitchenian, who was the adviser to Fuad Pasha, and Grigor Odian, deputy to Mohadet Pasha, who is the author of the Ottoman constitution of 1876. 187
In this way Armenia, during the 19th century, provided the Ottoman administration with several officials and directors, who, if not responsible for the "europification" of the Empire, at least helped in its modernisation. The efforts of all these directors and officials were aimed at setting the Ottoman Empire on the path of liberal thinking, in the French tradition, since the majority of these directors had been brought up and educated in France.
In Russia, until the time when St Petersburg enacted its anti-Armenian policy, Armenians supplied the government with several valuable officials. Lord Bryce, during his journey to Russia in 1876, noticed that, just as Baltic experts had a major role in the governmental work in the European part of Russia, the Armenians were instrumental in the Caucasus and provided the Russian government with top officials. 188
Amongst all the Armenians who appeared in administrative offices or in governmental counsels and who distinguished themselves in their work, three important names stand out: General Loris Melikian, in Russia, and Poghos Bey Yousofian and Nubar Pasha in Egypt.
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