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http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924027805013

THE EASTEKN QUESTION.

THE

'

EASTERN QUESTIOK
BY THE

LA.TE

VISCOUNT STEATFOED DE EEDCLIFFE

K.G., G.C.B.

A SELECTION FROM HIS WRITINGS DURING THE

LAST FIVE YEARS OF HIS

LIFE.

WITH A PREFACE
By

ARTHUR PENRHYN STANLEY,

D.D.^

DEAN OF WESTMINSTEK.

WITH

MAP.

LONDON

JOHN MUKRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET.

1881.
\All Rights reserved.']

A. laufoio

LONDOBf ;

BEADEUEY, AGNEW,

&

CO.,

PEINTERS, WniTEFKIAKS.

PEEFACE.
HAVE been asked

to tlie

to write a

few prefatory words

accompanying pages, wMch. contain some

slight

record of the opinions of Lord Stratford de EedclifEe

on questions
whole public

which.,
life,

having occupied his mind for his

were

also the constant subject

meditation in his later years.

are

many

qualifications

of

For such a task there

which belong in a much larger

degree to others whose acquaintance with the departed

statesman extended over a

was pursued

into

much

longer period and

more complete intimacy.

But

cannot but respond to a wish so expressed, and at the

same time indulge

my own

grateful sense of kindness

long experienced.

Though

I cannot undertake to add

anything which throws light on the subjects discussed,

I

may

perhaps contribute a few words of

recollections,
still

my own

few and far between as they were, yet

never to be forgotten.

My first
of 1853,

sight of

Lord Stratford was in the spring

when, on returning from

my

earhest visit to

the East, I found myself at Constantinople.

It

was

PBEFACE.

vi

on the eve
war.

of the troubles

wHch

Prince MenscMkofE had jnst

Embassy, and Lord Stratford,

posed,

preceded

had not a moment

it

Crimean

tlie

the Eussian

left

may

well be sup-

from

of leisure to snatch

the difficulties and responsibilities of the

went every day to the Embassy in the hope

crisis.

able to obtain a few moments' interview

being

of

had

for I

already conceived an intense desire to catch a glimpse

of one

whose name was then in

was not

all

the last morning of

till

men's mouths.

my

It

stay at Constan-

tinople that he found a vacant half hoiu? to receive me.

Never have I received the impression

of so regal a

presence as when, in his OAvn Imperial Embassy, he

entered the room with that majestic figure and com-

manding countenance which

common

things to the winds

addressed to

monuments

of

me

and when,

three searching

after

questions

all

having

on the

Egypt, on the geology of Arabia, and

on the Holy Places

or appeared to

seemed to scatter

lift,

of Palestine,

the veil which

tractions of the Eastern Question.

he suddenly

lifted,

hung over the

He

dis-

spoke with that

mixture of frankness and dignity which so remarkably ehax'acterised

member
inspired

the kind
:

"

What

all

his

of thrill
is

expressions

which

and I

his parting

words

most remarkable in the present

We

situation is the extreme obscurity of the future.

cannot foretell what

all this will

re-

is to

take place.

It

may be

pass away, and affairs continue to

that

move

PREFACE.

Or

as before.
last'

that

which the

many

may be

it

we

that

vii

'

are approaching that great event to

has been looking forward for so

world,

years, the dissolution of the Turkish Empire."

That event

is

not yet accomplished

ford's part in the transactions

round

the wolf has come at

hxd Lord Strat-

which have centered

Mr. Kinglake's

has since become historical.

it

vivid account of his control over the Eastern capital

contains sentences which will be graven on the
of every

one

who from

saw anythiag

that time forward heard or

Lord

of

mind

dealings,

Stratford's

very expressions which were

the

as

needed to give the

"The fierce temper

which was always under control when purposes of

key

to

his

tremendous power.

was

state so requii-ed

that

it

so far

from being an

was rather a weapon

infirmity,

of exceeding sharpness,

being always wielded so as to have more tendency to

cause dread and surrender, than to generate
ance."

"

The

resist-

which every judgment that

care with

he pronounced was enfolded in words so complete as

to exclude the idea that

such

that,

as

it

could ever be varied, was

though yielding

Turkish mind used to bend and

He

describes how,

to

Constantinople,

safety,

when "the
"the

but also of awe

tive truth,

that

all

to

fate

fall

the

itself,

before him."

great Eltchi" returned

event

spread a sense

of

" and he adds the instruc-

the time

"Lord

Stratford

was

unconscious of exercising the ascendancy which he

PEEFACE.
did

and,

imagining

tliat

men gave way

him

to

because he was in the right, he never came to understand the awe which he inspired."
I heard in 1855, from the most intimate sources, of

Lord

Stratford's conduct

and anxieties

dimng

the trying disasters

Crimean

of the terrible winter of the

war.

I heard, and seemed to myself almost to have

seen,

the unwearied energy with which,

weight

which

of all the cares

upon him, he applied

his great office dreiv

himself,

of the soldiers in hospital or in

all

wants

camp, and to control

the means in his power the weltering chaos into

which the world

of the

ever could be done

it

or induced others to

to attend to the innumerable

apj)ly themselves,

by

under the

was needed,

kindness was

Bosphorus had

by tenders

of pecuniary aid

of personal kindness

felt

What-

fallen.

where personal

even more than money or

rendered by him in that hour of necessity.

have been told of complaints of

where

letters

was

gifts,

When

remaining un-

answered which called for an immediate reply, I have

been tempted to ask whether such
reach him sometimes

(it

letters did

may be through

not

the imperfect

transmission of the posts of the Turkish Empire)

by

and whether in the interval

and more than all that such

thirty or forty at a time,

he had not done

letters

went again

1861.

all

demanded.
to Constantinople in the

Lord Stratford had then

autumn

retired fi*om

of

what

PREFACE.

ia;

may be

truly called Lis throne in the East

renown

of

fully

Ms

deeds

still lived,

remembered by

but

and they were regret-

who

every race and creed

all of

tlie

Wherever British Consuls

had benefited by them.

resided on the shores of the JEgean or the Bosphorus,

they had tales to

wrongs

instant redress of

tell of

furnished by Lord Stratford's indignant remonstrances

to the

or

Armenian

they had suffered in person or fortune,

felt that

known

Wherever Greek

Sublime Porte.

that in

him

it

was

there existed a terror to evil-doers

which none could confront with impunity, a refuge

for the desolate

and oppressed which none could seek

The monks

in vain.

secluded from the

stir

Mount Athos,

of

of the world, yet

however

glowed with

admiration whenever they mentioned the one Euro-

pean name that had come

sentative

to their ears,

as the repre-

more than English magnanimity and

of

the great name

generosity

of Stratford Canning.

His policy was as simple as

it

was

effective

maintain the Ottoman Empire by reforming

The Turks
that he

its

abuses.

listened to his rebukes because they

was

their friend.

In his

to

knew

activity, his constant

vigilance, his entire elevation above

any personal con-

sideration, the tottering fabric of the Eastern monarchy,

which

for years

he held in his mighty grasp, had at

once the best bulwark against

rantee against

its evil

deeds.

its ruin,

the best gua-

The sentiments expressed

in his early youth to a Turkish statesman

who

coun-


PEEFACE.

him

selled

against pressing some claims of English

merchants on the reluctant Porte animated his whole

The

career and were the secret of his great success.

Turk had urged him

to forego these claims for the

moment, in order that he might carry out the Treaty

of Bucharest,
career,

which would be the making

of his future

to postpone " these little

and for that purpose

The young

things" to some more opportime time.

English diplomatist paused for a moment, and then

said

" Nothing which

England

is little."

He

concerns the greatness

of

persevered, and carried both

the claims and the Treaty.

In

later years

The

presence.

was more

sight of such

like passing into

freely admitted to his

an example was, indeed,

an atmosphere raised

far

above the

base and sordid motives of party strife and triviality.

Such an old

age,

with the

fire of

youth subdued but

not extinguished, with the experience of years giving

fresh life to the

memory

of the past,

old

had

lain beneath his

sufficient to

The lightning which

enkindle every better feeling.

of

was

brows and shaken the

Sultan on his throne, seldom broke forth, yet

always there, and he

said, "

knew

it.

"

How

that description of David,

is

man

David
old

rises up,

is

man

gives

himself again

all
!

"

was

striking,"

when

he

in his ex-

treme age he hears of the revolt of Adonijah.

old

it

The

the needful directions

So long' as that grand

continued to exist, one

felt, it

has been truly

PKEFACE.
expressed, as

if

" somehow the greatness of England

was not extinct."

was confined

In the long hours in which he

to his lonely chamber,

partly on the

memory

liveliest

of past years, partly

recollection,

partly

solemn themes which naturally

Stories of his diplomatic

brated

for

his

on the

to retain

on the great and

stole over his solitude.

recollections of the cele-

life,

persons he had met

admiration

he loved to dwell

which he never ceased

classical studies of

the

xi

above

illustrious

all

a grateful

kinsman,

George

Canning, were amongst the prevailing thoughts that

" His union of wit, generosity,

occupied his mind.

and eloquence " (he would say) " impressed

a sense of superiority beyond any other

He

have ever seen."

used to repeat, as eminently

characteristic of him, those lines

the installation of the

Duke

from his poem on

of Portland, speaking of

the effect of the Grecian games

the
of fame
the blush of generous shame

" Cottrage and. dauntless

Unquenchable

me with
man that I

thirst

toil

Their country's loyal love, and friendship's holy flame."

Yirgil

was constantly

and majesty

in his

mouth: the tenderness

of the Latin poet

were a constant

solace.

His thoughts went back to the day that the news

Pitt's death reached Eton.

There came in the course

of the lesson these lines

.

Vincet amor

utcunque ferent ea

patrise,

of

facta minores,

laudumque immensa cupido.


PREFACE.

Their appropriateness struck him forcibly at the time,

seemed as

the lapse of

and, as he repeated them,

it

years had but

magnificent cadence with a

filled their

He had

yet fuller meaning.

boy

into the

House

of

twice been taken as a

recalled

as

he entered, and banged

When

he rose to speak, the

House wide open

them behind him.

Opposition began with hoots and

voice,

He

Commons by Pitt.

one of these occasions " Pitt threw the doors

how on
of the

if

In a deep

cries.

which could not be imitated, laying his hands

on the

table,

by clamour ?

'

he exclaimed,

'

Am

I to be interrupted

A dead silence instantly followed.

In

His

that silence I read the history of twentj^ years."

poem on Alfred
meditations.

how

and early

of long

" I once spoke of Alfred to the Sultan

great a king he was,

his country,
it

Avas the result

how much he had done

and how he was stUl remembered.

for

I did

with the hojpe of stirring him up to good deeds.

When

came back from the Palace I read in the

newspapers that they were celebrating jn England

at

Wantage the 1000th anniversary

He was

Sir Charles Grandison

of Alfred's birth.

on the throne, perhaps

a too complete model of stately virtue.

that he

was too good

spoke of Shakspeare.
the world.'

be interesting."

to

"

'

How profound

Eeverence
is

that line

He

often

the angel of

I should like

an essay upon

effect of

Eeverence on the miads of men.

fact is

is

to write

it

The

on the softening, elevating

Shakspearo's

PREFACE,
great characteristic

was

xiii

truth and delicacy of his

tlie

thoughts and the truth and delicacy of his expressions."

His memory, even

unusual

of quotations,

faithfulness

Ken's evening
nui'se ninety

the

to

was retained

He

end.

hymn which he had

Avith

repeated

learned from his

years before, as freshly as

he had

if

"I have never read

on the preceding day.

heard

it

since,

and I have never forgotten

it."

He

asked himself the question

why

a future existence, and he answered

there should be

" Because on

any other hypothesis the world would be a piece

magnificent nonsense."

"

Why am

it

He asked himself

of

the question,

I a Christian ? " and he answered

" I

am

a Christian, takiag Christianity in the large and on the

whole, and not dwelling on

miuute controversies.

am

parts, I accept it en grand.''''

of Christianity

shade, the

smaller difficulties or

a believer of

its

grander

Amidst the grander parts

he sought to dwell on " the greatest

miracles," that

of

its

which threw

all

others

into the

miracle of the moral character of Jesus

"With meditations like these, of which the

Christ.

pages which follow are the imperfect outpouring, his

life

drew

to its close.

Ten days before the

end, he received a visit from

the son of an aged diplomatic friend,

who had

pre-

ceded him to the grave a few years before at the

advanced age

whom
respect.

of

ninety-three

David

Morier,

for

he always evinced the deepest regard and

The

son,

who

is

now

the

distinguished


PKEFACB.

xiv

England

Minister

of

his

visit:

final

"His

in

Portugal,

was as

iatellect

speech, as incisive, his iaterest in poetry

as keen, as

when

lit

up

and

It

which

warm

fully retained theii-

and were entirely wanting in the

splendid outlines,

wrinkles or withered look of extreme old age.

not help thinking of the lines

He

politics

I last saw him, three years ago.

his pale features,

'

his

clear,

was a beautiful English summer afternoon

sun

records

tlius

Slow sinks more lovely

I could

ere his race be run.'

seemed some grand old Titan majestically sinking

to his rest in all his glory, as if

was waiting

He

to receive

rests in the

him with

he knew the Infinite

all

due honour."

humble churchyard

at Erant, in the

presence of that expanded view over plain and hill

which he had

so

He

often enjoyed.

deserved,

it

might have seemed, the highest funeral honours which

the nation could bestow.

Turkish Empire cast

over the statesman
in the public

its

But the dark shadow

own shade

who had been

of the

of unpopularitv

so deeply identified

mind with the arduous task

of supporting

its existence; and the long retirement from public

life,

although glorified by

setting splendour,

services

to

his

threw into the background those

country and to humanity at large

Avhich will long cause his

all

who

the bright glow of his

name

to

be venerated by

value the noble career of the Greatest English

Ambassador in

this century.
A. P.

s.

CONTENTS.

PREFACE

TABLE OF EVENTS

xvi

INTEODUGTION

xxi

PAET

I.

LETTERS AND MEMORANDA.

I. Turkish Finance
II.

III.

IV.

V.

England's Policy towards Turkey

The True Meaning of the Eastern Question

The Great Powers and the Porte
Suggestions foe the Settlement of the Eastern
.

Difficulty

29

VI. Teems of Peace

VII. The Treaty of San Stefano
VIII.

IX.

X.

10

22

32
38

Memorandum on the Anglo-Turkish Convention

Keview op Affairs in Turkey subsequent to the
Berlin Treaty
Memorandum on the Claims of Greece to an Exten.

sion OF Teeeitoey

is

49

60

PART

II,

REVIEWS AND ARTICLES.

XI. Turkey.1
XII. Turkey.-II

65
97

xm.

International Relations
and how they may be
Maintained for the best Interests of Mankind

XIV.

Recollections op the Revival op Greek Indepen-

dence
XV.

134

159

Recollections op the Revival op Geeek Indepen-

denceII

182

TABLE OF EVENTS

(1875 to 1878.)

1875.
July

\st.

Commencement of the Insurrection in Herzegovina.

Repudiation of the Turkish debt.

October 1th.

Bccemher 2Sth.

Purchase of Suez Canal shares by British Government.

1876.

The " Andrassy Note " communicated to the Porte by Austria,

general
Germany and Russia. This note, to which England gave a
support," was drawn up by Count Andrassy, and proposed to the Porte

Jamtanj Slst.

'

'

the fpllowing reforms to be applied immediately to the insurgent provinces of Herzegovina

and Bosnia, with a view to

and entire.

1.

Keligious liberty full

2.

Abolition of the farming of taxes.

their pacification.

law to guarantee that the product of the direct taxation of

Bosnia and Herzegovina shall be employed for the immediate
interests of the Provinces under the control of bodies constituted
in the sense of the Fii'man of Dec. 12.
i. The institution of Special Commissions, composed of an equal
number of Mussulmans and Christians to superintend the execution of reforms proposed by the Powers, as well as those proclaimed in the Irad6 of Oct. 2 and the Firman of Dec. 12.
5. The amelioration of the condition of the i-ural populations.
Whereas these reforms had been already promulgated in the Hatti Houmouyon and former Hatti-Cherifs by the Porte but never really put in force,
the Cabinets of Austria, Germany and Russia deemed it necessary that some
kind of pledge in the form of a signed Convention should be given by the
Turkish Government for their prompt and effectual execution or they on
their part could not undertake to continue their efforts to restrain and pacify
3.

the insurgents.

Feirvary

13th.

The

Porte accepted four out of the five reforms contained

in the Andrassy Note, but declined the thii'd clause, by which the
proceeds of the direct taxation in the provinces of Bosnia and Herze-

govina should be expended on those provinces.

TASLB of ETENTS.

svii

Outbreak of insuweotion in Bulgaria.

Mussulman at Salonica, murder of the French and German
Consuls.
May 13th. Uie Berlin Mcmorandvm drawn up by the Chancellors of the

May

1st.

3lay 6th.

riot

three Emperors who met for the purpose at Berlin. Proposes to insist with
energy on an. armistice of two months between the Porte and the insurgents in order to open away for direct negotiations between the Turkish

Government and the Herzegovinian and Bosnian delegates on the

following points
1.

2.

That materials for the reconstruction of dwelling-houses and

churches should be furnished to the returning refugees, and their
subsistence should be assured to them till they could support
themselves by their own labour.
In so far as the distribution of help should appertain to the
Turkish Commissioner he should consult as to the measures to be
taken with the mixed commission mentioned in the note of the

30th Dec. (Andrassy Note,) to guarantee the bond fide application

of the reforms and control their execution. This Commission
should be presided over by a Herzegovinian Christian, and be
composed of natives faithfully representing the two religions of

4.

the country. They should be elected as soon as the Armistice

should have suspended hostilities.
In order to avoid any collision, advice should be given at Constantinople to concentrate the Turkish troops, at least until excitement has subsided on some points to be agreed upon.
Christians as well as Mussulmans should retain their arms.

6.

The Consuls or Delegates

3.

of the

Powers

shall

keep a watch over

the application of the reforms in general, and on the steps

relative to the repatriation in particular.

May

Wth.

The British Government refused their concurrence in the Berlin

Memorandum on

the ground that the proposals could not be carried out

by the Porte, and that if they could, the remedy would be only
and fall short of the exigences of the case.

partial

British ordered to Besika Bay.

Deposition of Sultan Abdul Assiz and proclamation of his
nephew Murad V. in his place.
Statement of Mr. Disraeli in Parliament that the steps taken by
June
of the East were leading to the maintenance
Government in the
of honourable peace Berlin Memorandum would not be presented.
June 23rd. Alleged cruelties committed by the Turks in the suppression
of the Bulgarian Insurrection published in T/ie Daily News.
June 30th. Servia and Montenegro declare war on Turkey.
asks for the
August 2ith. Prince of Servia, repeatedly beaten by the
Ma/y 2ith.
3fay 29tJt,

fleet

9th.

affairs

Turks,,

mediation of the Powers.

August 31st. Sultan Murad V. deposed in favour of his brother, Sultan

Abdul Hamid.
September

6*/;.. Publication

of

Mr.

Gladstone's

pamphlet,

" Bulgarian

Horrore."
i

TABLE OF EVENTS.

xiriii

Novemher

Ist.

Armistice of

eight weeks

demanded by Russia in an

Ulti-

matum dictated by the utter collapse of the Servian army.

NovemUr ind.ToB. Emperor of Eussia pledges his most sacred word

of

honour that he has no ambitious purpose, and if forced to occupy

Bulgaria will only do so provisionally.
Noveiiiber lOiA. The Czar announces publicly at Moscow his intention of
acting alone should the Porte resist the demands of the Powers.
November Wth. Mobilization of the Russian army announced.
December 23i-<?, Fii-st meeting of the Conference at Constantinople and
simultaneous announcement of the Turkish Constitution.
December 2%th. Prolongation of the Armistice.

1877.

January 20th. Close of the Conference at Constantinople and final rejection

by the Porte of the terms offered by the Powers. Reduced to a minimum they were An International Commission nominated by Europe,
without executive powers, and the appointment of Valis (GovernorsGeneral,) for five years, by the Sultan, with the approval of the guaran:

teeing Powers.

February 11th.

Peace concluded at

Constantinople between the Porte and

Servia.

Opening of the
Turkish Parliament.
London Protocol signed^The Powers accept the assurances of
the Porte as regards Reform Recommend disarmament in face of
peace with Sei-via and Montenegro. Russian Emperor will treat of

March
March

Vith.

first

Z\st.

disarmament on his side

if

Turks will send a Special Envoy to

burgShould the Saltan faU in

his promises,

and the

St. Peters-

state of

the

Christian populations not improve, the Powers reserve to themselves

the right of deciding what further must be done.

The Porte's answer to Protocol. She takes her stand on the

Treaty of 1856, and admits no right of interference in her internal

jLpril lOi/t.

affairs.

April 24iA.

May

Declaration of war by Russia.

British proclamation of neutrality and entire disavowal and dis\st.

approval of the act of Eussia, with further declaration that the latter
has intentionally prevented a peaceful solution.

Montenegro recommences
Eussiana cross the Danube.
Serious Eussian reverses in Asia.
July 20th. Eussian repulse at Plevna.
June 12th.

hostilities.

Ju/ne 22nd.
Ju/iie 25tJi.

August 4iA. Russian

Imperial

guai'd

and re-inforoements ordered

Bulgaria.

October 15th.

November
December
December

Defeat of Turks in Asia.

Pall of Kars.
FaU of Plevna.
lith. Servia declares war a second time.
l%th.

lOth.

to

TABLE OF EVENTS.

xix

1878.

Turkey proposes Armistice.

Capture of the Schipka Pass.
jamuiry 20tt. Bussians enter Adrianople.
January
British
ordered to Constantinople and then
January

ith.

Janioary

IQith.

2iird.

fleet

counter-

manded.
January 28tli,. Terms of Peace as communicated to Count SchouvaJofl
announced in the House of Commons. Chancellor of the Exchequer
moves for a vote of credit for 6,000,000.
February 7th. Russians continue to advance on Constantinople. British

fleet finally

March

Srd.

ordered to the Bosphorus.

Treaty of San Stefauo signed at Constantinople between Eussia

and Turkey, of which the principal clauses follow: A cession of territory

to Servia and Montenegro and their complete independence. Bulgaria
largely extended and raised to a principality, with a Prince elected by
the people, and a seaport on the ^gean. Navigation of the Bosphorus
free to merchant vessels in peace and war alike.
50,000 Russian troops
to occupy Bulgaria for two years. Batoum, Ardahan, Kai's and Bayazid,
with the territories comprised, remain in the hands of Eussia.
A
separate treaty between Turkey and Eoumania, who was to make her
own demand for indemnity. Eussia to receive the Dobrudja in order
War indemnity of
to exchange it for Bessarabia with Eoumania.
47,500,000 besides the Dobrudja.
Prince Bismark consents to preside over a European Congress
7th.

April 2nd. Lord Salisbury's Circular explaining why England could not go

March

at Berlin.

San Stefano being open

and animadverting on the discrepancy between Eussia's
demands now and her protestations in the past.

into the Congress without the whole Treaty of

to discussion,

April 17th. Dispatch of Indian troops to Malta.

June ith. Anglo-Turkish Convention signed at Constantinople. Text:
" If Batoum, Ardahan, Ears, or any of them shall be retained by Eussia,
and if any attempt shall be made at any future time by Eussia to lake
possession of any further territories of his Imperial Majesty the Sultan
in Asia as fixed by the definitive Treaty of Peace, England engages
to join his Imperial Majesty the Sultan in defending them by force of
arms. In return, the Sultan promises to England to introduce necessary
reforms, to be agreed upon later between the two Powers, into the

Government

and

for the protection of the Christian

of the Porte in these territories,

and in order

and other subjects

England to make

to enable

necessary provisions for executing her engagements, the Sultan further

consents to assign the Island of Cyprus to be occupied and administered

by

her."

June \Uh. First sitting of the Berlin Congress,

" Treaty of Berlin."
July \Ztli. Last sitting of the Berlin Congress.
Balkans to form Southern boundary of Bulgaria. Austria to occupy

TABLE OF EVENTS.

XX

Boenia and Herzegovina provisionally, in the interests of Peace. Montenegro to have Antivari and an increase of territory. Servia also to
receive an extension. Eectification of Greek frontier recommended.
Part of Bessarabia, confiscated by the Treaty of 1856, to be restored to
Russia. The Dobrudja, including Silistria and Mangg,lia, to Eoumania.
Batoum, Kars and Ardahan all to become Russian, with the proviso that
Batoum should be made a free commercial port. War indemnity not
payable
July

22ncl.

till all

anterior claims are satisfied.

Sir Garnet Wolseley located in Cyprus.

";

INTRODUCTION.
In presenting these Papers under their collected

form to the attention

there

would seem

title-page

to

of statesmen

be

little

and general readers,

necessity for adding to a

which says that the subject

is

the " Eastern

Question " and the writer Lord Stratford de Kedcliffe

but

it

is

thought that what follows

advantageously quoted.

When

may be

here

submitting to public

attention the sketch of a proposed plan of settlement

in September, 1876,

Lord

Stratford wrote thus

" The purpose which I entertain of stating

in

outline,

at leastT a plan of settlement, including all its items,

would doubtless be imprudent on the part

invested with responsibility.

Free as I

trammel, the hope of helping by

of

anyone

am from

that

my experience to clear

the ground of negotiation, and an impulse bordering on

a sense of duty, have alone prevailed over

my natural
May

reluctance to face the risk of so delicate a task.

those

who honour me with

indulgent.

purpose.
first

attention

be

I claim their indulgence in virtue of

my

Peace

instance

is

their

the goal in view, peace in the

by hastening the termination

(then, existing-

of

war

between Turkey and her dependen-

INTRODUCTION.
cies)

" peace in the second

by enabling the Turks

to

remain in Europe with a firmer hold on their position,

and

anxiety,

less

not to say less scandal to their

Christian supporters.

have nothing to do with

Independence, whether silent or outI cannot

spoken, becomes my very advanced age,

party

politics.

agree with those

sanguine writers

Turkey being the cornerstone

*

who

di-eam

of

of "Western freedom,'

but I go so far as to persuade myself that with competent guidance the Ottoman authorities, and even
their subjects,

may be

trained to conform to those

changes which alone can realise the policy of giving

them a durable place in the group of European states.

To leave them to themselves would be equivalent to
leaving them at the mercy of ambitious neighbours
To set about
actuated solely by selfish views.
driving them across the Bosphorus and Dardanelles

would be
notes,

to soimd the trumpet of

war in

its shrillest

with the ultimate impossibility of replacing

them on grounds

of general interest."

ford foresaw the inevitable revival

of

Lord

Strat-

the Eastern

Question in the reckless extravagance of the Porte,

even before bankruptcy and the

first local

disturb-

ances in Herzegovina had kindled the fire already

and he would have had England sooner recognize what he considered the magnitude and extent of

laid,

the danger.

of Paris

least

have had her at once take the

among her co-signatories of the Treaty

she, who in his opinion, had most to lose
to gain by the dissolution of the Ottoman

central place

and

He would

115TR0DUCTIDN.

Empire

and

fearlessly

which in her lay

to

Sxiii

and uncompromisingly do that

stop the evil,

by right

of her

guarantee, which she was not justified in allowing to

be unnecessarily imperilled, without efiectual remonstrance.

On

the ground already 6ccupie(3 by England,

have found a footing, however

Eussia could not

eagerly she sought

it.

His long experience had taught him that pressure,

if

steadily

Power

especially

if

friendly

more

and properly applied to the Porte by a

^recognised

as

such

and

by her

supported by the rest of Europe,

was always ia the end

successful.

He

never advo-

must
give the Turk a loop-hole, for if you once got him
with his back to the wall, he would fight to the very
end.
It was not to be, however, and when at last the
country woke up to the gravity of the impending
crisis, Turkey, dishonoured and disgraced, was already
cated force, and constantly insisted that you

^whether

for

good or

ill

in the gripe of her in-

veterate foe.

The papers
their dates,

are arranged numerically in order of

from 1874 to 1880, the

last

having been

written a few weeks before the author's death.

consist, partly,

of

memoranda

written either for the writer's

They

hitherto unpublished,

own use

or at the

request of influential people seeking his opinion,

partly of the

more public expression

and

of his views,

which appeared from time to time in the pages of a

leading journal during those eventful years when,
after lying

dormant for

so long, the Eastern Question

INTRODUCTION.

xxiv

once more became the prominent feature in the history

of

European

politics.

Selections

have

necessarily

been made, as many passages referred solely to events

passing at the time, and could have no permanent
interest.

The Tolume concludes with

several articles

published during the last five years, and reprinted

from the Nineteenth Century Review by kind permission

of the Editor.

December, 1880.

PART

I.

LETTERS AND MEMORANDA.

THE

EASTEEN QUESTION.
I.

TURKISH FINANCE.
[The following

is

memorandum, now published

financial state of

for the first time,

Turkey hefore she repudiated her

on the

debt. ]

"Wkiiten in the Autumn of 1874.

The

financial state

of the Turkish

Empire

is

not alone

who have dividends to receive out of

The Governments of Christendom,

interesting to those

the

Porte's revenue.

the

allied

Powers, as the strongest of them are called, have no

slight motives for

keeping a watchful eye over

it.

England,

in particular, is deeply concerned in its prosperity'.

It is

Turkey should not become the

occasion of another European war. If there be any exception to this, it would be of one whose successes would be
generally unpopular, and whose reverses could only be
Three
effected at a considerable cost of life and treasure.
very desirable for

all

that

of the Allies have entered into a treaty by which they are

engaged to maintain the integrity of the Turkish territory.

This treaty bears the signatures of France and Austria,
joined with that of England.

Guarantees of this general

kind are always open to criticism, and applied to the Turkish

dominions, the policy of binding any country to a principle
so

eventually embarrassing

is

more than questionable.

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

However, be that as

it

[i-

may, we are thus bound

and a

oblige us either to shake

may occur which may

our responsibility in no very creditable manner, or to
incur, without choice, an amount of sacrifice, equal at least,
contingency
off

to that

or

which attended the Crimean War. Supposing Russia,

Germany, or both,

to attack or seriously to

menace the

independence of Turkey, we might not be able to achieve

the same success, which twenty years ago, raised us to
so

commanding

position

in the

Conference at Paris.

Instead of dictating, we might have to sue.

Now, weakness, whatever may be

its

cause, whether

it

spring from internal discord, or from a deficiency in the

means of

defence, is that condition of a state

which especially

provokes differences and invites hostility. Turkey has always,

unhappily, the former source of weakness in her bosom,

Greeks, Servians, Roumanians, Bulgarians, Armenians, Albanians, Bosnians and Montenegrins, whether subjects or

recognizing the Sultan as their suzerain, look to some opportunity for asserting their independence.

They can be

kept down by the Ottoman authorities when the Porte

easily
is

on

terms of amity with the greater Powers, but they are dangerously explosive
without.

Add

when they can hope

to this cause of

for support

unequal to the requirements of defence, and

that the independence of

from

weakness a state of finance

it is

Turkey must either be

evident

sacrificed,

or rescued from ruin at the cost of one or all of its guaran-

Such being the case, it is equally manifest

England has a very deep interest in the healthy condition of Turkish finance.
Let us see how this matter stands at the present time.
Anything but satisfactory in point of facts, anything but
teeing allies.

that

encouraging in point of opinion.

The Turldsh Budget

The interest

presents a deficit of several millions sterling.

of loans and sinking funds together absorb

the half or

OFFICIAL EXTRAVAGANCE.

1874.]

nearly half, of the Porte's revenue, more

money has

borrowed in order to meet the year's demand, and

to be
it

can

The wretched
continues.
The popu-

only be obtained -on very unfavourable terms.

system of farming the revenue

still

on the decrease, and with

lation is geiierally

it

those pro-

ductive elements which yield supplies to a treasury.

crown

all,

Its purchases are carried

its

wants.

numerous

The

beyond its means, and even beyond

Civil List,

officials are

The Turks,

on

and the

salaries

and pensions of

far too high a scale.

I doubt not, will pay the dividends on their

loans as long as they can.

is

To

the Government has no regard for economy.

seconded by

Their good

their interest.

incur discredit, and with

it loss

faith in that respect

They would not

willingly

of sympathy on the part of

The danger lies in their increasing necesThe Porte has lately made arrangements with
the Ottoman Bank, which, if made in a right spirit and
fairly carried out, may warrant a cautious renewal of confidence on the part of capitalists and shareholders.
But
Christendom.

sities.

this point does not appear to

Misgivings are

and economy

is

still

have been completely attained.

entertained in

some observant

quai'ters,

not, as yet, the financial principle adopted

at Constantinople.

would thus appear that there is ample reason for

inquiring whether the Turkish Government can without
It

prejudice to its safety so far reduce its expenses as to avoid

the impending danger.

To form

even an approximative

we must appeal in some measure to

judgment on
the past. About twenty years since, when Eeschid Pasha was
Grand Vizier, I went with him into an examination of the
this matter

financial question in so far as the

ment was concerned.

revenue of his Govern-

According to his statements the

annual receipts of the treasury did not exceed seven millions

and a

half, or, at

most, eight millions sterling.

There was
B 2

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

4
ii

[r.

hope, he said, that they might be raised to another million

in a year or two.

barked in

its

At

that period the Porte

had not em-

present system of applying for loans to the

European markets.

Within the

two or three years

last

the Turkish revenue has been proclaimed as amounting to

twenty-one millions. There may be some exaggeration in

we may safely set down this

Now, what has happened
First, the Crimean
politically to Turkey in the interval ?
War, and then its termination by a general peace, which
this

statement, but, I think,

increase at twelve

millions.

ever since, has enabled the Sultan to enjoy the blessings of

quiet
at

and

security, with

two or three very limited exceptions,

one time on the side of Candia, at another in Syria, and

During the same period large

sums have been expended by the Sultan in building superfluous palaces, in purchasing huge iron-clads of little
practical utility, and in making large additions to his army
then again at Montenegro.

ah'eady sufficient for any immediate exigencies.

The

public

debt has in consequence assumed by regular degi'ees

its

present gigantic proportions.

manner a precious space of time has been wasted

on objects of little or no use, and productive only of future
embarrassment and eventual peril. Is no stop to be put to
In

this

this

and untimely extravagance

unwise

Majesty's Government a right, ia virtue of

Has not Her

its

guarantees,

to require the effective adoption of a less reckless

ment of their protege's resources

Is

it

employ-

not their bounden

duty to interfere, with or without their partners in the

guaranty, for the purpose of preventing, before it be too
late, a disaster involving the most serious responsibility ?
If such were the view adopted
it

may be

by the British Cabinet,

expected that the Foreign Office would communi-

cate with the

French and Austrian Governments, though

might be at once conveyed, in a con-

friendly suggestions

A FORECAST OP DANGER.

1871.]

fidential form, to the Sultan's ministers.

would surely be
the

three

fair

allies

to

Sooner or later

it

and expedient to intimate the right of

withdraw their guarantee

if

Turkey

continued wantonly to incur the dangers inseparable from

weakness and one of

tion.

Let

it

its

primary causes, financial destitu-

be clearly understood that the question

Our

is

Turkey might
indeed not improbably justify an exceptional interference on
behalf of our numerous bond-holders. But that is not the
purely political.

matter in hand.
vated by

its

peculiar relations with

A repetition of the Eastern Question, aggra-

more immediate causes, and attended perhaps

much cost, is the apprehension

memorandum being submitted to supe-

with peril, certainly with

which has led to this

rior
lion,

knowledge and sounder judgment than

he knows,

is

in the path.

A false

its author's.

sympathy might be

Turkey and Russia, and the very mischief

which a wholesome policy might be employed to prevent,
created between

would be fostered into

influence.
is

vitality

by the warmth of a

It can hardly be denied that

flattering

such a contingency

quite possible, but are we sure that the snake does not

already occupy a place in the

bosom

of

its

dupe, and

is

the

diplomacy of three great Powers so defective as to find no

means of counteracting the supposed evil ?

At all events, a timely and well-conducted attempt to
prevent an approaching danger, the reality and extent of
suitable

which are matters of experience as well as of

with right to warrant and duty to impose
it

it,

calculation,

would, even

if

proved unsuccessful, be creditable to the vigilance of

Ministers, and turn aside any popular wish to fasten the

responsibility

on the Government.

II.

ENGLAND'S POLICY TOWAEDS TUEKEY.

by Turkey, and the commencement of the

[After the reptidiation of her debt

insurrection in Herzegovina, Lord Stratford de Redclitfe addressed the

following letter to the Times, in which he reviewed the general position

of affairs.

This letter will be found to have a direct application to

many

circiunstances in the present condition of Turkey.]

Decembee

That Turkey

can honestly deny

31st, 1875.

weak, fanatical, and misgoverned no one

is
;

my

but to

apprehension

it

would be a

great and hazardous mistake to infer from its condition in

those respects that the best

way

for

England

is to

leave

it

who

in

entirety alone.

Among

the Turkish statesmen are some, at least,

spite of their religious prejudices

have sagacity enough to

reasonable pressui-e.

their wants,

feel

enough to bend rather than

Nor

and defective knowledge,

to

are

and prudence

break under the force of

the

Sultan's

Mussulman

subjects so mimanageable as to give serious alarm to his

Government when reforms of an unpopular kind are

to be

carried into effect.

The Eastern
dm-ation.

question

is

Like a volcano,

it

a fact, a reality of indefinite

has intervals of rest

but

its

outbreaks are frequent, their occasions uncertain, and their

The chief Powers of Christendom

more or less, an interest in the fortunes of an
Empire which from being systematically aggressive has
become a tottering and untoward neighbour. Its struggles
effects

have

for

destructive.

all,

life,

the agonies of

its

dissolution, could not fail to

ENGLAND CANNOT KEMAIN

1875.]

PASSIVE.

throw all Europe into a state of hurtful agitation,

one of general

if

not into

Ambitions, jealousies, appre-

hostilities.

hensions, and other conflicting passions would be roused

into fearful activity,

and the consequence of a fermentation

so violent and extensive

Under

may

well be dreaded.

these circumstances, for England to be an idle

Such an

looker-on seems hardly credible.

attitude with

reference to interests so positive and perils so imminent

would be a virtual abdication of her high position and

True

attendant duties.

that of two

it is

evils

its

she has only

would be better

to choose the lesser, but the choice of either

than indifference alike degrading and dangerous.

War on

and an injurious dismemberment of

Turkey on the other, may surely be avoided by British
one

side,

influence, exercised

from a suitable position.

The Treaty

of Paris gives us the right of acting with the other parties

to

it

wherever the

afi'airs

of

Turkey

are concerned.

If the

three Northern Powers are left to themselves, they will, of

course, be guided

by their own views.

to mistrust Eussia at present

There

but Eussia

is,

is

no reason

nevertheless,

one of the same triumvirate which partitioned Poland, and the

retirement of England might be taken as her opportunity.

The moral

insistance of

England would

be decisive in a conference of the

Peace, the support of Turkey,
ticular its financial

nor

is

its

in all hlielihood

or the six Powers.

administrative, in par-

improvement, and the equality of

classes of its population,

of her policy

five

there ground for apprehending opposi-

tion to such principles on the part of others.

moreover,

all

would natm-ally be the main points

would be more

lUcely

to

assent

The
to

Sultan,

measures

when proposed
the Powers and recommended by England

necessary to secure the execution of reforms

him by all
whose counsels have always had a defensive or conservative
defensive as to the Danube and the Bosphorus,
character,

to

THE EASTEEN QUESTION.

&

[n.

conservative as to the only feasible prolongation of Turkey's

political existence.

Objections

may

be taken to the necessary measures, but

their character of necessity

evil,

and therefore

The measures

to

makes them part of the

be accepted with

lesser

it.

in question are a superintendence of

mixed

organization internally, and a joint conventional pressure

The

from without.
would be

twofold arrangement

difficulties of this

far from insuperable,

and the inconveniences would

be compensated by the result.

These measures, reduced to a system, would doubtless

amount to tutelage but the Turkish Empire has long been
virtually in that state, which, if it had been steadily as of
right enforced, would have saved the Porte from its present
;

No

embarrassments.

good end

is to

be attained by under-

rating either the resources of the Turkish Empii-e, or the

faculty of its

Government

to

meet the

fair

demands of the

Christian Powers and to remove the grievances of its Christian

subjects.

But

there is an evident want of foreign intercourse

to enlighten the native classes, of foreign co-operation to

give a right shape to practical reforms, and, above

all,

of a

sustained influence not to be trifled with on the part of

friendly Governments.

Stress has been laid in

some newspaper

articles

on that

clause in the Treaty of Paris which has an air of binding

the Powers to abstain from interfering in the internal affairs

of Turkey.
But the engagement is, in truth, limited and
conditional.

The

Christian plenipotentiaries promised only

that the communication of the Sultan's reforms should not

be held to warrant such interference. But other rights to
interfere

belong to the Powers, especially to those

who

either sided with the Porte in a moral sense, or spent their

money and shed their blood for the Sultan's cause in the

Crimean War.

The engagement, taken

in its fullest inter-

NECESSITY OF EEFOEM.

1875.J

pretation, moreover,

was an act of

reliance

on the Sultan's

honour, and, consequently, resumable on the failure of that

By

counterpledge.

Treaty of Paris the Porte was

the

admitted into the community of European States, and the

which, by the way, was framed by the

Ambassadors in conference with the Turkish Ministers at

table of reforms

Constantinople

obtained a place in the Treaty as

proof of

the practical effect of that admission.

In a religious sense no Christian can sympathise with a

Mussulman Government.

It is

on very different grounds

good will of some and

that the Porte enlists on its side the

the forbearance of

all

the European Powers.

Their inter-

manner proposed has no

saving Europe at large from a

ference to the degree and in the

other object but that of

general war, and some of
of a rival's

special

its

States from the injurious effects

aggrandizement;

but the welfare of

Turkey, as now circumstanced, would be a natural accom-

paniment of the plan herein suggested, and those who

recommend

it

are the best friends of that Empire.

Steatfoed de Eedcliffe.

III.

THE TRUE MEANINa OF THE EASTERN

QUESTION.
[In May, 1876, Lord Stratford do Eedoliffe presented through the Tiines the
following review of the circumstances which had given the Eastern
Question its gi'eat importance in Europe, and suggested a scheme of

reform which the writer deemed essential to the administration of the

Sultan's dominions. The letter contains, in a short compass, a history of
the Eastern Question,

and an explanation of

bearings upon the

its

general affairs of Europe.]

May

By

Christian insurrection in Turkey broke out, and

still

it

to be the chief object of political interest in

may, for the attempts to

politics.

"Well

increased

its difficulties

it

16, 1876.

of a year has elapsed since the

far the greater part

and given

it

continues

European

settle it

have

a character which more

than ever threatens to disturb the general peace.

So rapid

has been the growth of disease compared with the slowness

of treatment, that the dwarf of yesterday

have become the giant of to-day.

By

may

and particularly by the British portion of

portance of the movement in Herzegovina

Even

hesitation, acknowledged.

have

articles

significant title

lately

At

the real im-

The mediating

for not facing openly

who now

and at

challenges their inter-

but facts are stubborn, and the awakened in-

telligence of millions will finally leave

that of a

it,

now, after much

paramount journal,
head a most

of the "Eastern Question."

once the Frankenstein

ference

in your

is

appeared under the

Powers may have their reasons

be said to

the Press at least,

commanding

this point

it

action in

may be

some

them no choice but

effective shape.

useful to describe briefly, in clear

THE TUEKISH POWEE IN EUROPE.

1876.]

11

terms, the real character and importance of the " Eastern

In a loose and general sense

Question."

obvious enough to

all

who have

But

discoursing on political topics.

meaning

its

few, perhaps, even in

the circle of statesmen, have had occasion

or'

taken pains to

and the

ascertain the whole of its constituent elements,

extent of

its

For the

question we must

and very roots of the

origin

refer to the character of the

race, to the principles of their peculiar religion,

Turks as a
and

to the

in which they got possession of their dominions to

the west of those waters which separate

To

full

bearing on European and, in particular, on

British interests.

manner

is

in any degree the habit of

Europe from Asia.

their Tartar blood they are indebted for the despotic

temper which

facilitates the

tends to shorten

its

duration.

exercise

of their power, but

Their administrative institu-

tions are based on a creed the principles of which, in their

nature unchangeable, obstruct the progress of that social

development by which nations increase their strength and

secm'e the respect of their neighbours.

impelled them to conquest

to Hold the

Their fanaticism

their despotism enabled

conquered in subjection

but the

them

effect of these

two principles was to keep them in a state of isolation as to

countries not yet brought under their yoke,

and of utter

antagonism with a large majority of their fellow subjects.

Moreover, they brought their Asiatic manners into the part
of

Europe they subdued

from

all

as an additional cause of alienation

but their followers in religion. Their acquisition of

the Sultan's present dominions in Europe was, no doubt,

the work of time

but there can be

little

room

for error in

stating that throughout their period of successive conquests,

however on occasions the outward appearances may have

varied, then' motives of aggression

ment were

essentially the same.

and principles of govern-

THE EASTEEN QUESTION.

12

With Turk,
will

[iir.

as with Christian, Pagan, or Jew, fanaticism

and the

excite hostility,

evils of

misgovernment

sooner or later work the ruin of an empire.

firms the truth of this remark.

will

History con-

Six centuries of dominion

did not prevent the final expulsion of the

Moors from Spain.

Tui'key, from heing an aggressive and conquering power,

dropped gradually into a state of self-defence and internal

anarchy.

The

decline of that

after the failure of

against Vienna.

Sultan

Although

Empire may be dated from

Soliman's gigantic expedition

was checkered

at first by ochad scarcely elapsed

before the downward movement went on more rapidly, and
it

casional exceptions, another century

to judge
its

from present appearances

it

has not yet slackened

pace.

While the enervating

effects of the

Turkish system told

with growing power on the resources of the Empire, those

bordering Powers

who

either were

most molested by

ambition, or found most reason to reckon on profiting by

its
its

had gathered fresh strength from their superior

knowledge and sounder principles of administration. To a
decay,

larger increase of their subjects -they added a greater de-

velopment of industry, a wiser management of their finances,

and a healthier progress in secular instruction and military
discipUne. At the same time the Eayahs, that oppressed
and natm-ally disaffected portion of the Sultan's subjects,
had largely advanced in numbers, knowledge, wealth, the

sense of degradation, and the consciousness of growth.

So
long as the Porte contended singly with Austria or Russia,
war after war terminated in treaties adverse to Turkish
at

At one time

was an actual cession of territon^,

another the elevation of some Ottoman Province into a

interests.

it

tributary state approaching to iadependence.

It was not

only to the final ascendency of Turkey that the battle of

Lepanto gave an incurable blow. Hungary, the Crimea

"WEAKNESS OP THE POETE.

1876.]

Bessarabia, and

13

Turkey north of the

rivers Pruth and

Empire, while the Danubian
Provinces and Servia obtained, under Eussian protection,
all

Phasis ceased to be part of

privileges bordering
this,

Egypt

Sultan,

fell off

on

its

political separation.

More than

all

from the immediate government of the

Greece with

its

adjacent islands became an in-

dependent monarchj^, and the small but renowned Isle of

Samos, though close upon the coast of Asia, received a

charter of autonomy.

By way

of compensation for these

Government shook

losses the Imperial

off

a variety of en-

croachments which had gradually weakened

its

and a policy of useful reform, commenced

authority,

for

progress by Sultan Selim, was proclaimed by

mUitary

Mahmoud,
The

and in part realized by that energetic sovereign.

Janissaries were exterminated, a regular

the poll-tax levied

army was

created,

on Eayahs was suppressed, the provincial

Pashas were shorn of their much-abused powers, the Dere

Beys, or landowners in

fee,

were brought into a more com-

plete subordination, and, in general,

in

some degree freed from the

Enough

of evU

still

life

and property were

assaults of arbitrary caprice.

remained both in practice and principle

to obstruct the recovery of

Turkish power. Disunion, ignor-

ance, corruption, a debased coinage, a diminishing population,

and

nourish,

financial
if

mismanagement, could hardly

causes less capable of correction.

witnesses

fail

to

not to increase, the weakness originating in

may

survive,

still

Events, of which some

showed to demonstration nearly

100 years ago that the Porte had ceased to be an independent

power in the
of

sense of that term.

full

Egypt from French occupation

by land and sea

She owed the recovery

to the

arms of England

within ten years from that time,

if

she

withstood the menace of a British squadron at Constanti-

was derived from the inspiration of a

foreign Ambassador, and her peace with Russia not long
nople, her courage

THE EASTEEN QUESTION.

14
after took

possessed.

[iir.

from British mediation whatever advantage it

Such, in more recent years, was the dependence

Turkey on Christendom that a Russian navy was admitted

into the Bosphorus for its protection from the forces of
Mahomet Ali, a provincial pasha; that, under changed
circumstances, its capital was saved from capture by a
and that its independence was subsedisastrous Treaty
quently maintained by the joint battalions of France and
of

England.

The Treaty concluded

at Paris twenty years ago not only

abated the pretensions of Russia, but gave a

Turk's

character to the
initiated

relation

by the Crimean War.

sion, the Porte

then took

its

To

with

more

settled

Christendom

as

use a French expres-

place in the family of

European

Powers, and an improved charter of reforms, having the

two-fold object of a better treatment of the Rayahs, and the

adoption of sounder principles of Government in Turkey,

was held to justify

its

admittance to that position.

charter subsequently proclaimed

had been prepared

at

The

by Sultan Abdul-Medjid

Constantinople by a joint conference

of Turkish Ministers and

at the British residence,

European Ambassadors assembled

and was made part of the general

act of pacification under an agreement that its insertion in

the Treaty should not be

made

a pretext for the interference

Power in the internal affairs of Turkey.

England, at the same time, in conjunction with France and
Austria, guaranteed in form tlie integrity of the Ottoman
of any foreign

dominions, and also guaranteed, together with France, the

first or second loan contracted abroad by the Ottoman

These transactions represent what was meant to

on the part of Turkey the support of
Powers strong enough to protect, on the part of such
Powers restraint of individual ambition and preservation of
Court.

be a fixed policy,

peace.

NATIONAL IMPROVIDENCE AND FOLLY.

1876.]

It is not

an

idle curiosity

15

which seeks to know in what

degree the policy thus expressed has answered

With few exceptions of no

Turkish Empire has enjoyed since

purposes.

its

intended

great importance, the

Crimean "War a

the

period of unruffled tranquillity within, and of total cessation

of danger from without.

The

Sultan's allies have invariably

The Syrian

maintained a friendly attitude.

calmed with aid of British concurrence.

assisted

by Eussia, was

disciplined legions of
to detach

left to

an unequal contest with the

Omer Pasha.

Greece in

its

attempt

Candia from the Ottoman Empire received no

countenance from any Christian State.

consiilted

disturbance was

Montenegro, un-

Though Russia

her own exclusive interests in breaking loose

from the Black Sea Clause of the

Treat}', the

impatience of

a first-rate Power, vmder the indefinite pressure of so humiliating a yoke,

any

was too natural

to warrant the suspicion of

ulterior designs.

Have

immense advantages of a period thus characby Turkish statesmen or

their Sovereign ?
The answer required by truth is not
satisfactory.
Their vast Empire exhibits no signs of real
improvement. Its revenue is, indeed, more than doubled
since the war
but a debt, which may be stated in round
figures at 200,000,000, weighs hard upon its amount, and
the

terized been turned to account

the bondholders look in vain for their dividends.

The

promised reforms have not been wholly neglected, but the

pledge so solemnly given at Paris has been by no means
redeemed, and the consequences are insurrection in one
quarter and sour discontent together with revengeful mistrust throughout the

basis

of national

prevailed.

Empire.

strength), a

Instead of economy (that

reckless

extravagance has

Superfluous buildings are in course of construc-

tion at ruinous cost,

and railways

offering small prospects

of remuneration have been undertaken

ironclads requiring

THE EASTEEN QUBSTIOK

[in.

management a skill which is not forthcoming have

the army has been carried to a figure
which exceeds the faculty of payment and, to crown all,
for their

been pm'chased

the salaries and pensions assigned respectively to active or

retired officials are
cial

means of the

What

enormously disproportioned to the finan-

State.

are the consequences

sequences

of

immediate perilous con-

and

folHes

these

the

though

for the time), a destructive,

general inquietude,

Why,

delinquencies ?

nothing less than Imperial bankruptcy in Turkey

(at least,

partial, insurrection, a

the interference of foreign dictators,

and the danger of extensive

perhaps,

hostilities, involving,

the greater part of Europe.

Each and all of these effects are more or less deplorable.

They suggest two other points of inquiry. Could they
have been prevented ? Can they now be remedied ?
It

who

*****

would seem a matter of conjecture that the Governments

ratified the

Treaty of Paris must,

if

properly served,

have been seasonably apprised of the reckless manner in

which the Porte was acting, and that their urgent, but
forcible

warnings would have carried weight enough to

However the

check so fatal a career.

respects, the mischief
exists in part,

proportions.

which

case

may be

in those

was natural

to apprehend
and that part threatens to quicken into larger
The first attempt from without to restore

peace in the insurgent

it

districts, if

be trusted, has signally

failed.

present appearances

The

six

may

Powers who, with

shades of diiference, took part in the recent mediation are

supposed to be stiU engaged in consultation as to the expediency of further proceedings.

With a hope that England will now at length take a more

decided part in the Conference, and that the Conference
enlightened by recent experience, wiU extend its views to

A PLAN OP KBPOEM.

187B.]

17

the full range of that question of which the Sclavonian in-

fragmentary exponent, I shrink not

from placing on record an outline of such remedial measui-rection is only a

sm'es as in

my judgment

offer the only prospect of hringing

must, of course, be equal to the wants.

The remedies
Where there is

Where

confidence within

the Eastern

difjficulty to

a peaceful solution.

weakness there must be support.

is

exhausted securities must be called in from without.

When

the habits of administration are

to be pernicious, safety

shown by experience

must be sought in principles

of a

The pride of national independence must,

time, give way to considerations of welfare and neabove all, the means ^the finaiicial means of a

sounder kind.
for the

cessity

must be obtained from their only legitimate

industry, credit, and economy.

State's vitality

sources

Hence the

first

point to be established

is

equality of all

classes before the civil law.

The next

is

reform of the

Thirdly, the admission of

fiscal administration.
all

subjects into the

Army, with

the exemption from actual service on payment of a regulated

war-tax, the haratch being in all cases for ever abolished.

Fourthly, the Council of State and

councils,

all

other secular

whether in the capital or in the Provinces, to be

composed in due parts of Christian and other non-Mussul-

man

subjects.

Fifthly, the formal recognition of religious freedom, so

that not only public worship

and

religious edifices are se-

cured from interruption of any kind, but also that no individual

or individuals whosoever shall be molested on

account of the religion they profess.

Sixthly, that

no suffering or

forfeiture shall

be

inflicted

without the sanction and due process of law established

before the commission of the offence in question.

Seventhly, the establishment of a Board of Trade, the

THE EASTKRK QUESTION.

18

number

of

whose members

[iil.

shall include, in fair proportion,

foreigners as well as Mussulmans, and other subjects of

His

Imperial Majesty the Sultan.

Eighthly, that the preceding articles shall be

made

subject matter of a convention between the Sultan

AUies, the Mediating Powers

and the

effective

the

and his

execution of

*****

the same be placed under the superintendence of a mixed,

responsible Commission.

may be taken to a plan of settlemuch sacrifice of habitual thought and

Objections, however,

ment comprising

so

departure from rooted practice on the part of Turkey and on

that of its Christian allies so

complicated machinery.
to the right of foreign

much

inconvenient trouble and

Doubts may

also be entertained as

Governments to carry

their inter-

ference beyond the line of earnest persuasion or urgent re-

Unquestionably, however, these are means to

monstrance.

be employed,

if at

suggested above

all,

may

in the

instance.

first

The terms

be worked into a more practicable

shape without ceasing to be

Failure of the ex-

efficient.

periment would no more close the door against a stronger

pressure than the refusal of Austria's terms by the Insurgents

has done.

Proceedings of a more effective kind might, in-

deed, be warranted

by considerations which can hardly be

overlooked with prudence or safety.

the maintenance

of

peace,

Their objects would be

the correction of pernicious

abuses, the rescue of millions from injustice

tion, the retention

and degradaby Turkey of as much sovereign and

national individuality as
itself allow it to enjoy.

of right is required,

circumstances

If somethiiig

we must take

unfulfilled engagements, the

cost of

life

originating

more

from

positive in point

into account the Porte's

services attended with

much

and treasure which the AUies, or some of them

at least, have rendered in recent times to its

Empire, and

A caoiCE OP

1876.]

the sacrifices which they are

on

its behalf.

Christendom

name

the

if

EVILS.

19

bound

eventually

still

to

make

would surely be a crying scandal

It

for

the Turks, who effected their conquests in

of religion, were left to endanger the peace of

Europe, and to oppress a numerous population of Christians,

deriving their ability to do so from the wealth of Christian
countries

and the

indifference,

Christian Governments.

some that the Sultan,

if

not to say complicity, of

Apprehensions are entertained by

pressed too closely by the Allies,

might have recourse to the religious feeling of his Mussul-

man

and thereby get up a fanatical rising of the

masses.
Such a resistance is, no doubt, possible, but it
would be full of danger to the Turks themselves, and the
experience of a century, which has been marked by events
subjects

destructive

of

Turkish

ascendency,

encourages

very

different expectation.

Let
is

it

not be forgotten that the actual position of Turkey

one of dependence amounting virtually to tutelage dis-

played unmistakably from time to time

who have opened

that the

a mediation between the Sultan

Powers
and his

insurgent subjects must either give a stronger tone to their

interference or faU back into a state of inaction

that such

smoke would be no less fatal to its

objects than inaction itself, and that to join in forcing the
Insui-gents into submission is an extremity not to be

interference ending in

supposed.
It is obvious that

adoption of the least

where there
is

is

only a choice of

what may be

fairly

evils,

the

termed a necessity.

If the plan suggested herein, whether modified or not,

were deemed after due reflection on any account inadmissible, the great interests involved in the
tion,

Eastern Ques-

and those of England in particular, would never cease

to engage the attention of Statesmen,

and

at times to unc 2

THE BASTEBN

20
settle

the most peaceful relations.

Suez Canal may go

India, hut

far to secure

from

The

who

-niU

ptl.

The command

of the

our communications with

we should have ample reasons

transfer of Constantinople

those

QUESTION".

its

for regretting the

present occupants to

have the best chance of being their successors.

vast basin of productive countries, to which the Bos-

phorus and Dardanelles are open outlets, could not be

closed without commensurate injury to our
influence

it

commerce and

could not be held by any Power jealous of

its

advantages without giving a verj' precarious character to

our positions in the Levant,

A hint
Porte, at

some arrangement, if not more agreeable to the

least more decidedly remedial, has been thrown

of

It was even debecome an object of discussion at Berlin

out quite recently by the public Press.

scribed as likely to

on the occasion of the Russian Emperor's

capital.

visit

to

that

Herzegovina and Bosnia might, indeed, be put

into a state of vassalage to the

which Servia stands.

belt

Sultan, similar to that in

of such principalities, in-

cluding Moldavia, Walachia, and Montenegro, interposed

between Russia and Austria on the one side and Turkey on

the other, might operate as a protection to the Ottoman

dominion in Europe and a pledge of durable peace in that

quarter.
In fairness to the Turkish proprietors, facilities

would have to be given

for the settlement elsewhere of

such

them as chose to emigrate and for the sale of their lands

and houses. On the other hand, the Sultan's concession

of

would carry with

it

a just claim for tribute from the emanci-

pated Provinces, and they, while entitled to the Porte's

would be secured against the entrance of Turkish

troops, except on the request, in due form, of the provincial
protection,

authorities.

Arrangements of this kind are by no means

unprecedented even now in the annals of Turkey.

To go

1876.]

CESSION OF LAND TO GKBECE.

21

no further, Mahomedan Egypt, as every oue knows, is tributary to the Sultan and in Mahmoud's reign, not half a
;

century ago, a very considerable tract of land was ceded to

Greece for a sum of money by no means equal to

its

value.

Steatfoed de Eedcliffe.

IV.

THE GREAT POWERS AND THE PORTE.

was addressed to the Tinus in September, 1876, when Servia,
worsted in her contest with the Porte, had appealed to the Powers for
In this letter also will be found reflections and suggesmediation.
tions which are not less applicable to the state of Turkey now than they

[Tliis letter

were four years ago. ]

SErTEMBEU 9th,

The

1876.

Eastern Question has by degrees assumed such large

proportions that no one can be surprised at the space

occupies in

The

of the pen,

past engage

you

it

public discussions, whether of the tongue or

all

me

special interest

which circumstances of the

to take in its solution will, I hope, induce

to receive with indulgence

mine on that subject; shown, as

with the most

some further remarks of

it

now

perilous consequences.

is,

to be

Little

pregnant

more than a

year has elapsed since the insurrection in European Turkey

was confined to one small province bordering on the Austrian

dominions.

Those who,

like myself,

had been personally

long mixed up with Levantine affairs could hardly

fail to

detect in that very limited disturbance a principle of growth

which threatened to give

it

an extension

of other and distant countries.

Emperors, from

whom

Even

fatal to the

peace

the three Northern

proceeded the Andrassy Note, and

whose chief motive of interference would seem to have been

Austrian, gave a general character to the demand of reforms
which they addressed to the Ottoman Government. "What
in the beginning was an impulse of reasonable foresight is

now proved

to have

been a just apprehension of consequences

It is worth while to bear this in mind

more than probable.

UNITED PEESSURE NECESSARY.

1876.]

at the present crisis, because it tends to

opinion which, however salutary,

is

still

23

strengthen the
fluctuating, that

the mediation solicited by Servia should be undertaken with

views of conclusive meaning, and every appliance required

to secure

an adequate

result.

w'

3s'

p'

Jjf

P'

Whatever may be the issue of prolonged

hostilities in

Turkey, the difficulty of reconciling the parties engaged in

them must evidently be great. The proud habit of comside, and the natural love of independence on
the other, would in any case dispose them to keep apart.

mand on one

To overcome

this

unavoidable tendency, there must of

necessity be a pressure from without superior to the resist-

ance from within.

What
is

should be the form and character of that pressure

But it

a point requiring the earliest consideration.

the only one.

The terms

and administrative reforms

is

not

of pacification, the constitutional

to be

urged upon the Porte, and

the securities required for their execution, are also matters

which demand immediate attention, and,

if possible,

liminary agreement on the part of the mediators.

choice of agents fitted for their

Some few words on each

my

A
Why

The

work by energy as well as

capacity is too obvious to need

for

a pre-

any special suggestion.

of the preceding points will suffice

present pm'pose.

weU-known proverb
should not this

Granted that we may

that the Sultan's

tells

maxim

us that "union

is force."

guide our counsels

fairly flatter ourselves

Government give us a

now?

with the belief

larger share of their

confidence than to any other Christian Power.

But such

confidence does not of itself go to the extent of taking advice

which recommends

sacrifices of a painful, or

nature, however indispensable.

six Christian

even unusual,

Mediation carried on by the

Powers which were parties to the Treaty of Paris

24

THil

JiASTEEN QUESTION.

would naturally make an impression

tiV.

than that of

far other

advice tendered by one friendly Government, even with the

A truism

utmost degree of truth and earnestness.

this speaks for itself.

It only

such as

remains to inquire whether,

in the present case, a combination of this kind is morally

just and practically attainable.

Good

both.

To me

appears to be

it

motives, useful objects, apposite circumstances,

and rights derived from treaty, operating together, must surely

be allowed to warrant a concurrent action on the part of those

who have in common a crying evil to suppress or prevent.

The Powers whose mediation is expected have all, more or
less,

an interest in stamping out the war and enforcing the

acceptance of terms calculated to

last.

So much to show that the combination in question would

be just. That it might be realized without difficulty, if it
be not concerted already, admits of

The

doubt.

little

Andrassy Note was sanctioned and recommended by the

six Powers, and the refusal of England to back the Berlin
proposals had for

its effect

caused by a want of union.

a general sense of

tlie

Even the language

inefficiency

of Lord

Derby

in reply to Mr. Bright

of

liis

and his associates not only gave proof

opinion that a mediation would sooner or later be

required, but described the several Powers

part in

it

as affording

no marked reason

who might take

them

for suspecting

of views irreconcilable with ours.

Whatever grounds of antipathy may exist betweea the

Turks and Servians, originating in differences of faith, of
race, or of policy, and however they may account for the

must be admitted that the invasion of

Tributary was a measure unauthorized by the
of civUized nations.
Here, no doubt, is a notable

present hostilities,

Turkey by
practi,ce

it

its

difficulty in

settling the

terms of peace, especially

offensive party should be entirely overpowered.

nevertheless, considerations of no

if

the

There are

mean importance, which

THE TUEKISH PBOVrNCES.

1876.]

naturally

and reasonably ought to operate

25

for the protection

of the Principalities, should they be irrecoverably defeated.

They could not but sympathize with their fellow Slavonians

It was natural for them to cherish the hope

in Herzegovina,

not only of sympathy, but eventually of succour for them-

from a quarter abounding

selves

Though

resources.

living

far

auxiliary

in

under their own laws, they had

If they were

pay tribute to their old oppressors.

still

to

also

animated by motives of

territorial interest,

Turkish

the same time exasperated by the

they were at
atrocities in

we must remember that the youthful Prince,

Bulgaria, and

who

more

led his countrymen across the frontier,

was impelled by

a popular enthusiasm which he could not resist without the

most imminent danger

to his

Throne and

It is next to impossible that

existence.

means of
the Powers of

j)ersonal

Christendom can permit the Turk, however triumphant, to

cast his yoke again over the

The

Provincials.

necks of any emancipated

Servians themselves

mny be

deficient in

civilization as affecting the principles or practice of govern-

ments and the imperative duties of humanity

defects of administration are

of Christianity,
acts

but their

softened by the profession

and their occasional excesses are more the

of individual impulse

established system.

There

than the consequences of an

is

much

chain of autonomous States, though

to the Sultan,

reason to think that a

still,

perhaps, tributary

might be extended from the Black Sea to the

Adriatic with advantage to that potentate himself.

at all events, the very idea of reinstating

But,

any amount of

Turkish misgovernment in places once cleared of

it

is

the Porte to be victorious,

we

simply revolting.

As we

are

now supposing

cannot in fairness lose sight of those circumstances whence

it has derived the means of victory, and whence, if not
controlled,

it

may hope

to enjoy a harvest reaped

by

its

THE EASTEFN QUESTION.

26

Millions on millions extracted from the

unsparing sword.

moneyed
are

now

Christendom since the Crimean

classes of

have enabled

it

[iv-

War

to form those numerous battalions which

in the fields of slaughter, and promises of reform

proclaimed by authority and recorded in treaty have obtained

for

it

the countenance and friendly protection of its Christian

allies,

on

credit of performances hitherto but faintly

Do

partially realized.

right

nay,

and

not these undeniable facts confer a

even impose a Aniy of mediating with a firm

resolution to carry into full effect the dictates of

and the principles of equitable government

These ends being suitably provided

humanity

for,

what lover of

peace, what friend to a state of occupation favourable to

commerce and other European

disturb the

interests,

would seek to

actual possessors of Constantinople and

dependent Straits

its

Whatever conventional terms may be the

tion, it is clear that

they will be of

little

result of media-

value unless their

execution be secured by something more effective than mere

Turkish authority.

Not

precaution.

Experience proves the necessity of this

that I would accuse either the Sultan,

whoever he may be, or his Ministers of wilful insincerity.

They are more to be pitied for weakness caused by their
education and Constitutional position than censured for

want of faith.
Tutored as the Turks have been from time to time during
still averse from foreign inter-

the whole century, they are

ference,

and therefore

be brought

home

it is

that the present necessity should

to their understanding in the

most con-

manner, consistent with insuring a just appreciation

of the truth.
It were well that the terms of a.gi-eement
siderate

should be fixed and limited by a convention.

mixed

commission of members, appointed by the several parties,

might be intrusted with the duty of superintending the

CONCERTED ACTION OF ECEOPE.

ISre.]

execution of reforms and reporting

Governments.
palatable to the

to

27

their

respective

The Convention wouki, no doubt, be more

Porte if it were made subject to extinction

or renewal at the end, say, of 12 or 15 years.

Such are the principal points susceptible of being stated

by

anticipation.

There are others, of course, but they are

may

secondary, and, therefore,

be

left

with safety and con-

venience to subsequent arrangement.

It stands to reason that for mediation of this kind a

thorough understanding should be previously estabhshed

among the Powers who take part

in

it,

and the form of

proceeding best suited to this purpose can hardly be other

A form of agreement so positive

than that of a Convention.

would by no means preclude the use of identical notes,

presented to the Porte separately by each of the allied
mediators, who,

would expose
their

if

they came to act ostensibly in concert,

themselves to the

annoyance

of

having

communications rejected on grounds of diplomatic

etiquette.
It is to be

Powers,

if

hoped that the concerted action of the six

indeed they are

now

all

acting together, will

continue, that the atrocities perpetrated in Bulgaria will not

be lost sight

now

of,

and that an European mediation, whether

or hereafter, wiU embrace the Eastern Question in its

Peace, no doubt,

full extent.

is

the foremost object, but

peace to be durable must rest on terms applied to the

primary as well as to the immediate cause of war.

difficulties of

negotiating

may

The

be thereby increased to such

make a certain though less solid arrangement

But in any case there must be difficulties

a degree as to
preferable.

which are capable of yielding to pressure judiciously and

resolutely applied.

The

greatest,

when

ultimately over-

come, would find their recompense in the result

namely,

the suspension for a long term of years, if not the final

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

28

[iv.

settlement, of that question which now, with few exceptions,

agitates alike the feeling

Our

and the thinking world.

national hatred of cruelty is

now

various effusions of writing and speech.

human feelmg
tion,

and

finding vent in

Crimes that shock

are always liable to be stated with exaggera-

acts of brutality are but too likely to lie at the

door of each party engaged in extreme contention.

the present burst of indignation

But

official

reports

may

show that there

The

for general reprobation.

easily

Even

run into excess.

is really

matter enough

public expression of

it,

how-

prove remedial, should be temperate, the offspring

ever, to

of reason rather than of passion.

I do not wish to pass my opinions for more than they are

worth what I have at heart is to make them clear. The
;

sum

them

Turkey by a peace which

would leave the Turks at Constantinople under terms of
agreement with the great Powers of Christendom terms
of

is to close

the war in

confirming the autonomy of the tributary Principalities,

extending to the Empire at large the reforms recognized as

necessary for

its

government

on sounder principles of

administration, together with the equitable treatment of all

classes of its subjects, and, lastly, establishing securities for

a faithful execution of the settlement in

all its parts.

must conclude with a word of regret that the confidence

all appearances we are now placing in the other

which to

parties to our mediation

was not employed from the be-

ginning to put England in her right position at their side.

Stratford de Eedcliffe.

V.

SUGGESTIONS POE THE SETTLEMENT OF

THE EASTERN DIFFICULTY.

[The following mjmorandum was
ing

letter,

and

^yl^tteIl

about the same time as the precedIt has not hitherto heen pub-

is therefore inserted here.

lished.]

NOVEMBEE,

As it has come

my

to

my knowledge

that persons,

1876,

who approve

opinions on the Eastern Question, entertain serious

doubts of their practicability, I hold

momentous

draw up a

crisis to

ceedings which seem to

The
The

desired settlement.
trust,

insuperable.

greater

The

still.

me

it

a duty at the present

fuller statement of the pro-

best calculated to

effect

difficulties are great,

the

but not, T

results in view are certainly far

first essential

step is obviously a con-

ference with, or which might be better, without the Porte.

Equally indispensable

is

Formal Convention between the

Six Christian Powers signataries of the general treaty concluded at Paris in 1866. The Powers should declare by

such

instrument the

reasons

of

their

interference,

its

ultimate objects, and the principal measures required to

The

reahze them.
tion of peace

Provinces;

objects in question are these

1.

Eestora-

on durable grounds in the disturbed Turkish

2.

The

territorial status

quo of Turkey under

The

reform, with efficient

the Sultan's sovereignty, and

3.

securities, of its administrative

system on sound and equitable

principles.

The next

progressive

move should be a

Capitulation oi

Treaty between the Porte and the Six Powers, each and all,
the Porte thereby agreeing in definite, binding terms to

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

30

Commission, composed, in certain pro-

establish forthwith a

portions, of the

[v.

Sultan's

Mussulman and non-Mussulman

and empowered to frame

subjects, together with foreigners,

and

carrj' into lasting effect

Let the President of

the

the prescribed reforms.

Commission be appointed by the

Sultan, and have two lateral advisers named, or

at least

approved by the Christian Powers in some manner previously agreed upon.

Foreign Members of the Commission to be appointed and

replaced
to

when necessary by the

whom

several Christian Powers,

they would have to* report and to be entirely

amenable.
Cases of difference

when

arising

among the members of

High Contracting

the Commission to be referred to the

Parties.

Provision to be
ing those

who

made

against unnecessary delays by render-

are convicted of causing

them personally

A special committee might be

sponsible.

re-

charged with this

judicial duty.

The

local application of

joint special agents,

reforms can only be effected by

Turk and

Christian, under the super-

vision of an officer (consul or agent) representing the Chris-

and authorised to act in concert with local

or other recognised parties immediately con-

tian Powers,
councils,

cerned.

These requirements, though meant

must of course be allowed

sufficient

to

be temporary,

time for planting and

taking root.

Some mode
settled

of meeting the requisite

outlay must be

by previous agreement.

In some

districts local peculiarities will require a modifica-

tion of general rules.

Agents

at a distance

armed protection by a

from the

capital will

police or military foi-ce.

have need of

KBPOBMg MUST BE COMPULSORY.

1876.]

Any

indispensable

foreigners

N.B.

must be

31

occupation of Turkish territory by

strictly limited as to force, time,

and duty.

The terms proposed by Lord Derby, and accepted

with some point of diiference by Russia, are supposed to

form the basis of settlement in the

of

five

disturbed provinces

European Turkey.

Of those reforms which extend throughout the Empire

my suggestions, as

published from time to time,

may be borne

mind as an aijproximate, if not a complete, summary.

The Porte can hardly be expected to consent to the preceding stipulations, unless a sense of necessity is made to

in

pervade her counsels in virtue of settled resolutions from

without.

VI.

TEEMS OF PEACE.
llie capture of the Schipka Pass by the Russian army, the terms on
which a peace between Russia and Turkey might be based, were thus

[After

considered in a letter to the Times.']

Januaet

The
is

great question which has occupied

now approaching,

which

if it

Europe

so Jong

has not already reached, a point at

mystery and reserve must he thrown aside.

all

must take the place of

theii'

15, 1878.

conjecture,

Fact

and Cahinets must open

doors to the rush of puhlic anxietj'.

After

much

dis-

couragement, the Russians are riding on the tide of victory

"the

Turks are preparing

to

sue for peace

the neutral

Powers, with the exception of England, show no inclination

to

move

and England, as

to a faint overture

authorities.

far as

we know,

confines herself

which finds no favour with the Russian

Russia has declared herself willing to mako,

peace, but only hy direct and separate negotiation with the

Turks.

In these circumstances the question which presses

for solution

on the parties

particularly, perhaps,

courses

is

preferable

claration, single or
will

to the

Treaty of Paris, and more

on England,

namely,

is this

by

Which

of two

some diplomatic

de-

combined, to draw the line which Russia

not be allowed to pass without remonstrance, or to wait

in silent

but watchful neutrality until the Russian conditions

of peace are brought unmistakably to light ?

direct negotiation

between the belligerents has neces-

sarily the effect of giving the stronger of the

two parties

THE TREATt OF

1878.]

an advantage over

tlie

weaker.

PARIS.

33

now more than

It is

pro-

bable that the military position will exercise an overpower-

Even th

ing influence on the discussions.

for peace is unfavourable to Turkey,

general desire

whose Government

is

ready to catch at any, the most slender, hope of obtaining

assistance or encouragement from without.

hand, there

is

now

On

a better prospect of concert

neutral Powers, and the Treaty of Paris

the risk of total neglect.

There

of success in aifording the

is

is less

the other

among

the

exposed to

dignity and an element

Emperor

of Russia an oppor-

tunity of displaying his regard for antecedent declarations

by an impulse of honourable

What remains

feeling.

of the Treaty after its partial alteration in

March, 1871, taken in connection with those Imperial declarations,

narrows very considerably the range of such con-

ditions as military triumphs

might

entitle

Russia to impose

upon the Porte. The Treaty of that date expressly renews

and confirms every part of the Treaty of Peace concluded at
Paris in the year 1856, except those which are annulled or

modified by the subsequent Treaty of 1871.

article of this

The

Treaty which has to be noticed here

is

only
the

second, which stipulates that the Sultan shall be at liberty

to open the

Bosphorus and Dardanelles in time of peace

the vessels of war

of friendly

Sublime Porte should judge

and

it

allied

to

Powers, in case the

necessary in order to secure

the execution of the stipulations of the Treaty of Paris of

March
its

30, 1856.

This

last

mentioned Treaty contains in

seventh article the following clause

" Their Majesties

engage, each on his part, to respect the independence and

the territorial integrity of the Ottoman Empire, guarantee in

common

the strict observance of that engagement, and will

in consequence consider any act tending to its violation as a

question of general interest."

than this

it

Language clearer or stronger

would be dif&cult to find elsewhere.

Its general

THE EASTERN QUESTIOK.

34

[vi.

result is that the Powers, including Eussia, guarantee the

independence

and

territorial

integrity

of

the

Ottoman

Empire, and that the sole discretion assigned to the Sultan

with respect to opening the Bosphorus and Dardanelles to
foreign ships of war is limited

hy a

special motive

namely,

to secure the execution of the Treaty.

To show

by its own deenough to refer to Prince Grortchakoff's

that Eussia is also restrained

clarations, it is

despatch of the 18th of May, 1877, O.S., addressed to the

Eussian Ambassador in London, and communicated by his

Excellency to the Earl of Derby.

According to the 4th,

and 7th paragraphs of the despatch in question

Eussia renounces every intention of meddling with the Suez
5th, 6th,

Canal or Egj'pt, or acquiring the city of Constantinople, or

dealing exclusively with the Straits.

given with respect to India.

made

similar assurance is

The whole engagement

is

upon the continued neutrality of England,

which exists up to the present time and depends for its
continuance throughout the war on England's own will.
to turn

Consistently with this double source of limitation, the

Eussians can do

little

more than

stipulate for the

autonomy

or independence of the several Provinces forming the whole

line of the

Turkish frontier territory from the Black Sea to

the Adriatic.
relief

The

declared object of the war was to obtain

from Turkish misrule on behalf of Bulgaria, Bosnia,

and Herzegovina, and in that manner to relieve Europe

from the constant anxieties and often-recurring disturbances
of the Eastern Question.

England has nothing

to appre-

hend from the execution of such a scheme, except in so far

as Bulgaria is concerned, and that only by means of the
approximation of Eussian influence to the central seat of

Turkish authority.

England, indeed, as a Christian and

Constitutional Power, might be expected to look with favour

on such an act of emancipation, though tainted by a suspicion

RUSSIAN INDEMNITY.

1878.]

of having for its origin

some motives

less

35

pure than those of

simple humanity and religious zeal, the more so as the part

she took in the Stamhoul Conference pointed substantially

The main

to that end.

difficulty lies

with Bulgaria

hut

might not the objection founded on the independence of

that Province be greatly softened down, if not entirely re-

moved, by assigning to Eoumania that portion of

lies

it

which

between the Danube and the Balkans, and giving

remaining and larger parts a system of autonomy

to its

sufficient

Mussulman administra-

to secure

them from the

tion ?

It

can hardly be doubted that Servia and Monte-

negro,

as

well

as

evils of

Roumania, look

to

Russia for their

But

respective shares of profit at the expense of Turkey,

whatever

may be

opinion

entertained by

statesmen in

general of the conduct exhibited by those communities to-

wards the Porte, an expression of blame or a passing

monstrance

is

re-

the veiy utmost that the sense of justice could

reasonably prescribe to the

Ministry or

Parliament of

England.
Granting that Russia, according to the practice of nations
at every period, is entitled to extend her conditions in

some

degree to compensation for the cost and sacrifices of war,

the field which at

all lies

open to her

for that purpose is

by

Money may be put out of count in the

Ottoman finance. Land on a considerable

no means extensive.
present state of

scale could not well be

engagements.

demanded without a breach

by Muscovite troops in Armenia

of indenmity

of Treaty

Territory conquered and actually occupied

still

is

the most obvious element

accessible without discredit to Russia.

by ships of war from the Black Sea to the

Archipelago may be added conditionally, though not perhaps
without the consent, or at least the acquiescence, of Powers
free passage

now

at peace.

The

original right of exclusiveness belong-

ing to the Sultan has been restricted, as every one knows,

V 2

THE BASTEEN QUESTION.

36

[vi

by Treaty, and a new arrangement more favourable to

Russian interests might be made, though hardly without the
It is quite natural for Eussia

concurrence of other States.

to seek a free passage for her ships of

She

phorus.

may

fairly

war by the Bos-

the

entertain

wish

having any sinister or ambitious design in view.

without

The

great

objection to her enjoyment of the privilege is the position of

Constantinople on the shores of the Strait. Nothing short

of extreme weakness could justify the Government which

made
its

a concession so fraught with peril to the very heart of

Empire.

salutary

might nevertheless be used with

One or at most two armed vessels of com-

Palliatives

effect.

manding size might be allowed to pass from time to time,

and the Power whose flag was concerned might be bound to
give notice some days before of their intended passage, and
in such manner that no accumulation of admitted vessels
There would Still be the inconvenience of a
Russian Squadron in the Archipelago or Mediterranean.
This, from the English point of view, would certainly not
should occur.

be desirable

but so long as the British Navy maintains

present superiority,

some

what more should we have

to endure than

additional expense, and the regret of having

over the Ionian Islands to Greece

A word

made

remains to be said on the subject of territorial

acquisitions in Armenia.

may have made such

tiate for

its

It is not impossible that

Russia

progress in that country as to nego-

peace while in actual possession of the whole region

between Erzeroum and Bayazid, including Kars and Batoum,

together with the head waters of the Euphrates.
That she
would thereby acquire the means of assailing our Indian
possessions with success
siderable increase

may

well be doubted, but a con-

of her influence in

Persia and the Black Sea, would in

her.

Whether our

interests

all

Asia

Minor, over

likelihood accrue to

would be thereby compromised

THE DUTY OF RUSSIA.

1878.]

37

to a degree requiring the last appeal for their protection

rests

on no private judgment to decide.

I would only ask

whether the Emperor of Russia could push his demands to

such an extent with any pretence of
reason.

He

is

justice, consistency, or

bound by Treaty, in concert with other

and territorial in-

potentates, to respect " the independence

Ottoman Empire." He was the aggressor;

the Turks are acting on the defensive.
The Russian
disasters had their origin at home
the Turkish sacrifices

tegrity of the

go to the point of exhaustion;

they have placed their

Christian fellow-subjects on the same level with themselves.

Whatever their errors may have been, they have paid the
penalty, and now only afi'ord their conqueror a good occasion of shedding on the triumph of his arms the glorious
light of generous moderation

and honourable consistency.

Steatfoed de Redclifpe.

VII.

THE TEEATY OF SAN STEFANO.

was written in April, 1878, tut not published,
was partly anticipated by the announcement of an approaching
Congress at Berlin. It lays bare the unreasonable and excessive demands
made by Russia in the Treaty of San Stefano, reviews the most objectionable clauses, and indicates a line of policy on which fair terms of peace
might be made.]

[The next

letter in tlie series

because

it

Apkil

Much

Europe

as the affairs of Eastern

29, 1878.

are at present

entangled, one ray of light breaks through, and suggests a

hope, perhaps only a deceitful one, of no very distant solution.

Among

more or

less

those writers

prevail that the time is

real poiuts

Much

who

are supposed to reflect

the general impression, an idea begins to

of

come

difference

for a frank exposure of the

between England and Eussia.

time has certainly been laid out in bandying general

suggestions about Congresses and the comparative vantage-

groimd of ships and battalions, while

more

clear that the real

it becomes every day

aim of each party underhes the out-

ward objects of dispute.

Let us " drag

this struggling

monster into light."

It is

simply which of two characters ought to be ascribed to the

treaty of

San Stefano.

Is the treaty a mere act of pacifica-

tion between two belligerents, or is

ment

it

a preliminary arrange-

subject to the supervision of all the

Powers which

were parties to the treaty of Paris in 1856, and to that of

London in 1871 ?

Between these adverse views of the same

object, the

one

THE EESPONSIBILITY OF

1878.]

39

KUSSIA.

entertained by Eussia, the other by England, there is a

medium, which would have the

effect of

admitting the right

of other Powers to uiterfere, and also the claim of Russia

not only to emancipate the Sclavonian provinces of Euro-

pean Turkey, but to obtain a

liberal

indemnity for the

severe sacrifices of the war.

The

treaty of

San Stefano,

as

it

now

stands, would vir-

tually reduce the Porte to a state of vassalage

nullity.

What remained

be subject to constant insecurity;

have to

lie

under a

and

financial

of the Sultan's dominions would

stifling

its

inhabitants would

weight of taxation, and as to

its

host of creditors, foreign and domestic, theu" lot would be

one of utter despair.

The right of Russia to inflict such a state of prostration

may well be contested. It is certain that the demand of the
Powers when acting together warranted no such consequence.
More certain still is it that the treaties of Paris and London
pledged those who signed them to respect the principles of
Turkish independence and

The

territorial integrity.

Collective Powers, Russia included, took occasion

more complete
reforms which had been pro-

from the outbreak in Herzegovina

execution of those internal

to require

mised by the Ottoman Government, and guarantees suffiThe Sultan adopted a system

cient to secure their reality.

which placed

all classes

of his subjects on an

equal footing in point of

civil rights,

but he declined to give

of reform

the requisite securities.

The Conference

of Constantinople ensued, Russia,

we

all

know, acted with the other Powers, and a signal failure

was the result of their united efforts. Then came a period
of Russian declarations and interchanges of opinion else-

where.
of all was war between Russia and Turkey,
part of other powers, England in partion
the
neutrality

The upshot

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

40

[vil.

and a renewal or continuaace of hostilities by provinces endeavouring to throw off the Turkish yoke.
cular,

Eussia had no separate cause of quarrel with the Porte,

only a greater degree of interest in the disputed question of

reform and

its securities.

In taking a course of her own,

she limited her pretensions in the event of being victorious,

and assumed in a general way the

air of a

champion pre-

pared to combat on behalf of her late partners in Con-

Eight or wrong in point of opinion, the Porte

ference.

engaged in the war on a principle of self-defence, and

cir-

cumstances which strained the resources of Eussia, exhausted those of Turkey.

become an European duty

It has

to inquire

how

act of pacification answers to these antecedents.

no necessity
terms.

for going into a detailed

The broad

far the

There

is

examination of the

features of the case cannot be concealed

from the most careless inspection.

Wherever our just exlittle more

The passage of the Straits, the Danube,

pectations have been satisfied, the consistency is

than negative.

and the Black Sea, are not expressly withdrawn, but

left

open for discussion with others not parties to the war

Constantinople

Emperor
Asia.

much

is

is

silently respected,

and the conquering

content to seek his territorial encroachments in

Bessarabia, so eagerly coveted by those

to the

Eoumanians

who owed

so

in their seige of Plevna, has the

appearance of an after-thought.

But

there is no mistaking

the character and would-be effect of the treaty

when viewed
Muscovite not European, excessive not considerate, ruinous not corrective, surer to gall

in its entire significance.

than to heal, inconsistent with previous bearings, in short,

rather an ambitious spoliation in the guise of peace than a
peaceful rescue from evils pressing, in fact and in prospect,

on national welfare in
preliminaries of

earth's most civilised quarters.

The
San Stefano, to be tolerated at aU, must

THE OBJECTIONS TO A CONGRESS.

1878.]

of necessity undergo

41

a close inspection and a remedial

curtailment.

Why

should not this ratification be effected by amicable

means

in the shape of a Congress or even of direct negotia-

tion ?

Neither England nor Russia can possibly be desirous

of war, especially of such a

hounds were once more

foreground at present,

war as might ensue

only because she

it is

separate considerations which

more or

is in

the

from

is free

the

interest differing

own

only here and there in degree, her

the blood-

less restrain

She represents a common

other Powers.

if

England

If

let loose.

share in some

respects being, perhaps, the greatest.

A.

congress was thought at one time to be the most feasible

instrument of pacification; and there are

still

many who have

At whose door

not yet given up that persuasion.

is

municated the terms of her agreement with Turkey in

that nothing whatever

is

full,

reserved, and that she is ready for

a congress, ia which every

member would be

at liberty to

propose any point of the question for discussion, and

wise to retire,

the

Eussia declares she has com-

hindrance to be justly laid ?

if so disposed.

require that the preliminaries of

England

is

like-

imderstood to

San Stefano should be

laid

before the congress for deliberation as the necessary com-

plement of their
objections to

validity.

Eussia would have the English

her treaty specified beforehand.

seems to think that the treaty

is

so

England

impregnated with

no part of it should be exempt

judgment of the Powers who signed the

objectionable matter that

from the collective

treaties of Paris

and London.

If this statement of mine be correct,

to give the advantage to England.

it

would be hard not

But Eussia may

prefer

holding out in opposition to a single power, which rather

prepares for war than threatens
congress offers

much

it.

On

the other hand a

that naturally tends to peace.

The

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

42

members, apart from their

Acquiescence

side.

politics individually, lean to that

readier amongst numbers, than face

is

to face with a single opponent.

more

[vil.

Suggestive counsels are

from several heads than from one.

likely to proceed

Even when

these favourable chances end in disappointment,

the case

not worse than before, and public opinion will

is

rise with increased

its

endangered

among

the object-

energy to the rescue of

interests.

A brief statement of the most

tionable clauses of the treaty

striking

may be

At the

useful here.

head of them Bulgaria stands out in colossal magnitude, and

the war indemnity

Added

is

of corresponding proportions.

to these is the protracted supervision of Eussia,

"
lies "floating many a rood

which, like Milton's leviathan,

Of Constantinople, the

over a scorching expanse.

and the Danube,

it

may

Straits,

be repeated that they are not

appropriated.

at

Armenia is a volume of itself, and the cession stipulated

San Stefano, including as it does Batoum, Kars, and

Bayazet, can hardly pass without anxious misgiviags.

Eevertiag to Bulgaria
to extend that province

it is

surely unfair and unreasonable

beyond the limits which

it

has held

under the Turkish Government. Autonomous and tributary,

it

might enjoy an existence

less

inimical

to

the

free

Sultan.

from Turkish misrule and

The

arrangement might

perhaps be further improved by detaching the Dobrudscha,

and strengthening therewith the Danubian

state

of

Eou-

mania.
If

Turkey is not

war indemnity requires

That portion of it which is

to be crushed the

a very considerable reduction.

not to be covered by a territorial cession, might be fixed at

a large but reasonable amount, payable by annual instalments spread over a limited number of years and leaving
the option of an earlier payment of the whole.

EUSSIAN MISTAKES.

1878.]

"With respect to Eussian supervision,

43
its

dangerous pres-

sure would be diminished without prejudice to

purposes by making

its

legitimate

application fixed and short, agreeable

its

to the fair requirements of each separate case, whether civil

or military.

The Eussian

authorities recoil natui'ally

any humiliating dictation

attach

concessions

to

grounds, especially

when

enough from

but surely no discredit

amicably on

solicited

can

equitable

resistance could not be ultimately

maintained without exposing the wilful party to hatred from

from more than one

underfoot, enmity

side,

and

irritable

mistrust from aU, operating unfavourably to Eussia on

questions avowedly open, and entertaining in other states a

watchful

look-out

for

occasion

of

retort

and practical

retaUation.

Eussia might almost be said to have foreseen these rocks

ahead in giving a preliminary character to the treaty of San

Stefano.

No such foresight appears to have

men on the subject of Bessarabia.

enlightened her states-

They seem

to have

forgotten that the possession of that district only dates

from the treaty of Bucharest in 1812, and that the eagerness

with which they press their demand exposes them to the
suspicion of having some other motive for that injustice

than the wish to remove every memorial of their Crimean

reverses.

There seems to be no

essential difference of opinion in

Europe as to the expediency of leaving Constantinople in

the Sultan's hands.
forbearance,
to act

upon

it

Whatever may be the cause of that

follows that his

its

Government should be

own judgment in

all

interests or rather the duties of the position.

that be

if

free

that relates to the

But how can

the articles signed at San Stefano are carried into

fuU effect?

Eussia has the appearance of having been

THE EASTEKN QUESTION.

44

[vii.

tempted to step out of her wonted policy of a

bit

by

bit

advance, and, tiger-like, to over-power her prey at a single

bound.
success
is

room

The wisdom

may
for

of this change in a view to ultimate

be unquestionable at St. Petersburgh, but there

doubt among those who, at more or less distance,

can exercise a judgment unbiassed by local predilections.

argument which threads the

If there be truth in the

preceding statement, honour and public approval

attend upon the party

path to

who

Statesmanship and

its application.

diplomacy must be strangely out of order

upon some

creditable

may

well

takes the lead in opening the

if

its

handmaid

they

fail to hit

expedient for reaching a point of

departure directed to ends of such priceless advantage.

What

epithet

must we assign

to the age

we

live in,

should

Reason, Justice, and Humanity unite their voices in vain

for a peaceful settlement

StEATFOED DE EEDCLnTE.

VIII.

MEMOEANDUM ON THE ANGLO-TUEKISH

CONVENTION.
[Hitherto impublislied.]

July, 1878.

The new

treaty between

England and Turkey

as great in importance as the

Whether we look

appearance has excited.

effects,

or to

its

almost

is

surprise wliich its sudden

to its

immediate

eventual consequences, the quickest per-

ception, the largest experience, may find it difficult to form

any conclusive judgment, either of the advantages which it
secures, or the hazards and embarrassments which it may
entail.

It

demands a

close, a serious,

an impartial exami-

nation under each of the principal aspects whereon

falls

colour more or less impressive on any international transThere is the moral point of view how stands the
action.
treaty when measured by the rule of right and wrong ?
:

Next comes the poKtical consideration

have the contract-

ing parties avoided giving offence to other states ?

cability

has also

its

place in the account

objects of the treaty be realized by

its

framers ?

England

means

Practi-

can the proposed

at the disposal of

in particular has, moreover, to weigh

the merits of the treaty in a constitutional, and also in a

financial sense.

Would

it

be prudent, would

it

be

overlook the tendency of engagements imposed

safe, to

upon the

country by ministerial authority alone, and the uncertain

liabilities

to

which our revenue

the same one-sided power

is

exposed by virtue of

THE BASTEEN QUESTION.

46

Such

is

the range of an incident which has well-nigh cast

into shade the

Berhn Congress and

Journals, reviews, and debates

light

[viir.

upon the whole

all its

may

But a

matter.

attendant interests.

in time throw a broad

retii'ed

individual must

be content to pass in review the more obvious pros and cons

Let us take them in the order abeady

of each division.

adopted.

Morality

It

may be thought wrong

form an alliance

to

even to the extremity of war.

England has done as much

the

Power
Mahoniedan Empire

for a Christian

for the defence of a

may

It

before,

be answered that

and that Her Majesty

Empress of India is virtually pledged to defend her

Mussulman and Hindoo subjects. But neither

millions of
of these

replies

and occasional,
is indefinite

perty,
its

can be said to go the whole length of

The new

justification.

alliance is

by no means temporary

which preceded

like others

and as to India, the

it.

Its duration

territory is British pro-

and we are bound by duty as well as right

There

inhabitants.

is still

to protect

the plea of securing a

numeSo

rous population of Christians from Turkish misrule.

pleaded Eussia twenty years ago

and England, in con-

opposed the pretension by force of arms,

by the Treaty of Paris. But it may be

cert with France,

and crushed

it

alleged that England's protection

is

at

once more free from

ambitious motives, and warranted by a clearer treaty-right,

and therefore more

Policy:

likely to prove effectual.

The intended

protectorate can hardly fail to

excite the jealousy of other

interests

Powers having Mediterranean

France in particularand to embitter the enmity

of Russia against England.

Such Powers, nevertheless, as

are
Constantinople and its Straits, may be reconciled by that
motive to the new unassociated alliance. There can no
more be any doubt of England's resolution to maintain at
content to

prolong the Porte's possession of

THE ANGLO-TURKISH CONVENTION.

1878.]

47

any risk her long-established place among the highest of the

world;

and whether we look to India, to intermediate

railways, or to the

Suez Canal, we may find reasons for

satisfaction at least plausible, if not indisputably sound.

With respect

to antecedent principles of iaternational policy,

the Anglo-Turkish Treaty, while

object

of the Paris

departui'e

settlement,

it

strengthens a main

may

be

censured as a

from that union of the principal Powers which

the Berlin Congress so usefully exhibits.

Practicability:

Under

head must he classed the

this

occupation of Cyprus, the protection of Asiatic Turkej',

the defence of British India, and the improvement of the
protected territory not only with respect to land, trade, and

revenue, but also to administrative reforms, and the effective

correction of misrule in principle and practice.

may

It

bo

some degree of confidence, that all these

attainable by means within the range of British

asserted, with

results are

power, in so far as consists with national realities; but

much must,

of course, depend upon the selection of compe-

tent agents, the vigilance and vigour of Government

much
civil,

also

must be

left to

and

professional judgment, whether

The

military, or scientific.

field,

no doubt,

is

ample,

the want of improvement great, and the final objects in

view important and beneficial in no small degree.
It remains for me to add a few words on the points of
finance and constitution.
serious, it

may

The

former, I fear, lies open to

be, embarrassing contingencies,

more easy

to foresee in general than to specify in particular.

The

climate and defective harbours of Cyprus, the obstacles to a

successful communication

by

rail

from Aleppo to Busheer,

the ignorance, pride, and fanaticism of Turkish

are so

many

officials,

causes of either difficulty or loss, and conse-

quently of expense.

But they may be met,

in part at least,

by a more equitable an'angement of receipt and

liability

48

'

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

.than the

treaty,

published,

as hitherto

[vjii.

The

present's.

second point in question has reference only to the move-

ment of Indian troops, and the actual occupation of Cyprus

on the single authority of the cabinet. If there be matter
for. consideration in these respects, it wiU probably find its
place in the debates of Parliament.

On

the whole

it

seems

fair to

conclude from the promises,

taken with reference to the late -extravagant enactments of

San

Stefano, that circumstances have recently

to warrant the adoption of strong

occurred

measures in aid of the

Porte's independence, that motives for taking

them pressed

emphatically on the British Government, that the adoption

of

them without breach

peace

of

is

though not perhaps to entire approval.

title

to

favour,

Eesults belonging

to the future can hardly be excluded from the account, and

if

the balance of pro and con cannot yet be struck with the

requisite" precision,

and

statesmen

may well

reserve their verdict,

for the present either acquiesce with protest, or object

without blame.

Our ministers have evidently incurred a more than common amount of responsibility. The engagements they have
contracted, however opportune for the moment, are fraught
to

all

appearance with onerous obligations, unavoidable

difficulties,

embarrassing hazards, and uncertain successes.

Was there necessity for exposing the nation to such momentous chances ? Could the evil of the hour have been met
with some measure of a less endangering kind ?
The
answers to these essential questions remain to be supplied

by pubHc opinion expressed in

its

constitutional forms.

IX.

REVIEW OF AFFAIRS IN TURKEY

SUBSEQUENT TO THE BERLIN TREATY.
[In Februaiy, 1880, Lord Stratford de Redclifife drew up the following paper,
now published for the first time, iu which he described the condition of

Turkey at that moment, and considered once more the reforms which are
indispensable to the continued existence of the Sultan's rule in Europe.

be observed that many of the views expressed in this and the preceding papers have been strikingly justified by subsequent events. The
suggestion of a commission to consider the whole subject of Turkish
It will

and debt has recently been put forward of course

motives by the Porte itself.]

finance

for interested

Febeuauy, 1880.

Everyone knows
called,

Eastern Question, as

that the

it

is

has been a cause of trouble, more or less serious,

throughout Europe during the

last four or five years.

The

Turkish provinces in Asia, and Egypt to a certain degree,

have been shaken by the storm.

The Congress assembled

was looked to as a port of refuge and a source of

durable tranquillity. This sanguine expectation, it must be
at Berlin

allowed, has not proved an immediate or hopeless disap-

pointment.

The forms

of peace have been renewed

even maintained during a number of months.

seat of disturbance has been quieted.

have been reduced.

their legs.

The

it

its

prostrate have been placed on

Commerce has

tci

concerns the general interest to preserve

in

original

Extreme pretensions

great channel of Eastern

reached at which the Porte must

footing

and

its previous guardians.

England has
sword into the lighter scale of a balance which

been assigned

thrown

The

The

feel that it

and a point

is

cannot retain a

Europe without an honest execution of

its

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

50

promised,

its

[ix.

proclaimed, and in some respects

its half-tried

reforms.

These results of the Berlin Congress are, no doubt,

beneficial, and even satisfactory, when viewed with reference
narrow ground

the

to

of accommodation

left

open by

previous mistakes, and the neglect of favourable oppor-

But

tunities.

it is

pamful to entertain the impression that

transitorj'.
Remedies were needed
an extensive mischief never thoroughly uprooted, but

they are incomplete and

for

rather stretching
surface alone

out

noxious vegetation

But

it

its

fibres

undei-ground while the

was smooth, and throwing up

fatal to the

at times

growth of useful products.

seems that instead of remedies we have nothing but

palliatives, respectable in their waj', j^et affording

no

as-

surance of cure, and already budding into symptoms of

reviving trouble.

The

financial

embarrassments of the Porte

interfere with the enforcement of necessary reforms.

is

additional weakness occasioned

There

by want of confidence

between the Sultan and his ministers.

Great discontent
from the defective payment of wages and salaries.
The Greeks continue to press their demand for a large

arises

territorial cession

The Albanians

by Turkey under pretence of rectification.

are displaying a readiness for revolt iu order

obtain some autonomous form of governmert.

The
Bulgarians seem to be irreconcilable with their Mussulman
neighbours. The occupation of Bosnia and the Herzegoto

vina by Austria

the Porte,

is still

an unsettled grievance in the eyes of

sword, like that of Damocles, hangs over

head in the shape of that indemnity which
bound by treaty to pay to Russia.

the Sultan's

Turkey

is

To any who

appreciate the interests affected

of things in prospect, and

still

by

this state

more, sliould npprehensions

ripen into reality, the perception of a remedial plan must

surely be an object of earnest desire.
He will not be re-

NATUEE OF THE PROBLEM.

ISSO.]

strained

by

difficulties

may have been

he

51

not be ashamed of

will

failure.

many

years

from time to time in Turkey, to have much occasional

inter-

It

his lot, like mine, to pass

course with various classes of

its population, and to learn

by experience the temper of its government, the character
of its policy, and the good or bad qualities of its ministers
and other leading authorities. But there, as elsewhere, and

indeed more than elsewhere, the changes have been great

within fhe last score of
of an earlier time

enlighten

may

There

it.

is

j^ears,

so great that the experience

rather mislead the judgment than

nevertheless a duty which overrules

other considerations, and to that paramount obligation I

all

devote what slender

the

means

question, which,

still

being

retain of helping to solve

unsolved,

threatens

large

portion of the civilized world with unspeakable calamities.

We

are

now

in view of the elements out of which a some-

what hazardous attempt

Notwithstanding

Empire

still

its

to evolve order

extends over a considerable

Its population, as

we

has to be made.

losses in both continents, the Tm-kisli

distinguished by then-

of tenitory.

field

composed of various races,

respective languages and creeds, in

all

know,

is

some parts intermingled, in others distributed

into separate

patches occupying land of more or less extent.

division dualises the whole into

what were

One grand

at one time the

dominant race of conquerors, and the tributary victims of conquest. This harsh line of severance has been gradually softened

by habits of intercourse, and latterly by sovereign concession

There is no aristocracy formor legislative improvement.
ing a class.

Possessors of independent property are few

among the Turks, and those few

Ulemahs, that

is to

are for the

most part

say clerical. Ministers and other persons

in authority are taken from the population at large.

Their

fortunes, with rare exceptions, consist of salary, perquisites,

and pensions.

Education, though of late more

liberal,

E 2

THE EASTBKN QUESTIOX.

52

[ix.

on the Koran and its commentaries, a nest

of prejudice, self-sufficiency, and exclusiveness leaving,
however, room for good manners to a surprising degree.

rests principally

Veils and harems have not ceased to deprive the

operating

Moslem

elsewhere so

community of female influence,

on the character of society. The army is
exclusively Turkish, Christians and others being taxed for

beneficially

exemption from military

The

service.

courts of justice for

criminal and civil cases are ojierative over the raj'ah classes

wherever a Turk

is

concerned.

Domestic slavery

is

stiU

The Sultan has still a despotic

He no longer disposes of human life at will but I

practised in Turkish families.

power.

am

not sm^e that he might not return to the old system,

he were a

man

of great talent

and determined

will.

if

CaUph

commands the consciences as well

Mahometan subjects. They are there-

as well as sovereign, he
as the persons of his
fore brave

and submissive soldiers while serving in the

Eaised from that level

ranks.

thej'

take the general taint

of corruption, and forfeit their claim to implicit confidence.

The crowning evil is the isolated position of the Sultan,

w^hich exposes him to the flattery and corrupt management of
Palace

corn-tiers,

whose

of the Porte and renders

We

secret influence affects the ministers

them alike insecure and mistrustful.

Can order be

have now reached the crucial point.

evolved from such chaotic elements ?

Can that order be

such as to provide for the good government of the Turkish
Ernpire and the welfare of its population?
Can such
reforms be obtained as will
real

and

make

the Porte's independence

satisfactory to other interested powers, particularly

to England,

the subject ?

who has incm-red such heavy responsibihty on

One thing is clear, the inhabitants of Turkey

must be. brought into a united feeling for their country

paramount to those separate habits of thought created by
their various races, creeds, and traditions.

REFORM TO BEGIN WITH THE SULTAN.

18S0.]

The conquering

race

must cease

to

be exclusive

wlio have hitherto been held in submission

53
;

those

must learn

to

The

partake of power with gratitude and moderation.

Sultan must cease to be the Caliph, and must become the

But the reader need not be

Sovereign of his people.

that
It

more than one

seems to

me

lion blocks the

pathway

told

to such results.

that an important stride might be

made

in the right direction if the Sultan and his Council were

persuaded to abandon

and to devote their

sources which are

concern about their recent losses,

all

efforts to the cultivation of those re-

still

so largely at their disposal.

remains to them in Europe

"What

capable of being turned to

is

good account by reasonable and judicious industrj-. Asia

Minor, more or less productive everywhere, is a country
in most parts of remarkable

fertility,

neglected indeed, but

Mahometan occupants. Syria, Palestine, and Arabia are by no means unproductive appendages
Even in the European provinces
to the Imperial sceptre.
not exhausted by

lost to

their
verts

its

Turkey as

new

subject departments, there follows from

position

their

hatred

susceptibility of

sense of independence which

a
of

Ottoman tyranny

into

con-

a jealous

meddling patronage on the part of their

may be recogof
the
mouths
the
Danube to
from
nised as subsisting
deliverers.

tutelary border of this kind

The

the Adriatic coast.

no

secret.

altered feeling of

Eoumania

is

It is reasonable to suppose that the Servians,

in strengthening their independence, have also strengthened

their unwillingness

to

be made the tools of a foreign,

The occupation of Bosnia

though Christian, protector.
and the Herzegovina by Austria has hitherto assumed no
permanent character, but there is no lack of probabihty
in

favour

of

its

indefinite duration

treaty, if the extent

and accession by

were unchangeably limited, would have

the effect of making Austria

sympathetic instead of a

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

54
predatory

neighbour

the

to

Sultan's

[ix.

dominions

in

Europe.
According to the press and town gossips, reform is the
foremost and urgent demand of the Porte's best friends,
and it would seem that in Asia Minor some process
bearing that

name

in actual operation.

is

But reform has

as

many heads as a hydra, and Turkey has need of the whole

The important question is with which to begin,
growth.
and the obvious answer
parsimonia.
tranquillity

Economy.

is

Magmini

Sufficient provision being

by the formation of an

made

est vectigal

for internal

effective Police or corps

Turkey may safely dispense for the present

with numerous armaments and expensive establishments.
Her wisest policy is to acknowledge what every one knows,
namely, her fiscal destitution, and to replace a nominal
extravagance by an open and honest submission to necesof Gendarmerie,

sity.

For

this preliminary reform nothing is required but

the will of supreme authority.

Much might
revival,

also

gained with a view to ultimate

be

by clearing up the

field

of pecuniary obligation.

At present

that sufi'ocating incubus presses fatally on what

remains of

vitality to the

outlet

guardian of the great commercial

from the Black Sea and

liquidate is not the

same as

its

adjacent shores.

To

to pay,, but it has the effect

phantom within the Hmits of a

and pointing to the manner in which the

of bringing an oppressive
distinct outline,

component

difficulties

may

and, at least, distributed

be dealt with, possibly lessened,

for final extinction

and more convenient extent of time.

on a larger

The work might be

confided to a Secret Commission, including two or three

foreigners, acting

under oath.

This part of the reforming plan might be extended

beneficially, and indeed indispensably,
to the leading
branches of national prosperity, Trade, Agriculture, Mines,

1S80.]

CHANGES REQUISITE IX FINAXCIAL SYSTEM.

Forests, and what

is deficient

may

be termed, Harbourage..

55

Turkey

in practical knowledge, capital, and systematic

persistency, and therefore, at least for a time, these elements

of national progress

must be imported from other countries

in proportions due to respect for sovereignty.

Whether reform be applied

to Police, to Judicature, to

Administration, or to any other indispensable department,

a sound and productive system of finance

neath as

its

must

lie

under-

In every case agents

requisite foundation.

must be employed and agents, be they

Mahometan, must be paid,
moderately, no doubt, but regularly paid. Here it is that the
shoe pinches.
Turkey is in a state of bankruptcy. Its

of suitable rank

natives or foreigners. Christian or

inhabitants are already taxed to the utmost.

The pump,

the hydraulic engine, cannot be worked without assistance

from abroad.

As

matters

ance of that kind without

exposed in the end to

now

staiid there

sacrifice,

can be no

assist-

none without confidence

mischance.

The most

cautious

more or less
recommended
unpalatable, though strongly
by some commanding interest or some unavoidable requirement.
Turkey reformed is no longer the imperious, fanatical
Power with which the Cliristian Sovereigns originally made
their treaties.
Trade being then the principal object in
suggestion of relief can hardly

fail

to be

view, the Capitulations, as thej^ are called, were framed for

its

encouragement, and also for the personal protection

of the merchants and their property engaged in

it.

The

Porte was at that time wilKng enough, and magnificently

careless enougli, to be liberal in the matters of commercial

exchange, and the custom-house duties were in consequence

comparatively light.

and indeed to
events.

all

made some years

now recommended by justice,

Alterations were

ago, but a larger opening is

appearance demanded, by the force of

Abuses of the diplomatic

privilege are confidently

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

36

[ix.

stated to have acquired a degree of magnitude seriously

injurious to the Turkish revenue, nor is

improhahle, considering the

all

which have

number

treaties with the Porte

of

the

charge

smaU

at

countries

commercially similar to

those of the greater ones, and therefore liable to abuse by

swarm

the

of

Consuls, and their respective

Ministers,

adherents.

As

all

the Powers, great and small, having treaties with

may be presumed

the Porte,

to stand

upon the same

footing

with respect to commercial stipulations, there would, no

doubt, be

But

difScultj'-

in procuring the

desired agreement.

right to propose and reason to enforce the proposal

might be expected to have weight, especially

insisted,

if

the Sultan

and the Sultan's most committed and most

in-

terested ally were to take the lead by a declared readiness

up advice with example. This surely would be

the most direct road by which the Turkish Government
could regain a portion of that confidence which Em-ope has
been compelled to withdraw, and avoid the ruinous scandal
of raising a loan on the credit of securities already pledged
by formal engagements to its deluded bondholders.
to follow

All other sources of financial relief are not iiTevocably

Abolition of farming the I'evenue, improvement

sealed up.
in the

mode

of collection, and a deteimined repression of

every corrupt practice,

the will of those

who

if

not already adopted, depend on

wield the authority of the State-

Overtopping the level of

them

to be

Eussia.

all

realised, towers the

these reforms, supposing

war indemnity extorted by

justice and

Though countenanced by custom,

generous feeling repudiate the crushing

infliction.

Besides

Turkey only stood on her defence. Eussia had no

separate right of war against Turkey, nor had she any autho-

that,

rity

from the other signatories of the Treaty of Paris to

Moreover, she obtained by her final triumph

act for them.

THE WAE INDEMNITY.

1880.]

57

in the field not only the declared object of her hostility in

Europe', and

more

if

Bessarabia be included, but large

own

accessions of territory for her

There
by which

is

one way, and to

this lien

my

on the Porte's independence,

of Europe's interests, can be in

all

this breach

some moderate degree

Eoumania, Servia, the

counteracted.

Bosnia have

special profit in Asia.

apprehension one way only,

Herzegovina

and

obtained, by the decisions of Berlin, either

emancipation from Turkish misrule, or confirmation with

enlargement of pre-existing privileges.

precious a nature

medium

may not be

convertible into the customary

of subsistence, but they possess an appreciable

measure in theory, and

shape of

Advantages of so

the theory were brought into a

gain to Turkey, and through

it

to the

parts of Europe would be considerable.

The

reality, the

intei'ested

if

decision is not within the province of any private individual,

although
take

it

it

might well become a British Administration

in hand.

The amount

ing a reasonable portion of

provinces, might be

it

made an

to

of contribution, after applyto the use of the respective

object of negotiation with the

procuring a diminuand possibly be employed

tion of the whole in return for an immediate payment of a
capitalists,

part of the mdemnity.

There would still remain the obstacles to good government arising from the social and political condition of the
Ottoman Empire. An assembly formed by elections more
or less popular has been tried with a fair promise of success,

has lapsed into vacancy, and we hear no more of its

recall. It may well be doubted whether any kind of national

but

it

assembly would find an appropriate sphere of action in

Turkey. Something is wanted between a tool of arbitrary

power and an overpowering democracy. A supreme council

objectionat- the seat of government appears to be the least

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

58
able

[ix.

resource, and that form of consultative autliority is

familiar to the inhabitants of Constantinople.

by

free elections

classes,

and

from the

itself

jirovincial councils

open to

all

so constituted as to check without ex-

cluding the Sultan's interference,

with sufficient

Improved

effect for

it

might be found to work

present purposes, and in due season

he capable of expanding into a less restrained exercise of

administrative power.

When I was Ambassador at Constantinople I never

recommended reform as a cure of the existing evils.

My

language on that subject was scrupulously limited to

what appeared to be the reality of the ease. It may be
expressed m the following terms. You are on the road to
ruin, owing in part to your principles of administration, in
part to the abuse of them.

In advising reform I do not

Of this only I feel at all

The adoption of judicious reform will make your
course more useful to j'ourselves, and more satis-

pretend to

offer a perfect

remedy.

confident.

future

factory to your allies.

hour, and to soften

its

It is calculated to retard the evil

by any means exclude the

The
those

when

asperity

it

comes

nor does

it

possibility of final recovery.

questions of Cyprus, Railways, and Syria I leave to

who

possess information derived from personal ac-

quaintance with the

localities.

on the reasons which

afford the

I also refrain

from enlarging

Danubian and Mediterranean

Powers, together with England, such

ample

causes for

opposing the ambitious, never- sleeping policy of Eussia

with respect to the Turkish Empire and its great intermediate channels.

know

It

requires but

that the Bosphorus

may

little

information to

be an instrument of good

or of evil according to the policy and power of its occupant.

In hands of an illiberal character, it might become an
obstacle to the commercial intercourse of several nations.

1880.]

THE ]'0SSES8I0X OF THE BOSPHORUS.

Russia would probably not be slow to make

for naval

it

59

an outlet

armaments capable of increase to any amount, and

fleets and territories of Southern

pregnant with danger to the

Europe.
Public opinion

is

abeady

settled

on these points.

X.

MEMOEANDUM ON THE CLAIMS OF GREECE

TO AN EXTENSION OF TERRITORY.
[Hitherto unpublished. ]

Written in the

WANT

why

to show,

Summer

of 1880.

on the strength of responsible documents,

I think the Christian

Powers wrong in /orcmgr on the

Sultan his assent to their territorial demands on behalf of

Greece.

My present impression is
of claim

that the Greeks hare

no ground

the pretext of their not attacking Turkey

when

threatened or invaded by Russia, has no value, as the

Porte did no wrong to Greece at those periods.

I believe,

moreover, that neither England alone, nor the Christian

Powers united, ever promised more than a consideration of

the Greek pretensions at the proper time,* and

when

the

time came, that they only agreed to advise a rectification of

frontier, t

Turkey by force of arms

demand would be not onlj unjust, but
and contrary to those European interests

Finallj^ that to compel

to accept the present

highlj''

impolitic,

which keep the Porte at Constantinople.

I believe the existing frontier between
* See Blue Book, Turkey, No. 39
and 135.
t Ih., pp. 140 and 197.
X

lb., p. 198.

Turkey and Greece

(1878), Berlin Congress, pp. 134

THE GREEK CLAIMS UNREASONABLE.

1880.]

to be essentially good.

means

affords easy

of

61

It separates the rival parties

and

defence to the Greeks.

was

It

recommended by the three Plenipotentiaries, and accepted

by the London Conference in 1829 30.
That the Greeks should desire a larger extent of territory

is

natural enough, and

it

appears that the Berlin Congress,

including England, has agreed to recommend a rectification

of the frontier.

But what

is

now

required of the Sultan

is

a large cession

of territory, which far from producing a permanent settlement would only encourage the Greeks in their desire for
still

further extension.

Now

the Turks have given no cause of offence to the

Greeks, aiid for the

interests of

strengthened by measures of

relief,

Europe require to be
rather than weakened

by further acts of spoliation.

If the Powers of Christendom went so far as to enforce
assent to their demands by war, they would commit an act
of injustice not only dishonourable, but injurious to their

own

interests.

moderate

line

of

extension,

however unnecessary,

might and probably would be granted by Turkey to the

Greek Government, and such a line could be traced without

effort on the map.
A sacrifice thus limited might be made without very
serious increase of the pressure upon Turkey, and with the
additional advantage of saving the character of Christendom

from the shame of voluntary discredit and impolicy.

The strongest ground of claim advanced by the Greeks
In the

after all falls far short of their present pretensions.

late

war they had prepared

for attacking the Turks,

and were

quieted by England's promise to have their case considered

whenever negotiations for peace should take place.

promise was

This

carried into effect at the Berlin Congress,

and

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

62

[x.

recommend a rectification of the

The Powers are now called upon to

the result was a promise to

Turco-Greek

make

frontier.

a very considerable cession to Greece under the mis-

applied term of rectification, on unsubstantial ground, and

with no satisfactory prospect of a lasting settlement.

PAET

11.

REVIEWS AND AETICLES.

TURKEY AND GREECE.

[Of the following

articles contributed to tlie

Stratford de Eedcliffe,
liistory of

the third
prise a

tlie first

Nineteenth Century by Lord

two contain a review of the

Turkey in connection with European

is

clearly explained

summary

by

its

own

title

politics

political

the jiiirpose of

the fourth and fifth com-

of the history of the revival of Greek independence.]

XI.

TUEKEY.-L
THE EDITOR OF "THE NINETEENTH CENTURY."

[TO

MAY,

Sib,

The

Bumber

article

1877.)

which occupies the

last leaves in this

known to you
acquainted with the manner in

of your Eeview was, of course,

beforehand.

You were

also

came under my notice after being wholly out of

sight and memory little less than fourteen years.
It is

which

it

with pleasure that I accede to your wish of publishing

Whatever

interest

vitality of the
it

it

retains

may

Eastern Question.

as a bird's-eye view

may

it.

be traced to the essential

Your own

description of

best enable the reader to appre-

ciate its character.

Circumstances and personal influences have necessarily

had their

effect

upon the general

special notice in order to explain

question,

and require some

what here and there might

otherwise seem to be contradictions.

Such statements or remarks

as are thus required

may find,

I think, their most appropriate place at the close of each

part of

my

original paper.

Yours

truly,

Stratfoed de E.]
In

this nether

world of ours

the most talked of

is

it

the least

often happens that

known.

We

the sources of wonder well stirred within us.

what

like to

is

have

Life, in

66

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

[part

ii.

Wonder, by exciting
our curiosity, quickens the sense of existence, and nothing
leads more to wonder than the mysterious and unknown.
Was ever country, for instance, more talked of and written
about than Turkey ? Yet in some respects, and those not
the least important, Japan and New Zealand are better
known to us than the Sultan's empire. Geographically, we
have a fair notion of its outline by sea and by land. Historically, we are not without the means of learning by what
succession of events and under what inspiration the Turks

physical point of view, is excitement.

obtaiaed so vast an extent of dominion.

Commerciallj^, we

and

are acquainted with the principal products of Turkey,

the foreign articles which enter most into the consumption

of its inhabitants.
religious tenets

We

possess even a general idea of the

and national usages which give more or

less

a peculiar form and colom' to that complicated texture of

races, creeds, languages,

and costumes, which

is

pictured on

our mind's eye whenever we think of the Levant.

some passing occurrence, some

political

But when

omen, forces our

attention into a closer examination of the actual

s'tate

of

Turkey, of the relations in jvhich the sovereign and his

people, the various classes of society, the government and
foreign powers stand severally towards one another,
it

no easy matter

we

find

to obtain a clear insight into these various

departments of a most extensive and complicated subject.

Have we occasion
of weakness,

to appreciate with correctness the causes

disturbance,

and decay, which operate

so

powerfully on the Ottoman Empire, or the character and

extent of those undeveloped resources on which the advocates of Turkish regeneration

bottom their hopes, we are

sadly at a loss for information calculated to enlighten our

judgment and

to fix our opinion

on

solid

and

practical

grounds.

Our marked

deficiency in these respects can hardly fail to

DIFFICULTY OF DEALING WITH TURKEY.

1877.]

expose us to serious errors.

taken estimate of

moment be

tlie

We

67

are liable to form a mis-

which may

great interests

any

at

compromised by our ignorance, or

to neglect the timely adoption of measures which might
avert, or, at least, indefinitely postpone, a dangerous and
irretrievably

threatening coutingencj'.

The author

of these pages would mislead the public

if

he

pretended to supply the amount of knowledge required to

meet so vast a demand.

He

can only hope to bring more

prominently and distinctly into view such circumstances in

the state of Turkey as are essential to a clear apprehension
of the subject, and to place in their

proper light those

leading considerations which are best calculated to settle

our judgment as to the

affairs of that country.

Should he

succeed in carrymg out the plan thus limited, and render

thereb}' his

own

convictions acceptable to others, he would

find in that result a full compensation for the trouble

and

anxiety which are sure to wait on the performance of such a

His motives

by recent
by the death of Sultan Abdul-Medjid,
and his brother's accession to the Ottoman throne. These
unexpected changes have directed public attention more

task.

for undertaking it are stimulated

events, particularly

than ever towards the seat of power in Turkey, and

no means improbable that a

crisis of vital

it is

by

importance to

Europe may speedily arise out of their

residence of some years in the Levant,

om'selves and to all

consequences.

and personal opportunities of observing much that has occurred there of late, may perhaps entitle him to an impartial
hearing.

The Turks
when we

that,
first

are separated from us

are

impression

is

summoned

to give

by so many barriers

them

a thought, our

one of surprise that we should have any

common with them, or that we should entertain

any wish either to press our advice upon them, or to step

interests in

F 2

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

68
forward, at our

own

cost, in their defence.

[pakt

Why,

it

ii.

may

naturally be asked, should a Christian State concern itself

about the welfare of a people whose rule of action

Why

Koran ?

should those

who

is the

under a free consti-

live

tution desire the maintenance of an empire governed on

"Why should a nation whose Saxon

despotic principles ?

embraces the whole

literature
itself

ally

with a horde of Tartars

were

whose

written idiom

is

of knowledge, ally

such the Turks origin-

^for

almost exclusively con-

and commentaries steeped in bigotry and

fined to tracts
alien

circle

from truth

Yet, obvious and natural as these impressions

may

in

appearance be, we cannot with prudence or safety adopt

them as the grounds of our national policy. Long before
we had any territorial footing in the Mediterranean, that
spirit of trade

and navigation, which belongs so emphatically

to the British Isles,

had led us into commercial intercourse

Those who embarked in the

with the shores of Turkey.

trade with that country required protection for their persons

and properties against the violence of a despotic government, the cupidity of local authorities, and the prejudices of
a fanatical population.

We

same great

are indebted to the

Princess for the Levant and East India companies, which,

in their day, though

now consigned

to the

common

restiag-

place of humanity, rendered service to the State on no

common

scale of

magnitude.

It

was

in connection with the

former, and in support of its establishment, that our

ostensible

engagements with the

additional

treaties

first

Porte were contracted

under the name of "capitulations."
These, and some
securities for justice

Sultan's power

The

is

stUl

in

vigour,

constitute

our legal

and friendly treatment wherever the

practically maintained.

charter of the Levant

Company, though

it

originated

in the year 1581, dates in its improved shape from the reigns

OUR TRADE WITH TURKEY.

1877.]

of

James

I.

existing, date

and Charles

The

II.

69

capitulations, as

now

from the year 1675, but refer in several of

their preliminary clauses to earlier periods, beginning with

the reign of Elizabeth.

The

trade which, thus protected, took root and gradually

spread through the Levant, has,

taken

much

we

larger proportions.

transit trade with Persia,

all

know, of

It

now comprises

and altogether stands

figm-e in our table of imports

late years

the

at a high

and exports, as annually

presented to the two Houses of Parliament. It also includes

our trade in grain and other important articles of produce

with the Danubian Provinces, and in other articles with the

neighbouring districts of Eussia.

The

shipping employed

in conveying such articles of export from that quarter, as

well as the corresponding articles of exchange manufactured

must

in Great Britain,

of necessity thread its

way through

the narrow, well-fortified channels of the Bosphorus and

Dardanelles.

No

inconsiderable portion of our trade with

Hungary, and in general with the States of Austria,

to follow the
fail to

same direction

inclines

and that tendency can hardly

be increased by the new and shorter lines of com-

munication, which, as in the recent instance of Kustendjee,

promise to

facilitate

whether by

rail or

by

our means of commercial intercourse,

canal.

M'CuUoch, in his celebrated work, the Dictionary of

Commerce and Commercial Navigation, remarks tha.t "the
trade between England and Turkey is of much greater
value and importance than is generally supposed, and it appears to be susceptible of an almost indefinite increase."

He

goes on to say that " in 1825

Turkey, including what

is

now

we exported

13,674,000 yards of cotton cloth, and 446,462

twist.

direct to

the kingdom of Greece,

lbs. of cotton

In 1831, we exported to Turkey (exclusive of the

Morea)24,555,000yards of cloth, and 1,735,760

lbs. of twist."

THE BASTBEN QUESTIOy.

70

[part

ii.

" Plain goods " (speaking of Manchester), he adds, " now

form the half of our investments for Turkey, and

possible, seeing the extent to

made use

which

of in all parts of the

it is

im-

articles of this sort are

Empire, to form any

clear

idea of the magnitude of this trade."

Ubicini, in his valuable letters on Turkey, refers to the

eventual concession by the Sultan's government to Em'opean

foreigners of the power to hold land as property in the

Ottoman dominions.
Calculez (says lie, in the pursuit of this idea) I'essor prodigieux que
peuvent prendre, en pen d'annees, I'agricultuie et le commerce de la
Turquie, sortie de son mal precaire, d^gagee des entrayes qui la genent,
nialtresse de ses populations, et fecondde k l'int6rieur par I'industrie et
les capitaux de 1' Europe, dont les amies la d^fendront contre les attaques

du

dehors.

In confirmation of these prospects, even under the

ing system of Turkish law,

presented

we

exist-

learn from the returns

Parliament that in the year 1854 our

officially to

imports from Turkey, Moldavia, Wallachia, Egypt, and

Syria,

amounted in

real declared value to 6,131,110,

from Turkey alone to 2,219,298

namely

in 1858, the former

and

that four years later,

of those two

amounts had

creased to 9,786,299, and the latter to 2,632,716

in-

that,

moreover, taking the account of exports of British and Irish

produce to

all

the countries specified above for the same

years respectively, in real declared value, the amount for

1854 was 4,475,483

for 1858, 7,188,528,

and

for

Turkey

alone 2,758,605 in 1854, 4,256,406 in 1858.

Experience and conjecture, facts and appearances, thus

converge towards the same point, and warrant a steady
belief that the interest

we take

in the welfare of Turkey

not imaginary, but well-grounded,

gressive.

Be

our support to

remembered

substantial,

is

and pro-

same time that in giving

the maintenance of the Ottoman Empire, to the
it

at the

THE POETE'S ENCOURAGEMEKT OF TEADE.

1877.]

improvement of
resources,

its

its

administration,

we promote the

mercial policy

is

and

71

to the expansion of

interest of a State

whose com-

singularly liberal, and from an earlier

M'CuUoch, in
work already quoted, observes that "in almost all that
relates to her commercial regulations Turkey is entitled to
read a lesson to the most civilised European powers."

period in advance of European legislation.

his

Whatever may have been the cause of

it,

this superiority in

so important a respect is highly to the credit of a govern-

ment

so constituted as that of Tm'key.

please, to ignorance or to indifference

steps

instinctively

before

others

Ascribe

it,

if

you

that ignorance, which

into

the

right course,

possesses a claim to our goodwill, and that indifference,

which opened a great empire to useful intercourse with

friendly countries,

had

at least the merit of

pulsive in its character.

how

are

the

Porte to

we

But on

all

not being re-

either of these suppositions

to explain the positive

encouragement given by

commercial adventurers from abroad, and

carried even to the extreme of allowing the ambassador

and

consuls of their nation to exercise judicial authority within

the Turkish dominions ?

At

all

events, in so far as the Porte, however mechanically,

acted on the principles of free trade, the advantage which

her adoption of them conferred on foreign countries operated

to the effect of diminishing that estrangement

which mutual

fanaticism had long engendered between the Christian and

England and France in particular were

improve the opening afforded by these means to

the Mussulman.

not slow to
a

more

cordial

understanding

between their

subjects and the inhabitants of Turkey.

Government appears

to have lost

respective

The

British

no opportunity of

tivating friendly relations with the Sultan.

cul-

Its endeavours

from an early period were directed towards the maintenance

or restoration of a state of peace in the Levant, and those

THE EASTEKN QUESTION.

72

[pakt

ii.

endeavours became more frequent and active in proportion

as the declining strength of

Turkey yielded

of neighbouring powers.

Even

to the pressure

the apparent exceptions

by our policy in 1806, when, in league with the

Eussians, we sent a squadron to the Bosphorus, and in

oifered

1827,

when we joined with

the Czar and the

Bourbon

in

founding the constitutional monarchy of Greece, were not

the results of any unfriendly sentiment.
case,

which was that of a

we had

fearful crisis in

to detach the Porte

subserviency to France.

In the former

European

affairs,

from a dangerous and unwilling

In the

latter

we aimed at bringing

the Porte into an arrangement which promised to have the

a breach in her dominions favourable to

effect of closing

Eussian aggression, and of realising a system of reform

required for the recovery of her independence and internal
prosperity.

Knolles in his history of the Turks, which was praised

so highly by Dr. Johnson, relates that in the year 1621 Sir

Thomas Eowe,

a distinguished diplomatist of that time,

arrived at Constantinople with the character of ambassador

in ordinary from

King James the First. Among the imporThomas was instructed to submit to

tant objects which Sir

Sultan Osman, there figures an

offer of British

mediation

between His Highness and the King of Poland, who were

then at war with each other.
the ambassador

is

In the discharge of this duty

stated to have used the following words

on his sovereign's behalf:

His Majesty hath commanded me to oflfer himself as a mediator of
peace to accommodate the late breach with the kingdom of Poland, . .
which, if your Majesty shall hearken unto the rather for his sake, as
.

your royal ancestor hath done in the like occasion, His Majesty will
accept it as a respect of your love, which will assure and increase the
commerce and friendship of your dominions.

The

Sultan in his reply to the king declares that

whensoever on behalf of the Polacks an ambassador shall arrive at our

DANGEEOUS POSITION OF TURKEY.

1S77.]

73

high court,
and shall desire oiir favour and amity, hy the mediation
of your resident now in our imperial port, all matters shall be pacified
and ended, and with a pen we will blot out all former differences, and the
peace being so established, your instances and desires for them shall
have grateful acceptance with lis.
.

His Highness's

letter concludes

with the warmest expres-

sions of goodwill and friendship on his part towards the

King

of England,

and of a confident expectation

that, " as

in times past," the " ancient, perfect, and acceptable course

of friendship will be always observed and maintained."
It is evident

from a perusal of these passages that the

mediation of England was acceptable to the Porte, that

it

had been used on previous occasions, and that both parties

felt the value of each other's friendship, the one as taking a
lively interest in the

peace and welfare of Turkey, the other

as liking to have an instrument of accommodation on which

reliance could be placed in times of emergency.

The Turkish Empire,

is

in proportion as its

power

exposed on every side to the encroachment of

Even

bours.
differing

Mohammedan

Persia, though a

a rival who can be safely despised.

neigh-

country, yet

from Turkey on points of religious

greatly inferior with respect to extent

declines,

its

belief,

and population,

is

and
not

Since the last retreat

of the Turks from before Vienna, Austria has succeeded in

recovering

much

lost in her

of the territory which she

wars with them

had previously

and although her habitual

policy on that side is far from being aggressive, she would

not be wanting in power to share the spoil should Turkey

ever be

marked by others

not, few doubt that

Egypt

for

dismemberment.

France has an

Justly or

eye, eventually, to Syria

and

nor can anyone be reasonably surprised when Russia

betrays her impatience to possess the golden key of the sick

man's chamber-door.

For other powers, who

either par-

Levant trade, or have a special

share in that of the Black Sea, there would be little satis-

ticipate generally in the

7i

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

[paet

ii.

Danube

faction in the transfer of the whole course of the

and Bosphorus to

to Austria, or in that of the Dardanelles

Russia, whose commercial policy differs so widely from the

For

commercial practice of Turkey.

who have

us,

strong

inducements not to sympathise with such powers, and who,

moreover, are bound, in virtue of our East-Indian posses-

Isthmus of Suez from

sions, to prevent the

and

rival hands, there

falling into other

can be no prospect less attractive

Any

than that of a dissolution of the Turkish Empire.

compensation which we might find
to

seek for ourselves

on

the

equipoise would probably cost

it

necessary in such case

ground
tis

dear,

of

international

and prove,

at the

best, inadequate.

Considerations of this kind must surely have weighed with

who

those

from

successively administered the affairs of

after the

early

Revolution of 1688.

example of the policy thus

England

I have already cited an

recommended

to

the

British Government by circumstances traceable to natural

causes, or, at least, to causes independent of our control.

Another, on a larger

scale, is to

be found in the later annals

of Europe.

During many years, scarce less than twenty, the Turks

had been engaged with Austria, or father the Emperor of

Germany, in hostilities, generally disastrous to themselves,

when England in the reign of William and Mary, seconded
by the States- General of Holland, mediated a peace between
them. The treaty, which was not definitively signed till
January,

between

1699, was accompanied with

Poland,

Russia, Vienna,

separate

respectively,

treaties

and

the

Porte.

Again, in 1712,

it

appears from a

letter,

addressed by

Sultan Achmet the Third to Charles the Twelfth of Sweden,

and cited in the fifth volume of Russell's Modern Europe,
that England, together with the States-General, had offered

TH.W OLD POLICY OP ENGLAND.

1877.]

their media;tion to effect a lasting peace

and Russia, which

ratification

is

75

between the Porte

described as having received a full

from the two contracting

parties.

England

aiid

her colleague in the mediation are styled in this letter the

" ancient allies " of the Porte.

In 1739 the war, which had commenced between Russia

and the Porte three years before, and somewhat

later

between

the Porte and Austria, was brought to a conclusion, not by

the mediation of England, but with the assistance of France.

The terms

of peace were advantageous to the Sultan, whose

arms had previously obtained more than one important

success in battle over the Austrians.

from these circumstances that

if

It

may

be infen-ed

the British Government

abstained from taking part in the negotiations for peace,

they were actuated less by indifference to the interests of

Turkey than by a well-gi-ounded

reliance on the strengtli of

the Sultan's position.

The war which broke out in 1787 between the Turks and the
Russians afforded the British Government an opportunity of
displaying a very remarkable consideration for the interests of

They mediated between

the former.

the belligerents, and

even went so far as to arm in support of their proposition

that the Porte should not be compelled to cede the fortress
of Oczakoff to Russia.

1791-2 there

on

this subject

In the Parliamentary debates of

evidence of no small difference of opinion

is
;

but the views of the Ministers were sup-

ported by decisive majorities, and

much

to be attributed to party spirit, then

of the difference is

running high.

In tracing the policy of England towards the Ottoman

Empire from

early times

we now reach

a period

when

the

great questions brought into play by the Revolution of 1789

gave their

own

when everything

peculiar character to passing events, and

in public

life

took colour from the passions

engaged on the one side or the other.

Our expedition

to

'

THE EASTEKX QUESTION.

Egypt

[paet

at the close of the last century originated,

ir.

no doubt,

But would not our

Turkey and the interest we felt in preof Egypt to another power have alone

our state of war with France.

in

friendly concern for

venting the transfer

induced us to oppose the progress of Buonaparte's arms

The Turks,

at least, evinced

and the co-operation of their forces with ours appears

have been cordial and

no jealousy of our successes,

effective.

few years

to

later, indeed,

the increased necessity of making head against a power

which set no bounds to its ambition and hatred of British

independence, engaged us for Russian objects in a quarrel
with our old

Yet history shows that no sooner had

allies.

Eussia been forced by the French

Emperor

to

abandon her

connection with us than we hastened to open a separate

negotiation for peace with them, and that,

much

as they

stood in fear of France, they finally received our plenipotentiary,

Nor can

and concluded a treaty with him.

forgotten that, while

we were

it

stUl in a formal state of

be

war

with Eussia, the Porte requested our mediation for the

settlement of her

by

own

differences with the Czar,

and

that,

aid of confidential communications between the British

Embassy

at Constantinople

and the Eussian commanders

in Wallachia, the treaty of Bucharest was

concluded in

May, 1812.

The

events which accompanied the Hellenic war of inde-

pendence, though often in appearance and

effect hostile to

Turkey, were certainly not so in spirit on the part of

England. The war in its origin was kindled by internal
fermentation, fanned,

it

may

well be supposed, by Eussian

sympathy and something more. Our intervention, though

friendly to the Greeks, was yet more friendly to the Turks,
inasmuch as

it

was directed

to a pacification calculated to

limit sacrifices

on their part, which could not be entirely

The

Porte, notwithstanding the massacres com-

avoided.

ENGLISH OBLIGATIONS TO TURKEY.

1877.]

77

mitted under her authority at Constantinople and Scio,

might have settled the

ditions

aiFairs

of Greece by accepting con-

grounded on the concession of an independent ad-

ministration for the Morea, with Turkish garrisons in its

strong places.
sentation

and

Sultan

Mahmoud,

self-confidence,

deceived by misrepre-

determined otherwise, and

the results were not only the establishment of a

Greek

monarchy, but, to our great regret, the battle of Navarino

and the Treaty of Adrianople.

It

was not long before we displayed the true character of

our policy in the Levant.

we bombarded

At the

risk of a

war with France

Jean d'Acre, and helped to drive the

St.

Mehemet Ali out of Syria, and later, at the price

much blood and treasure, we declared war against Eussia

forces of

of

for the protection of the Porte,

and undertook in concert

with France those vast expeditions which terminated so

brilliantly for us

The

fall

and our

allies.

of Sebastopol, which most of us are old enough

to have witnessed,

had the

effect of

placing us in a

new

Ottoman Empire. For the first time

history the Porte has taken part, by means of a solemn

position towards the

in

treaty, in that international

system which has long prevailed

of Christendom, and we have pledged

by an express and formal guarantee to maintain
the independence and integrity of the Sultan's recognised
dominions. We are no longer exposed, as heretofore, to

among the Powers

ourselves

the mere hazard of having, in virtue of a traditional policy,

but also at our

own convenience and

discretion, to step

forward in support of Turkish interests when threatened

with some impending danger.

by a
to

distinct,

We

are henceforward

bound

imperative obligation, as in the case of Portugal,

redeem the pledge we have given in concert with our

allies.

Should any aggression be made on the territories or national

independence of Turkey, we could not in honour reject the

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

78

appeal whicli would doubtless be

even

were to involve us in

if it

power or an aggressive
a contingency

is

It

at any time happen again.

good

faith,

with an aggressive

may be

said that such

The answer is
more than once may

or improbable.

"What has happened already

obvious.

to our

hostilities

coalition.

remote

made

[paet n.

What

in earlier times required

a long period and an unusual concurrence of circumstances

to bring

it

about,

may

in,

these days of frequent innovation,

of rapid movement, and of almost morbid impatience, be at

our very doors before we are more than vaguely warned of

its

approach.

Is this a fanciful representation ?

Let us

by the experience of facts. Who, in the first week of

February 1848, "foresaw that the political movement in

test it

France announced more than the overthrow of a ministry

and some extension of the popular franchise, that before

the close of the month not only a sovereign but a dynasty
would be expelled from the throne and realm of France,
and that a republic would as suddenlj' be established on the
ruins of the exploded monarchy? Who could have imagined
that, in little more than eight weeks from the period of those
events, Berlin would be in the hands of its populace, Vienna
at the mercy of its students and volunteers, Metternich an
exile,

and the Pope a

fugitive ?

Who among those who went

bed in authority on the night which preceded the famous

coup cVitat at Paris, suspected that by daylight next morning

to

he would be a prisoner or a convict, holding his life at the

will of a successful conspirator who but twodays before had
sworn Melityto the commonwealth over which he presided?
Let us not forget that a few words^dressed by the French

Emperor

to the Austrian

ambassador at his

Year's day in 1859, gave to Europe the

war which in

less

first

coui't,

on

New

intimation of a

than six months made the dream of Italian

resurrection a reality, and that the colossal struggle

frantically raging in

now

America from one end of the Union to

THE UXCERTAINTY OF TREATIES.

1877.]

79

the other was unperceived by European forethought

less.

than a year ago, and was then, even to American vigilance,

no bigger than the prophet's embryo cloud on a remote

Did not the massacres in Syria come upon us by

surprise ? Did we not feel the necessity of hastening to
Were we not placed in the
assist in their suppression ?

horizon.

alternative of either sending out

an exi)edition ourselves, or

relying on the arms and good faith of a rival

we any

power?

Have

substantial security against the recurrence of similar

horrors, of a similar necessity, and of a similar hazai'd ?

But those who respect the

faith of treaties,

ledge the claims of international law,

others for acting
quently,

may

upon the same

may

Such, conse-

principles.

upon

find in the terms agreed

sufficient barrier against

and acknow-

give full credit to

at

Paris a

any danger to which the Ottoman

Empire might otherwise be liable from inherent weakness

or habitual misgovemment. For my own part, I should be
glad to share this confidence, and to find
the consistent practice of nations.

borne out by

it

however, that

fear,

experience, which cannot be discarded from political calcu-

with safety, points but too often in a contrary

direction.
A temporary pressure or change of political

lations

relations will never be wanting to excuse a loose attention to

formal engagements.

Duty has the pliancy

interest operates with the

When

of a sentiment;

force of a mechanical power.

the wind is too strong for plain sailing,

we take

in

our canvas, and drive before the gale sometimes even under
bare poles. The Congress of Vienna has something to
teach us in this respect.

Never were the interests of

Europe more generally and deeply concerned than at that
period.
Never did plenipotentiaries meet under circumstances of greater solemnity.

Never was there a louder call

honest dealing, and durable settlements.

Lo

has not elapsed since the completion of

its

for

half a century
labours,

and

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

80

[paet

if.

where are now the results of them ? Can anj'one deny that
thej^ have.hecome little more than a record and a name ?

Have they prevented the

Have they protected
territorial aggrandisement of France?
Have they not heen openly
the rights of Switzerland?
Have they held good

ha Italy ?

violated or tacitly disregarded in favour of the very parties

whom

When

they were expressly intended to restrain ?

Emperor Nicholas suggested

the

the

dismemberment of Turkey,

was he not bound to that treaty which in 1841 declared the

maintenance of the Turkish Empire in its integrity to be a
point of solemn agreement amongst the parties who signed
it

During the negotiation of the

1856 and since

its

last treaty of Paris in

conclusion, have not appearances in

some

measm'e warranted the prevailing impression that France

and Eussia were prepared to act in concert, though cautiously,
for bringing

distant

on a solution of the Eastern Question ?

and very

different theatre,

On

have more than seventy

years of brotherhood in the same constitutional system

prevented the two great divisions of Washington's Union

from tearing their mutual

ties

other, respectively, as tyrants

asunder, and treating each

and

rebels, the

former en-

forcing and the latter dissolving those mutual obligations

with equal injustice and questionable faith

is

too

may

much

In

fine,

there

reason to apprehend that the treaty guaranty

prove a snare to the Turks as well as to ourselves,

without furnishing any reliable security against the dangers

to

which their dilapidated empire

quarters.

is

exposed from other

They, while relying on the guaranty, are tempted

to neglect their internal resources,

and we, in the

sincerity

of our purpose, are disinclined to counteract their negligence

by adequate

exertions.

very important interest, already alluded

aid of the motives suggested

treaty.

We

to, comes in
by our obligations under the

are dependent on the Porte for our

most

direct

EGYPT AND THE CANAL.

1877.]

and speediest communication with India.

Her Majesty's

in that

territories

identified with the

Government

at

81

In proportion as

country become more

home,

it is

desirable that

means of intercourse between both should

be, as much as possible, rapid and sure.
Whether the
telegraphic wires, and eventually the conveyance by steam,
the established

be carried over the Isthmus of Suez or along the valley of

the Euphrates, both lines

Turkish protection, and

must necessarily stand

it is

in need of

evident that whatever tends to

weaken or endanger that protection must be injurious to our

no common degree.

interests in

Let us imagine Egypt in the possession of a power whose

population, active, warlike, intelligent,

and ambitious,

is

ever prone to entertain a jealous, and not imfrequently a

hostile, feeling

of

Egypt

towards England.

are so

engineers

weU

fortified

The Mediterranean shores

thanks to the

of French

skill

whether the Viceroy were to

^that

raise

the

standard of independence, or to be overpowered by foreign

stratagem,

we should have

less, of forcing his

Syria,

Httle chance,

and the Porte

still

hands, except, perhaps, from the side of

and not even there

if

the famous canal, with

tended system of defences and

water, were completed.

its

its in-

magnificent breadth of

In the time of the

late

mutiny we

should have acted with far more immediate effect

if

a con-

tinuous line of electric wires had been at our disposal, and

how much

greater would have been our difficulties

had the

passage by Suez been closed to our despatches and our

officers

^had Sir Colin Campbell, for instance,

pelled to reach the scene of his future triumphs

round the Cape

The

case here supposed

bable, the very supposition of it

may

may

be unjust

such momentous interests are at stake,

it is

been comby a voyage

be improbut where

om- business to

look out, and our duty to guard against the worst that

happen.

may

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

82

[pAET

ii.

Th|seeyentiialities, remember, are to be taken in con-

nection with tlie_magnitude ^f^their consequence s, should

We

they at any time occur.

must take them

also ia con-

nection with the requirements of our trade in those inland

which bathe the extensive coasts of European and

Asiatic Turkey, with the vast political interests which may
seas

the

constitute us

be said to

natural supporters of the

Ottoman Empire, and with the treaty obligations which, if

they be let to come practically into force, can hardly fail to

many perilous embarrassments and

Our minds are thus involuntarily brought

involve us in

costly

sacrifices.

to an

inquiry, bristling indeed with obstacles, but also overflowing

with interest and instruction.

"VVh at is the real condition

of that empire in whose destiny

we cannot but

country

deeply concerned?

is

opinion of

its

feel that

our

IJflJL,fe.is *^6 prevailing

decay and approaching downfall borne o ut by

What are the nature and extent of its remaining

facts ?
resources ? By what means can they be so drawn out as to
avert or postpone indefinitely its utter ruin and dismember-

ment

but they

These questions, in
lie

truth, are not of easy solution

and must be examined,

in our path,

moved, before we can hope to arrive

at

if

not re-

any distinct and

satisfactory conclusion.

We

owe

to Macchiavelli,

who

is generally

considered to

be a strong-minded and unprincipled writer, the remark,

which no doubt possesses much truth, that a conqueror has

no middle course between the two extremes of mixing his

own people with the vanquished i-ace or exterminating the

The Turkish camp, with a Sultan on horseback for

latter.
its

leader, acted neither

these two
all,

principles.

on the one nor on the other

Jew, Christian, Hindoo,

of

idolater,

on submission and payment of tribute to the conquerleft in the enjoyment of their property,

ing Mussulman, were

in the exercise of their respective forms of worship, and, to

CHEISTIAN SUBJECTS OF THE PORTE.

1877.]

83

a certain degree, under the local authority of magistrates

helonging to their

maxim

own

and

race

is vividly illustrated

this un-

now

reaping

decided policy, and the Sultan's government

in prggressivgjtga^ess what

plenitude of self-relying

Macchiavelli's

creed.

by the consequences of
it

is

originBlly_sowed in the

power.

Its

Christian suhjects,

those of the Greek Church in particular, live and, in despite

of

much

past oppression and continued humiliation, thrive,

apart from their

Mussulman

fellow-subjects, as objects of

mistrust, rather than as sources of strength, to the empire

at large.

The modern changes

in their favour, though

mitigating in practice the disadvantages, have not essentially

altered the

Their

character of their political position.

numbers, wealth, and knowledge are generally on the,.^crease, while the professors

oflsjawism decline

for the

most

part in those respects under the influence of circumstances

pecuharJO-Ulgi^social condition.

The Sultan
all

exercises a

supreme sovereign authority over

classes of the population in his empire.

He

is at

the

same time a Cahph, hereditary successor of the Prophet,

and, in our language.

Commander

of the Faithful.

The

laws by which he governs, and distributes justice through

his ministers, are fundamentally those of the
its

Koran and

supplementary traditions, constituting in the estimation

of Mussulmans, as

immutable and

we

all

know, the revealed

all-sufficient.

will of

God>

This rule of administration

derives an obstructive character fi'om its

want of capa city

for conforming to the variable wants of society and the exIt operates moreover as an
panding views of mankind.

evef^owing source "of discontent among those portions of

the population who have no convictions to reconcile them
to an arbiter of life, property, and honour, by no means
sound reason or common expeand gradually more and more discredited by the

invariably consistent with

rience,

G 2

THE EASTERN

84

[paet

QTJBSTION.

evasions and corruptions which stain while they facilitate

~--~.
administration.

it

its

'

The

original mission of

its pale, either

Islamism to force aU nations

as conformists or as tributary subjects, had

naturally the effect of placing

hostility, at least virtually,

It

sanctified aggression,

rights of

all,

its

professors in a state of

with aU independent neighbours.

otherwise justified, on the

not

and made resistance, even of the preventive

kind, a duty and a necessity on their part.

impulsive as

it

carried in its
tually

made

spirit of

The

process,

was, and long most wonderfully successful

bosom

a principle of exhaustion, which even-

further progress impossible, and reduced the

conquest to a stagnation more fatal to

than productive of a sounder

ment

into

vitality.

its

The same

energy

develop-

of power which enabled the border states to say to

the Turkish Empire, " Hither, and no further," rendered

more apparent and

less tolerable the vices of its iaternal

system of government.

The

Christians within and the

Christians without found in their mutual sympathies a fresh

ahment of hope

for the former

and of ambition

for the

latter.

\y

It

may

readily occur to anyone

who compares

the East

with the West in point of public administration, that, as

a general, though varying,

distinction between them,

Eastern communities the people are held to exist

in

for the

government, and in Western the government for the people.

In

this respect the Porte does not belie its oriental origia.

Simplicity of form, constitutional indolence,

when

there

is

no immediate stimulus, serve, however, to qualify the action

of its authority, and, since the introduction of certain re-

forms, the Sultan's government is less insensible than of

yore to the claims and welfare of the people.

But enough

remains of the old leaven to excuse our anxiety as to what

principles

and measures are

likely to

give a permanent

1877,]

INFLUENCE OF THE HAEBM.

85

Khan.

Appearances

character to the reign of Abdul- Aziz

thus far announce a desire of improvement on his part, but

whether in a Turkish sense,

or, according to the notions

of Europe, reactionary or progressive, is by no

means so

clear.

Education as used among the Turks, the practice of

domestic slavery, and, above

many

are so

all,

the influence of the harem,

further obstacles to the

culties

must be taken

and

social

Each

regeneration of the Turkish Empire.

political

of these

into account, as affecting,

diffi-

more or

less,

the whole population of Turkey, as well the families

who

live

those

by their

who

skill,

their trade,

or their labour,

as

either belong to the several professions, or enjoy

the advantages of wealth and station alike in town and in

country.

Children of both sexes are brought up together in the

harem

to

an age which immediately precedes puberty.

boys are then submitted to a separate treatment.

parents in easy, and
tutor at

home

all

in opulent, circumstances have a

for their sons.

struction as can be

The
Most

Others resort to such

in-

obtained at the established schools,

where, with scarcely an exception, the teaching

is

confined

and the simplest elements of knowWhat

no language but Turldsh or Arabic.

to religious doctrine
ledge, with

known without, but the girls,

at best, are sure not to learn more than the boys, unless it
be needlework and household duties. To ride, to throw
passes in the harem

is little

the djerid, and to shoot at a target, are manly exercises

reserved, or nearly so, for youths of condition and thenprincipal attendants.

Of
cially

slavery

little

need be

said.

The moral

on young people, of having

for

effect,

espe-

servants or com-

panions unhappy creatures possessing no will of their own,

and regarded in law as hardly better than cattle, may be

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

86

though the records of antiquity prove

easily conceived,

notwithstanding

[part

its evil

minds with much

tendency,

may coexist

it

ii.

that,

in the same

and a high sense of

intellectual vigour

puhlic duty.

The harem

operates far

rests of society.

more perniciously on the

It confines to the

narrow

inte-

circle of each

family those holy influences of the wife, the mother, and

the daughter, which in Christian countries purify and

diate the

whole sphe;'e of social

in so far as

It taints, moreover,

infirmities will allow.

those influences within

life,

its

own

irra-

human

and degrades

contracted limits

it

enter-

tains an atmosphere in which the low ungenerous passions

grow into luxuriance, and

tends even to counteract by

it

their indulgence the purposes of a beneficent Creator.

Mohammedan Turkey
which circulates with

is

its

thus infected with a poison

blood, and goes far to explain

those signs of a declining population which, except in the

capital

and

at

some few favoured points,

wonder of travellers

tion and excite the

More than

attract the atten-

in that country.

century has passed away since tokens of

depopulation were noticed there. I recollect to have read as

much

in

some work of Montesquieu, though I can neither

its place.
My own obser-

quote the passage nor remember

vation embraces half that period.

houses

tumbling

into

ruin,

Fifty years ago, as now,

or

spaces

cumbered with

fragments of buildings, were visible in town and

village.

Graveyards with Turkish tombstones were seen by the

roadside, or in open fields apart and far

away from inhabited

Both
in
Europe and in Asia large tracts of desolaplaces.
tion, marked here and there by traces of the plough nearly
obliterated, gave evidence of a declining empire.

increase of buildings and inhabitants

Constantinople, or at Smyrna,

may

be observed at

we cannot venture

as any proof to the contrary, since

it

Whatever

is well

to take

known

it

that

DECLINE OF POPULATION AI^B REVENUE.

1877.]

whenever the means of

provinces

falls

off

87

living, or of living securely, in the

without a prospect of revival, the rural

or provincial population flows in

upon the

capital,

duces there a fallacious appearance of prosperity.

of a freehold estate, comprising

some

and pro-

Think

forty thousand acres

in surface, with a large proportion of

arable,

it

and much

timber, conveniently situated near a port and market town

within eighty

mUes

of Constantinople by water, selling not

long since for fifteen hundred pounds, after being possessed

during several years by English proprietors, and improved

through the management of an English

The decrease
army as well as

bailiff.

of population affects the revenue and the

the agriculture of the Empire.

The taxes
on land and produce are generally assessed for periods of

not less than four or

five years.

separate district of assessment are

whole

amount, and

The proprietors in every

made responsible for the

consequently,

number, a greater burden

they diminish

as

in

thrown upon each, together

is

with less capability of meeting the demand and farming with

profit.

In regard to the army, which

scription

is

recruited by con-

from among the Mohammedans, a

failure in the

number has been felt for several years.

This
deficiency makes it difficult for the government to spare

required

those youths who, in

many

cases, are

Owing

ture or the support of a family.

two-thirds of the

wanted for agricul-

Ottoman army

to the

exist only

same cause,

on paper, and

there follows not merely a greater disposition to disorder

in the provinces, but also a

more exhausting pressure on

the service, and less preparation for defence against external

enemies.

Many

parts

of

habited by wild tribes warlike

in their

habits,

Turkey are highlands

in

in-

character, independent

and brought very imperfectly,

if

at

all,

under subjection to the Porte. Such, for instance, are the

Koords, the Albanians, the Bosnians, the mountaineers of

88

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

command

armies sent or led

II.

Such were those who,

Taurus, Lebanon, and Montenegro.

under the

[part

of Scanderbeg, so long resisted whole

against

them by renowned viziers, or

Such were the progenitors

the Sultan himself in person.

of Druse and Maronite, opposed in quenchless hatred to

each other, but capable of forming an impenetrable barrier

against the Turks.

The Sultan's

to act as a police with

respect

troops,

who may be

said

them, would have no

to

lack of employment, were the military conscription carried

out to

its

The

intended extent.

various

defects

and sources of

thus rather enumerated than

proportions, are the

incalculable

drawn out

more ruinous in a country where

low standard of knowledge, a rude system of

loose

method

evil,

into their full

of collecting

finance, a

the revenue, and the want of

internal communications, go far of themselves to neutralise

the advantages of a

splendid climate, a productive

and an unrivalled position as well

The
tion

for

power as

soil,

for trade.

practice of forcing a debased coinage into circula-

has been long a

source of disorder and discredit,

with consequent weakness, in Turkey.

bonds or assignats on the

ment has of

any immediate

Her

Europe.

made
relief

issuing

The exposure

late increased the mischief.

of the Mires loan has

to seek

That of

of an arbitrary govern-

faith

impossible for the Porte

it

in

the

money-markets of

ministers have therefore resorted to a fresh

and very extensive issue of paper money, under the name

of kaimes, not, as heretofore, confined to the capital, but
constituting a legal tender

Necessity

may

in

aU parts

excuse the measure, but

of the Empire.

its effect, especially

if

the kaim'es are used for paying up the arrears of the army,

is

not the less to be apprehended.

Another

evil in

the department of finance

is

the habit of

farming the principal branches of the revenue.

It

has

THE NEED OF EAILWAYS.

1877.]

nothing to recommend

it

89

but the ministerial convenience of

having more positive and earlier data for the estimates of

Farming embraces sub-farming, and this part of

the system, weighs with peculiar severity on the tax-payer,

the year.

without augmenting the receipts of the treasury.

Every

employed by the lowest grade of farmers in order

artifice is

to realise a profit

on their purchase-money, and the exactions

they resort to for that purpose must be supported by

authority as a necessary condition of the system.

No country has more need of railways than Turkey.

Nowhere can they be introduced with less sacrifice. When
they were

first

adopted in England, the countless millions

spent on turnpike roads,

at least superseded

if

not entirely confiscated, were

by the new invention.

In the Sultan's

dominions, with scarcely an exception, there are no roads.

The

inland commxmications are mere tracks, wide enough

some

in

parts,

for carts

and camels.
laid
it

and in

weather levelled enough by use,

fine

and small wagons, but generally more

for horses

down, for the passage, perhaps, of troops and

belongs to earlier times, and

assists

communication by

construction.

There are

Siwas, for instance

for

fit

Wherever, by exception, a causeway has been

its

now

broken pavement and clumsy

districts in

where

artillery,

rather interrupts than

Asia Minor

that of

grain is so abundant as to seU

an old song, while on the Black Sea coast, not a hundred

miles
price.

off,

the rival produce of Russia

For

commands

a high

this impoUtic advantage the Russians are in-

debted to the want of a carriageable road between Siwas

and the port of shipment.

charged to the Koran.

No

objection to railways can be

Contracts for several have been

made by the Porte with companies or enterprising indiWith the exception, however, of thirty miles at
viduals.
Kustendjee, and about the same at Smyrna, none have yet
been carried into

effect.

THE EASTERN QUESTION

90

Local wants,

have

if

[pakt

not supplied from the seat of government,

No

chance of being supplied at aU.

little

ditary properties,

ii

no constituted

aristocracy,

great here-

no powerful

municipalities exercise that influence which elsewhere gives

Some years ago it was

made between Broussa, the

weight to provincial applications.

decided that a road should be
capital

what was ancient

Bithynia, and the Sea of

whole
distance
The
was not greater than twenty

of

Marmora.
or, it might

The

be, twenty-five miles.

necessary orders

were given, the necessary funds were appropriated.

The

Pasha of Broussa was empowered to carry the plans

iato

effect,

and the neighbouring population was required

devote

its

labour to the work for

To

or nothing.

little

hour a good half of the road remains

to be

made.

to

this

The

works, for no apparent reason, came to a standstill, even

before the great earthquake had furnished an excuse for
their suspension.

If such and so

many

are the causes of decline within the

Turkish Empire, they are not disproportioned to those

dangers which threaten
are by no

its

existence from without.

means confined to the ambition

These

of powerful princes

or to the working of adverse opinions in Christendom.

They

spring in great part from causes more strictly natural, from

the physical position occupied by Turkey, and the circumstances which attended its political growth.

Consider the

length of frontier which separates the Sultan's dominions

from those of Austria, Russia, and Persia

of Greece, Egypt, and Barbary.

The

to

say nothing

waters of the Euxine

alone break the continuity of a line extending from the

Adriatic to the Persian Gulf.

much

A policy

of conquest, not so

resigned by choice as dropped through necessity,

operates even

now

so far as to keep

fragile feet,

and therefore

up a jealous

attention

The Colossus stands on

makes them the principal object

at the Porte to frontier interests.

THE PLANS AND HOPES OF EUSSU.

1877.]

of

Head and

care.

its

heart

may

shift for

brought into sensitive

contact

with

themselves,

The Porte

provided the extremities be respected.

its

91'

is

thus

neighbours at a

thousand points. Subjects of discussion, motives for quarrel,

are seldom wanting; intrigues
for the sick

man's ruin

and sympathy work together

the very distances from one point

and of aU those points from the

weaken the supreme authority and to harass

to another of a vast outline,

capital, serve to

principal instrument, the army.

its

Eussia cannot be at ease while the key of so large a

portion of her empire remains in the Sultan's possession.
If

it

be the wiU of Em'ope that the Bosphorus and Dar-

danelles should undergo no change of hands,

we can hardly

wonder that Eussian policy should seek

command

to

the

means of keeping the Porte in awe. That policy finds a

natural auxiliary in the religious sympathy of the Greeks ;
finds another in the political or religious discontents of

it

Moldavia, Wallachia, Servia, and Bulgaria

yet another in

the questionable independence maintained by the highlanders

of Montenegro and even of Bosnia.

made Sebastopol,

It

port and arsenal, what they were before the Crimean

its

war, and

'it

may be numbered among

prevail with Eussia to keep

once so onerous and so imposing.

intrigue,

by

affiliation

the motives which

up a military establishment
It works, moreover,

at

by

with the Armenians, by issuing pro-

form of passports to Christian subjects of the

by tampering with frontier tribes, and moving the

tections in the

Porte,

springs of corruption wherever they can be played with

advantage.

From

other motives and in other ways the French, though

not immediately bordering on Turkey, but too often act so

as to warrant a certain degree of mistrust

on

its part.

and apprehension

Their conduct on various occasions in Egypt,

Syria, Greece,

Tixnis,

Algiers,

and Montenegro, to say

THE EASTEBN QUESTION.

92

[pabt

il.

nothing of Moldavia and Wallachia, could hardly inspire

the Sultan's government with perfect confidence in their
views.

They seem,

in general, to entertain a low opinion

of the Porte's capacity for improvement, and are therefore

naturally inclined to shape their policy according to that

own interests
by a system of measures firmly

impression, preparing rather to secure their

in case of a break-up than

and strenuously carried out to

prevent

discouragement

it

a place in the

Empire is exposed.
Of other Powers, and the

list

The

and

offers

degree.

we

can-

relations in

which they respec-

need be said in this

is

weU known,

for question, except as to

manner and

policy of

no room

reluctantly,

of dangers to which that

tively stand towards the Porte, little

place.

perilous

decay of the

diffuses, to accelerate the

it

Ottoman Empire, and hence, however

not but give

so

It is clear that their conduct tends, by the

catastrophe.

England

Levant

in the

Neither Austria nor Pmssia

is likely,

under pre-

sent circumstances, to take part in any measures unfi:iendly

to the Porte.

Together with Greece and Italy they might

eventually pretend

and

Austria the foremost

to

have a

but they can hardly be suspected of

share in the spoil,

wishing to hasten the overthrow of an empire whose dismemberment would offer much greater advantages to others

than to themselves.

Be

it

as

it

may, we must in fairness admit that on mere

grounds of appearance we have no right to impute ambitious

schemes or

evil intentions to

those

who

despair of the sick

enough to
man's recovery.
sanguine
mind. The
create a world of doubts in the most
Unfortunately there

suspicion, to be fairly sustained,

must

is illness

find its justification

in other circumstances, and the task of making out a case

with respect to them is too invidious to be undertaken

without an immediate necessity.

TtJEKEY AND CONSTANTINOPLE.

1877.]

93

something more agreeable, something more

promising in view, if we attempt to ascertain how far a

There

is

and attended with many

disease, apparently deep-seated

forbidding symptoms, is nevertheless open to remedies and

capable of yielding to a well-conducted

method of treatment.

The inquiry has its interests it has also its difficulties.

The proofs of disorder lie on the surface, and can hardly be
mistaken. The means of recovery, when recognised, have

much

to contend with in their application,

commencement must be

in the

liable to perish

from want of food

who can prove

at seed-time

thing

we must

is

season.

is

That men are

unquestionable

what the harvest

will

be ?

but

One
in

alternative is fatal.

May

The many

sow betimes in order to reap

certain

The

and their results

conjectural.

26, 1877.

years which have passed away since I wrote

the preceding pages have not been unproductive of incidents

tending to modify opinions respecting the much-battered,

but well-nigh inexhaustible, question of the East.

that

my own

opinions as to

its essential

gone any important alteration.

They

points have under-

are

still

keeping the Turkish authority at Constantinople

ing their political and administrative system
or, as

we must now express

it,

Not

in favour of
;

of reform-

of maintaining,

of restoring peace.

Sundry

changes of circumstance took place in the interval between

the treaty of Paris in 1856 and the rising of Herzegovina in
1875, and to

them may

justly be ascribed

which marks the present

affairs

any difference

state of opinion

as to Turkish

compared with that which prevailed

at the close of

the Crimean war.

I refer in particular to the policy, or

rather the conduct, of Sultan Abdul- Aziz, to the loans con-

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

94
tracted

[pAfiT

it.

by the Porte in Christendom during his ill-omened

reign, to the act of baiikruptcy

which marked the extinction

of his credit, and in general to the neglect of those engage-

ments which in
countries of
fulfilment.

reality

formed the basis of a new and more

Turkey and the chief

Europe at a period unusually favourable to their
The Crimean war, commenced by Eussia, had

state

cordial

of relations between

for its object to prevent that

mount

influence in

protect all
Paris,

Ottoman

Power from

realising a para-

Turkey under a conventional

right to

The

treaty of

subjects of her religion.

which put the seal of Europe on the victorious career

of the AUies, was intended to act as a barrier against the

renewal of any similar pretensions.

that result

may be

How far

it

has secured

from the Black Sea Convention

inferred

of 1871, and the recent declaration of independence

How

two Danubian Principalities.

answer

its

final

purpose

may be

far it

collected

was

by the

fitted to

from other

cir-

cumstances, which must be kept in sight both here and

elsewhere.

By

the seventh article of the treaty an engagement was

taken by

all

the Powers in

common to respect, and moreover

to guarantee, the independence

the Ottoman Empire.

By

and

territorial integrity of

the ninth article the Sultan's

plenipotentiary annexed to the treaty a copy of

His Majesty's
Hat-homayoon, and the Powers engaged not to interfere

with the internal

affairs of the

Porte in consequence of that

The Powers, no

communication.

doubt, were bound by that

engagement, but the engagement related to the communi-

The Sultan, on his part,

cation alone, and to nothing else.
was not the less bound to carry out his proclamation of
reforms, and indeed he took it upon himself, on his imperial
honour, to give

it

a full practical effect.

Virtually this was

the condition on which the Porte was received, to use a

French expression, into the family of European States.

TURKISH BAD FAITH.

1877.]

Now what,
the

let

manner

me

ask,

in which

it

95

was the proclamation, and what was

was carried out

The

proclamation,

though invested with the forms of imperial grandeur, was,

in truth,

a collection of reforms drawn up by a mixed

assemblage of Turkish nainisters and foreign ambassadors.

The

operation took place at the residence of the British

embassy in Turkey just before the departure of the Ottoman

plenipotentiary for Paris. It was,, in truth, on that solemn
instrument that His Excellency founded his claim to the

fuU confidence of his Christian colleagues in the ensuing

negotiation.

of

To

the conclusion of peace succeeded a period

more than nineteen

free

years, during

from any danger of external

which the Porte was

origin, undisturbed indeed

by any trouble of a serious character from within, supported

by a threefold increase of its revenue, and gathering in
addition by loans from the capitalists of Christendom very
many millions of sterling money. If we ask to what account
these splendid advantages were carried, the answer must be
that the just expectations of

Europe with respect

to the

correction of Turkish misrule were, with

some few exceptions, painfully disappointed, and that the large sums of
money derived from revenue and loans were either extravagantly wasted, or applied to that extension of naval and
military force in reliance on which the Turkish statesmen

and

their

sovereign have

stood out

against the united

demands of aU those other Powers who signed the

treaty of

Paris.

I would not be extreme in visiting on Turkey the entire

responsibility for these lapses in point of
political discretion, especially

when I look

good

faith

and

in vain for signs

on the part of Europe to check

the course of Turkish impolicy and neglect of the Porte's
obligations during its fatal progress under the sway of Sultan
Abdul-Aziz. But if I had heard that our Government had
of any serious endeavour

96

THE EASTEEN QUESTION.

[paet m.

withdrawn from their share in the engagements of Paris on

the gi'ound of the Porte's neglect of those reforms which
the Sultan had accepted and proclaimed,

on our part to
firman

is,

insist

on the

full

my

That

any, would have been very moderate.

surprise, if

it

was a duty

execution of the Imperial

I think, unquestionable, though whether to the

extreme of coercion must greatly depend on other and

eventual circumstances.

how any

conceive
discredit,

throw

violability so

aU events

It is at

Christian

Power

to

could, without palpable

sword into the

its

difficult

scale of

Turkish

in-

long as the Porte maintains a system of

misrule the more to be deprecated in proportion to the

increased sensibility of

its

victims on one side, and of their

sympathisers on the other.

Finally, it

would seem

idle to

dwell on such considerations as might attach to the treaty

of Paris, since recent events show but too clearly that
practical force, if

it

its

has not ceased entirely, has at least for

a time shrunk into a state of abeyance.

The popular movement which took

place about two years

ago in the Herzegovina was only an active form of a chronic

disease.

are

now

The ever-growing

proportions

it

has since taken

culminating in open war on a large scale between

the two Powers

who perform

Eastern Question.

the part of hotbed to the

Hostilities are not yet sufficiently ad-

vanced to admit of a deeper look into the miU-stream than

that of a general conjecture suggested by a comparison of
the means employed and the resources possessed by each of
the two belligerents.

The

current notion that Russia

is

superior in the latter respect, and not improbably in the

former

also,

may be

But something
and perhaps there is more to

not far from the truth.

must be left for time to reveal,

be gained by reflecting on the past than by peering too soon
into the gloom of futurity.

Steatfoed de Redclippe.

XII.

TUEKEY.-IL
False

principles of government, corrupt motives of action

inflamed by religious animosities, conflicting interests ar-

rayed against each other, rooted prejudices, and anti-social

manners, have concurred to place the Ottoman Empire on

The

an incHned plane.

position

is

one of natural determi-

nation towards a state of exhaustive weakness.

The

pro-

gress of other States in knowledge and national development

increases by comparison the dangers of that decline.

It has

increased them practically, as a long series of defeats and

losses

on the

side of

Turkey may serve

to testify.

The

expansive energies of civULsation can no longer brook the

inertness,

country so

and

and in some respects the exclusiveness, of a

in resources, so obstructively situated,

fertile

offering at the

same time a

field

The problem which

extent for remunerative enterprise.

calls for solution is

Can
by means

simply this

Empire be so far restored

wants and spirit of the age as
to

of almost boundless

the strength of the

consistent with the

to preserve internal order and

command the respect of foreign Powers ?

The incurables, who for such means look

Mohammedan
faith,

convictions,

must

tell

to the revival of

us by what process of

no longer entertained even in Turkey by

educated minds,

can operate as the motive power of a

government compelled by the conditions of

restrain

reflecting or

the passions,

its

impulsions, of an ignorant and fanatical race.

system

of

tenure to

and frequently to counteract

the

Under

administration thus inspired, religious belief

98

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

must evidently be the rule of

right,

[part

and the measure

ii.

of

How then would Jew and Christian fare

political rights and as to personal consideration ?

individual worth.

both as to

Would
by

the peace and well-being of the Empu'e be secured

forcibly renewing the submission of one half of its popu-

lation to the pride

be

"no complaining

ance,

Would

and bigotry of the other ?

no appeal to the foreigner, no resentment in Christen-

dom ?

Is the war of Hellenic independence a fable, the

chastisement inflicted on Damascus a dream

Greeks

less sensible

Are the

than they were of degradation and op-

pression, or the nations of

of

there

in the streets," no danger of resist-

Europe more deaf

humanity and the sympathies of religion

to the claims

Another and ampler basis than that of an unsanctioned

revelation is wanted for the reconstruction of a dilapidated

Where but

empire.

in the elements

of social harmony,

correction of discord and decomposition, can such a foundation be discovered ?

That

civilising process,

which

carries

out materially and morally the benevolent purposes of Providence, and knits together the various classes and pursuits

of

mankind by the bonds of

ever

is

social interest, combines what-

necessary for the external defence, internal welfare,

and legitimate advancement of a constituted community.

Eeligion, in respect of belief, like the action of the lungs,

is

involuntary, and therefore, however essential to moral, as

breathing

is

to bodily health,

is

not in that sense properly a

subject of legal enforcement on individuals as such, and

still

less a just obstacle to the

ment

in other matters.

individual

nature.

men, partakes

freedom of

A body politic,

legislative enact-

the compound of

of their mutable

and mortal

If linked inseparably to laws beHeved to be divine,

and therefore unalterable, the interests of the community,

which require change of law with change of circumstances,
must, in the end, be seriously, perhaps even fatally, com-

THE SULTAN CANNOT REMAIN CALIPH.

877.]

To

promised.

this

dilemma

99

would seem that the Turks

it

now reduced. They must either be content to govern

on larger principles, with the advantage of extending pro-

are

portionally their

means of improvement and independence,

must incur the necessary consequences of persisting

and thereby having to contend with the disaffection
of their Christian subjects and the resentment of their
or they

in error,

Christian
their

may

Sultans

allies.

Mussulman

continue to be caliphs for

subjects, but they

must learn

to act as

sovereigns for the people at large.

The

suggested by this view of the question

difficulties

are by no

means

so great as they

may

appear to those who

have only a general acquaintance with Turkey,

and

its

empire,

The Koran is far from being that inelastic

which many suppose. It has long ceased to

its history.

code of laws

be an exact mirror of Islamism as practised by the Ottoman

authorities.

The

between the

letter

which has perceptibly grown up

and the practice of the law is not merely

difference

one of suspension, such as the disuse of

propagation of the

faith,

but positively

hostilities for the

active, as in the case

of treaties and aUiances with Christian Powers.

mary departure from the system

Islamism dates from the sixteenth century.

by

first set

the

between the sovereign of the Turks

alliance

and a Christian Power.

convenience suggested
positions at the time.

pri-

Solyman the

Magnificent and Francis the First of France

example of an

This

of policy prescribed

The

act

by their

was founded on mutual

respective

international

It led to the establishment of similar

relations between the Porte

and other European Powers, to

the reception of consuls in the outports of Turkey, and to

the exercise of jurisdiction by
subjects.

It

was the

which may be

fitly

first

them over

their

own

fellow-

link in a series of concessions

called extra-Koranic,

gradually made, to meet the necessity,

and which were

more and more

H

felt

100

THE EASTEEN QUESTION.

by the Porte, of obtaining a

[pabt

ii.

less insulated position relative

to the States of Christendom.

commenced

Internal reforms were

in the same

spirit

towards the close of the last century by Selim, the

The

Sultan of that name.

Janissaries, excited

last

no doubt by

the Ulemahs, broke into open rebellion, and the reaction

which followed cost the reforming Sultan both his throne

and his

Mustapha, who succeeded to the throne, was

life.

not more fortunate than his cousin.

brother

Mahmoud

to

It

was reserved

for his

and

realise the plans of Selim,

to

revenge that Sultan's death by the extermination of the

This

Janissaries.

ill-disciplined

and unmanageable nuhtia

was replaced by a regular army formed on the European

The Sultan put

model.
tion

forth all his energy for

its

comple-

but the weakness of his empire, proved and increased

by successive misfortunes

by

the war with Eussia which

terminated in the treaty of Adrianople, by the independence

of Greece which followed the battle of Navarino, and by the
victorious progi'ess of Ibrahim

compelled him

Minor

Christian Eui'ope.
introduction of

Pasha into Syria and Asia

to enter into closer relations with

The proclamation

extensive

reforms

Tanzimat-kairieh, gave a solemn and

Mahmoud's

sincerity.

They

of Gulhane, and the

under

the

name

of

imposing earnest of

laid the foundations of a real

improvement in the Turkish administrative system, and

more

man

especially in the treatment of Eayahs, non-Mussul-

subjects

bound

to pay a yearly poll-tax to the

Grand

Further and more decided measures of reform

Seignior.

were subsequently adopted.

were not the least important.
the trial of

civil

foreigners.

It

Those of a

judicial character

court was estabhshed for

causes between the Porte's subjects and

was a mixed tribunal, taking cognisance

iQore particularly of differences arising in trade and navigation.

Its

maxims

of law and rules

of procedure were

PEOGEESSIVB REFORM.

1877.]

Our leading principles and

derived from Christian sources.

forms of

trial,

101

exclusive of juries, were even admitted

firman in some of the criminal courts

by

and

at Constanti-

nople, in the highest of those courts where

Mohammedan

law prevailed, our Consul-General was allowed to

sit

with

the power of watching the proceedings, and staying for his

assent the execution

of judgment on behalf of British

on

subjects brought to trial

To

these beneficial

capital charges.

innovations are to be added the

establishment of lazarettos for quarantine against plague

and cholera

the suppression of the negro slave-trade with

a view to that of slavery ; the abolition of torture and of

capital

punishment ia cases of conversion from Islamism

and the recognition of Protestantism as one of the protected

religions in Turkey.
During the Crimean war a notable enlargement took place
in other branches of social progress, inconsistent, more or

and established

less,

with the restrictions of Mussulman law, but required

by the

necessities of the

Empire.

Loans were raised

interest in foreign countries for the service of the

at

State.

The Porte's Christian subjects were released from the payment of tribute, and were declared to be admissible as
privates

and

talions were

ofl&cers to

Turkish bat-

the imperial army.

placed under the

command

of British com-

manders, and British agents were allowed to raise levies

among the Turks for an irregular military corps to be paid

and

officered

by Her Majesty's Government.

At one time

the suburbs of Pera and Galata were held, in aid of the

police,

On

by detachments of the French and English armies.

the cessation of hostilities

all

previous reforms, together

with important additions, were confirmed and declared by

an imperial proclamation known as the Hatt-y-homayoon,

solemnly

promulgated, and inserted, as a

general treaty of peace.

Among

its

new

fact,

in

the

provisions were

THE EASTEEN QUESTION.

102

[paet

two, in particular, characterised by a liberality which

would not be easy

By

to surpass.

ii.

it

one the faculty of hold-

ing land in fee throughout Turkey was granted to foreign

subjects, with a reserve of

By

some preliminary arrangements.

the other both natives and foreigners were allowed

full

liberty of conscience in religious matters.

and we are bound to give them our

candid and serious attention. They remove a part of the

These

difficulty

are facts,

which Islamism opposes in theory to the reforma-

tion of the Turldsh

Empire on European

encourage a hope that the remaining obstacles

gradually surmounted.

Most

of

They

principles.

them show

may

be

to demonstra-

tion that in Turkey, as elsewhere, custom and law must ul-

timately yield to consideration for the safety of the State.

We

are friends to the Sultan's Empire.

overthrow or to undermine

its

We

dominant

do not seek

faith.

We

to

only

desire that religion should cease to be so applied to worldly

affairs as to

render the administration of them ruinous to

the public weal.

We

urge the expediency, and indeed the

necessity, of carrying fully into effect those salutary reforms

which have been long and strenuously recommended

Sultan by his

allies,

to the

which have been adopted by his supreme

authority, proclaimed

by him to the whole world, and

re-

corded under the most solemn forms of international en-

gagement.

We

desire, in other words,

to obtain for the

Porte a real instead of a fictitious independence

the

well-

grounded, durable respect, and not the mere precarious

sufferance, of

contemporary powers.

All classes of the population would gradually feel the

benefit of a change,

which could not

fail to

ably on their interests in a national sense.

which may

prevail

among

operate favour-

Any

discontents

the Turks arise principally out of

causes independent of their religious prejudices, though

naturally seen in connection with them.

state of transi-

HALTING BETWEEN TWO SYSTEMS.

1877.]

and extensive concern

tion in matters of deep

103
is

always

attended with inconvenience to many, with a dislocation of

partial interests
it

and a rupture of much that

were, by habit and early associations.

is sanctified,

To

as

halt between

two systems instead of frankly adopting the one which on the

whole

is preferable,

can have no

effect

but that of prolongiag

Unfortunately such has been hitherto

evils incident to both.

the conduct of the Turkish Government, excusable indeed

in

some respects, but

Under the
ties,

from being necessary.

far

old system, confiscations, crown lands, royal-

property lapsing

to

the

Sovereign, forced labour,

offerings not quite voluntary, requisitions in kind,

and other

incidental sources of profit were auxiliary to the revenue

derived from tithes, taxes, and customs.

Timariotes,
service,

who held

their lands

The Spahis and

on condition of military

were bound, when caUed upon, to take the

armed and mounted

at their

own expense.

On

field

the exter-

mination of the Janissaries in 1826, a regular army, as

mentioned above, was formed by Sultan Mahmoud, and

later a civil list

was established in place of the crown lands

and other imperial sources of revenue. Life, property, and

honour were also secured by charter to subjects of all classes
The Sultan and
against the assaults of arbitrary power.
his

Government had

in

to the exchequer for their

consequence to look exclusively

ways and means in carrying on

the administration, and providing for the peace, the defence,

and general welfare of the Empire. Hence it became more

than ever necessary that an improved system of finance
should be adopted, and the collection of the taxes cleared
all those abuses and corrupt practices which at once

of

oppressed the people and defrauded the treasury.

child

may perceive that discontent, embarrassment, and ruin

must be the necessary consequences of drying up the old
sources of supply without opening new ones, of depriving

104

THE EASTEBN QUESTION.

the dominant classes

long-cherished

their

of

[pakx

ii.

privileges

without enabling them to realise the compensations offered

by a more

liberal

and productive course.

Eespect for the Sultan, consideration even for his weaknesses, submission to his authority, nay, to his pleasure,
are

universal

still

among the Mussulman

From

population.

time to time, and not unfrequently, there are disturbances,

now

in this,

now

in that province, but they arise nearly

always from local causes, and are confined within narrow

gents

may

may be committed by some body of insurmay be overpowered individuals

the
immediate
and
object of aversion may be

Excesses

limits.

the magistrates

suffer,

But

swept away.

after a

to ride over all obstacles,

time the Sultan's authority

and

is sure

to restore the public peace

with more or less severity and some feeble show of repara-

The army, inadequate

tion.

Empire,

ill

fed, ill clothed,

as

and

it

ill

to the wants of the

is

paid, thinned by frequent

marches over miserable roads, and having no reason

upon

its

officers, rarely, if ever, fails

Discipline, though imperfect, gives

it

to perform its duty.

a constant advantage

over the rude extempore levies opposed to

worst of

it is

to rely

that such occurrences tend

its

arms.

The

more and more

to

exhaust the strength of the Empire by a twofold process.

Parties brought locaUy into conflict wear each other down,

and the Grovernment, which

accomplishes

its

men and money.

finally reduces

purpose at a

loss,

to order,

not easily repaired, in

despot's strength
-

them

is

the weakness of

his subjects; that of a constitutional government resides in

the wealth and goodwill of the people.

Ill fares the

where neither strong hand nor willing heart

The

is to

country

be found.

fortunes of the Turkish Empire, in their flow, are

mainly to be

ascribed to religious

discipline, national character,

enthusiasm, mihtary

unanimity of purpose, the

success,
submission
confidence of
to a single will, and also

PERSONAL QUALITIES OF THE SULTANS.

1877.]

105

Their decline may be

to the inferiority of its opponents.

generally accounted for by the progress of Christendom,

and particularly of Northern Christendom, in the

war,

arts of

and in every branch of

in population, in produce,

knowledge, by the natural consequences of error in policy,

administration, and social manners, by the mutinous spirit
of the Janissaries, by the enervating habits of the seraglio,

and by the corrupt intrigues of adventurers

Much, however,

ofi&ce.

at court

and in

in the one period and in the other,

belongs to the personal qualities of the Sultan, or of the

principal depositary

of his

government and the character of

Mahomet, the conqueror

diate

successors

are

of Constantinople, and his

brilliant

Mahmoud, the present

and commanded general

The nature of
the people make it

power.

illustrations

His

life.

into contempt through

energy, although his

injustice or cruelty,

and the

His

failings

as there is

vile

want of resolution and

by any measures of

was marked, on the contrary, by a

home and

were those of a gentle and generous

by that vigour of mind and body

difficulties of his perilous station required.

room

de-

reign, unsullied

disposition unsustained

which the

fact,

and suc-

eldest son

course of policy successful, on the whole, both at

abroad.

the

respect notwithstanding his losses,

baucheries which closed his

fell

so.

imme-

Sultan's father, ruled with power,

his reforms, his sanguinary executions,

cessor

of

the

to hope, his

If,

younger brother, the reigning

Emperor, should carry out the reforms and improvements

adopted by Abdul-Medjid, with the energy displayed by

Mahmoud, Turk and

Christian, the

would have reason to rejoice.

Empire and

Appearances

favourable to this expectation, and

if it

its allies,

are,

so far,

be true that Sultan

Abdul- Aziz intends in good earnest to limit his connubial

establishment to a single wife, the prospect
into a reality.

Economy would be

may soon

ripen

the least advantage of

THE EASTEEN QUESTION.

lOG

such a limitation.

[paet n.

The morals and manners

of the seraglio

would undergo a transformation much to he desired.

The

example would operate most heneficially throughout the

whole range of Turkish society. The harem would cease
to he a curse,

and a great step would he made towards an

But we must he content to wait a

intermixture of classes.
while in suspense.

It is not the first time that a

has commenced with a clearance in the palace.

sand ladies and attendant

ofiicers are

new

reign

Four thou-

described in the

Turkish annals as having been dismissed on one occasion.

A vast increase

of paper currency and its intended apphcapayment of the army are measures of ominous
The dismissal of the late Grand Vizir in favour of

tion to the

import.

the present incumbent

a very questionable move.

is

Other

personal changes in the administration have no distinct

character, and, with the exception of Eiza Pasha,

referred to motives of

may be

mere convenience.

Eeduction of expense

is

an excellent thing to begin with,

especially after the measm'eless extravagance of the late

But much more is wanted. Economy itself, to be

remedial, must be applied with judgment. It is said that
even the army is to be reduced. Now, the army is already
reign.

too small for the defence of the Empire.

I repeat that

it

does not exceed a third of the numbers displayed on paper.

It is not equal to the maintenance of internal order, except

by harassing and wasteful

to be desired than

its

exertions.

Its increase is

more

diminution, and means for that pur-

pose should be sought in other reductions, particularly in

the reduction of salaries and pensions, and also in a more
effective

management of the revenue, including

its collection

and administration.
Be it remembered that the Sultan's dominions, whether
we look to climate, soil, or position, are rich beyond conception in resources of every kind.

We

have only to name

THE PORTE'S PBBSENT DUTY.

1877.]

107

the countries which are comprised within their limits, and

every douht on this point must vanish from our minds.

The wonder

is

that regions so blessed with

all varieties

of

produce, with climates so favourable to labour, with coasts

so accessible to

commerce, and with

full

experience of these

advantages transmitted from age to age, should have been

brought to such degradation at a period when other coun-

endowed by nature reached so great a

tries far less happily

height of prosperity and power.

Mesopotamia, Egypt,

Syria, the vast plains of Thessaly and Adrianople, those in

Asia watered by the Hermus, the Mseander, the Cayster,

the Caicus, and the productive provinces extending on both
sides along the

Danube from Hungary

and many other

districts

to the sea

all

these

of surpassing fertility are only

waiting for the long-expected signal to enter upon a

career of industry, wealth, and glory.

thrown open
let

new

Let the doors be

to the arts, the science, the capital of

Europe

the emulation of the natives be encouraged and their

fortunes sufficiently protected

Imperial Government
of execution,
to follow.

is

and the most

Even

as

let

the reforms to which the

pledged be put into a regular course

it is,

satisfactory results

would be sure

the Porte's revenue has increased

by a fourth since the Crimean war, and the financial embarrassments which have accompanied that progress may be
fairly attributed to extravagance, corruption,

and mismanage-

ment, or to the cost of putting down disturbances engendered

by a vicious com'se of administration.

The reforms which are here recommended must be viewed
as a whole in order to be fully appreciated.

They

by no means limited

They

whatever

promote the welfare of

be the separate creed of each.

proclamation, in

comare

to the Christian subjects of the Porte.

are calculated to

may

are

They

prehensive in principle and also in application.

which the new concessions

all classes,

The

imperial

are embodied

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

108
together with the

Magna

ii.

a real charter of franchises, the

Charta, in a broader sense than ours, of the Turkish

Honour

Empire.

to Sultan

Pasha with

to Eeschid

The

earliest,, is

[paet

various provisions

Ahdul-Medjid who gave

whom
it

under the following heads

it,

and

leading ideas originated

its

may be

contains

severally classed

Confirmation of beneficial ordinances already pro-

I.

claimed.

Extension of previous concessions.

II.

Eemoval of existing abuses.

III.

IV. Securities for the observance of new measures.

V. Improvements of a material kind.

The
its

field, it

must be allowed, is a wide one, and surely

is no want either of liberality or

compartments there

apparent

sineeritj'.

removal of

all

in

of

system of reform which aims at the

abuses, the perpetuation of all franchises, the

fusion of all classes, the development of

entire liberty of

all

resources, the

pubhc worsliip and of private conscience

in

religious matters, the extension and security of civil rights,

and an enlarged intercourse with

to

foreigners, can hardly fail

engage our sympathy, and, considering the

command

We

boast too

it

our admiration

and hearty concurrence.

much

difficulties

in a country like Turkey, to

which surround

of the spirit of our age to be indifferent to one of its

greatest

and

least expected achievements.

tions, our Protestant

faith,

manufactures,

skill in

greatness

are

all

Our

free institu-

our commercial enterprise, our

these sources of our national

deeply interested in the triumph of such

principles over bigotry, ignorance,

and corruption in one of

their strongest and most extensive holds.

What

our Mussulman

allies

now

stand in need of

practical application of those principles in full,

earnest enforcement of corresponding measures.

is

with an

Unfortu-

THE NEW GENERATION IN TURKEY.

1877.]

nately fresh obstacles occur at this point.

to his ministers

The

109

Sultan looks

the ministers look to each other.

are restrained by the fear of responsibility,

personal interests

Some

some by

their

others have to contend with false im-

pressions contracted in their youth, and others again with

an indigenous love of ease and habitual self-indulgence.

Among
sity

those statesmen at the Porte

who admit

the neces-

without promoting the progress of reform, no allegation

more common than the deficiency of suitable agents.

There is no doubt truth, but there is also much exaggeration,

is

in this plea.

Men

of sufficient ability are seldom wanting

for the public service,

act is

clear

when the

authority under which they

and determined in

its

views,

and adequate

motives for individual exertion are brought mto play.

It will

soon be forty years since the present era of

new generation has sprung up

within that period.
The young men of Sultan Mahmoud's
time have now attained the experience of age. Those who
Turkish reforms began.

were only children then have already overstepped the half-

way road of life. It would be strange indeed if there were

none among them whose natural intelligence had taken the
impress of the time, none who felt that in serving a reform
government with zeal they could best
duties and consult their

own

interests.

ripened in the warmth of new ideas

fulfil

their public

Their minds have

they have had access,

in maturity, to broader avenues of knowledge than were

open

to their predecessors,

their ranks

the

earliest

who

nevertheless sent out from

instruments,

the

most

active

Between the two classes, the elder and

the younger, a sufficient supply might surely be found, if
pioneers of reform.

not for giving

full

effect to

all

the ministerial

least for conducting the principal departments,

offices, at

and setting

an example of vigour and consistency to other branches of

the government. A Turk of good manners, who can talk

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

110

French, who has visited the chief

[paUt

cities of

and has some acquaintance with European

ii.

Christendom,

literature, is

no

longer, as in the last centuiy, a phoenix or a black swan.

The Greeks have ceased

main channel of

to monopolise the

communication between the Porte and the foreign ambassa-

The

dors at Constantinople.
are performed

What

functions of chief interpreter

by a Mussulman.

serves to counteract the natural tendencies of so

important a change

is

favouritism, which is

still

but too

often the arbiter of public appointments in Turkey.

practice

may be

traced to three distinct sources.

This
1.

The

candidates for office receive their education in general either

at the Porte or in the seraglio.
is

made on

2.

Their

first

appointment

the recommendation of some influential person at

one of those two seats of power.

Their promotion

is fre-

quently the result of a similar exercise of patronage.

The

relations of patron

element of public

and

life

client,

which formed so strong an

in ancient

degree at Constantinople.

3.

The

Eome,
great

survive to a certain

man

is at

times sus-

tained by his political dependents, who, in turn, look up to

him

for the

advancement of their fortunes.

lishments, though of late curtailed, are

the plurality of incumbents have

little

Official estab-

still

expensive, and

but their salaries and

their expectations wherewith to support them.

consequently incurred, and the bankers,

their credit,

which

is

who

Debts are
end, employ

considerable, in keeping or reinstating

in office their respective

debtors.

Hence a routine most

favourable to misconduct, incapacity, and corruption

a discouragement to those

who seek

to rise

hence

by honest means

and honourable exertions; hence an assurance that no

amount of disgrace will permanently exclude the most undeserving characters from office and power.
as Eiza and Saffeti

must laugb

Such pashas

at being dismissed, since^

however clear their delinquency, they are allowed

to

keep

TURKISH EEFORM NOT HOPELESS.

1877.]

with the certainty of returning to

their ill-gotten spoils,

office at

Ill

no distant period, and in the enjoyment meanwhile

of colossal pensions.

There

is

much, we must

confess, in these abuses to dis-

hearten the advocates of Turkish revival.

But they are not

irremediable, and other countries have succeeded in throw-

Even

ing off the same impediments.

here,

in our

own

country, the struggle of private interest with public spirit

was long and anxious.

and the Kevolution.

both the Eeformation

It survived

was a cloud on our expanding

It

prospects in the last century.

It required the resolution,

the integrity, and the genius of a Burke to check

gress
ful

and even now

experiment

^that

we look for

in this respect,

dangers of a relapse

its

pro-

death-blow to a doubt-

of our competitive examinations.

we are
who went before us, what
If,

its

better,

on the whole, than those

we against the

securities have

The answer

is

obvious.

We

are less

exposed to temptation, and we act under the control of

public opinion.

The

servants of the State, whatever their

rank or denomination, are regularly

if

not abundantly paid,

and an act of peculation brought home

to the delinquent

would, at least, be stamped with ignominy and hopeless dis-

missal from

office.

Appointments also are made in the

public service on sounder principles and under a stricter

responsibility.

and

still

The Turks,

less a parliament

it is true, have no parliament,

composed of individuals respon-

sible to a popular constituency.

whose power

is absolute,

whose

But they have a

sovereign

interest is that the

Empire

should be honestly served, and who has no aristocratic,

municipal,

or

party combinations to manage.

In

fact,

without the immediate sanction of the Sultan, no issue of

no act of adminisofficial appointment is made

no decision of council, no sentence of criminal

money, no
tration,
justice,

goes info

effect.

The laws

against malversation,

112

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

bribery, and corruption are stringent,

of

them a

penalty,

more or

[pakt

ii.

and to every breach

less severe, is attached.

In aid of the Sultan there is a Privy or Cabinet Council

There is
for affairs of state, whether internal or foreign.
also a

council, having judicial as well

more comprehensive

as deliberative powers, and comprising, together with the

Grand Mufti and

others of the Ulemah, most of the principal

To

functionaries.

these

may be added

Board

of Eeform,

whose president is a member of the administration, and

occasionally, under urgent circumstances, a iCouncil of
Notables convened by supreme authority from the provinces
and in part elected there.
is

However, in each province there

a separate council for local affairs under the presidency

of the respective pashas.

In these assemblies the

elective

some degree employed, and a representative

of each non-Mussulman community sits among the members.
principle is in

The pashas are no longer invested, as of old, with plenary

-powers. They are now little more than ci^il commissioners.
The troops are placed under a military commander, and the
provincial revenue is administered

No

by a separate

authority.

capital sentence can be carried into effect without a

special order

from Constantinople.

This new distribution

some respects useful, has the

leaving
too
much
in the hands of the council,
of
drawback
of power, though doubtless in

whose leading members are men of influence in

bourhood,

swayed by local

hostile, to the imperial policy,

then* neigh-

interests, indifferent, if not

and capable

at times of giving

law to the pasha.

A surer and stronger link is wanted between the supreme

government and the provincial authorities, and such a Hnk
might perhaps be found without disturbing the present
The existing pashaliks might be
divisions of the Empire.
grouped into clusters determined by territorial conformation
or by local convenience, and each of the clusters might be

EDtCATIOlt

1877.]

AND THK"

118'

AEM^-.

High Com-

superintended by a (xovernor-General or Lord

missioner, representing the Sultan, and enjoying the full

Examples of

confidence of his government.

kind of

this

One of

delegation are to he found in Turkish history.

them has

lately

been given in the person of Fuad Pasha,

who, under peculiar circumstances, was invested with extraordinary powers

the restoration of order in Syria.

for

Another took place a few years before, when

the two

adjacent provinces of Thessaly and Epirus were united for

a time under the administration of a single pasha,

earlier

who

in

days would probably have received the appropriate

and well-known title of Bey-ler-Bey, or Lord of Lords. There

would be

little difficulty

in arranging a sufficient control for

the exercise of so high a trust, and the body of Turkish

statesmen would not be required to supply more than twelve

or fifteen individuals capable of fulfilling its duties, and giving

thereby a general and uniform

effect to

the Sultan's beneficent

intentions.

The

execution of such a plan might in time be greatly

by opening a wider field of instruction to candidates for public employment. The first step has been taken
assisted

in this direction.
exists

college,

students are partly Christian

are brought

was

of

Constantinople.

and partly Mussulman.'

up together on equal terms.

originally a school of medicine.

into larger proportions,

its

further extension.

tions in the

chief

It

No
As

The

The
They

institution

has been expanded

and may be said

rudiments of an university.
of

founded by the government,

in the principal suburb

to contain the

principle stands in the

way

a model for similar founda-.

provincial cities,

hardly be overrated.

I have already intimated that, in

its

importance can

'

my

opinion, the Turkish

army, far from being too large for the wants of the country,
stands rather in need of a considerable increase, with reference

114

1:hB

at least to the

[pam

eastern question.

numbers

actually enrolled.

are not entirely of a financial character.

ti.

The objections
The conscription

operates on the Turkish population alone, and the supply

from that quarter

is

not equal to the demand.

ciency has been

felt for

ance a growing

evil.

recruiting

some

How

among those
'

and

years,

is it

to be supplied

made

defi-

appear-

not by

if

portions of the people who, on

exempted from mihtary

religious grounds, have been hitherto

service ?

This

it is to all

This idea has been adopted by the Porte, and

acceptable to the Christians by substituting a war-tax

for the degrading haratsch,

and levying

it

on

all religious

But the egg has been addled in the hatching.

The Christians complain of the new tax as pressing unfairly
on them, and as no arrangements have j-^et been made for
placing them as soldiers on a proper footing, the army is

classes

^like.

stUl dependent

on

its

one declining source of

recruit-

ment.

its

Whatever may be hereafter the composition of the army,

numbers cannot be increased without a corresponding

increase of expense.
it is

On

this account, as well as

on

others,

evident that measures calculated to remove financial

abuses, and
most in the

to render taxation
line of reform.

more

productive, stand fore-

Retrenchment and economy are

the best, and indeed indispensable, starting-points.

They

alone can at present obtain, for any security the Porte could
oifer in raising

money on

loan, that confidence which might

reopen the money markets of Europe to her proposals. The

pump must have water to make it work. The first remedial
operations in finance would be attended with a stoppage of
the:

customary expedients, and

imagine

how

it

is

difiicult therefore to

the curative process could be effected without

a temporary accommodation.

Ten

years ago this harbour

of refuge was closed to the Porte by traditional scruples,

which subsequently gave way to pressure, as other mistaken

FOEElGNBES

18?7.]

notions will also give

II?

THE TUMlSH SEEVICE.

way

115

to a similar force of circum-

stances.

Here, as on other points, much, no doubt, is wanted.

But the resources are natural; the obstacles are conventional.
Opinion works in such a manner as to bring out
the former, and to test the latter by their actual utility.

Things deemed impracticable

The

use.

come

have

progress of improvement

is

into

everyday

no less rapid than

extensive.

was during the Crimean war that strangers com-

It

missioned by foreign governments were

first

allowed to take

part in the Porte's financial deliberations.

They had to
They

contend with

much

jealousy and

many

were often baffled in their researches

good,

it

was

Porte has

all

now

prejudices.

and

if

they did any

but limited to the prevention of evU.

accepted the services of two gentlemen

are actually clerks in the British Treasury,

The
who

and to them, in

honourable reliance on a friendly government, the mysteries

of Turkish finance are said to be fairly unfolded.

those

who have watched

at

Turkey, such changes appear

They

are earnests

Even

to

hand the course of events in

little

short of miraculous.

of further advancement, and seem to

forbid the surrender of a single hope.

It

would be a great mistake to suppose that nothing has

yet been done except on paper.

In every department some

practical steps have been taken

more or

direction.

less in the right

Progression languishes rather from moral than

less from want of will in the governtemperament of individuals. The " haul

from material causes,

ment than

firom the

of all" so well
pull,

and pull

match, have

known

in our navy, the "strong pull, long

all together,"

still

so potent in a British rowing

to be impressed

on our Ottoman

friends.

In every great enterprise, energy, method, system, concurrence,

are

needed for success.

In Turkey, as now
I

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

116

circumstanced, and
qualities of national

more perhaps than

movement have to be

inspired, from without.

sufficient

means and motives

The

elsewhere,

these

sustained,

if

not

its

for giving in a friendly spirit

endeavours are no longer out

principal States of Christendom are solemnly

pledged to support the integrity of that Empire, and

regard

it

if.

Happily for the Turkish Empire,

the requisite impulsion to

of reach.

[pAKt

member

as a

to

of what is rather affectedly styled

the "great European family."

Together they are capable

counsels

on the Porte without the

of urging their joint

danger to
single

independence which might accompany the

its

interference

of a

neighbouring

and

rival

power.

Supposing their views to be honest, and their recommendations to

agree with the Porte's

declared principles, the

pressure thus exerted would be no less safe than useful.

Were

interested motives to prevail in secret with one or

more of them, the vigUance of England would not go to

sleep, and the Porte's position would not be worse than if it
were one of political estrangement and insincere profession.
Union, moreover, though perhaps a mere show, would
repress any tendency to foul play by making its exposure
more discreditable and offensive.
It would also be unreasonable to expect the best results from our advice when

tendered with the twofold advantage of inspiring confidence

as British, and

commanding

attention as European.

The

treaty of peace, which guards the Porte expressly against

foreign interference as between the Sultan

would be anything but satisfactory

if it

and his

subjects,

were held to pre-

clude the Sultan's allies from insisting on the enforcement

of those reforms which have been adopted freely by him as
of vital importance to his Empire.
will deny that the

Who

continued neglect of that duty exposes them more and more

to the. perils

and

gagements, on

sacrifices attendant,

its dissolution,

under their existing enwhether by force or intrigue ?

GBEAT BRITAIN AND THE POETE.

1877.]

117

Granted that the prospect of a diplomatic conference in-

by no means

stalled at Constantinople is

the advantage or,

it

may

But
when weighed

attractive.

be, the necessity,

against the inconvenience, will be found to preponderate.

Meanwhile such conferences as may serve to patch up a

abound.

local or passing disturbance

We

are but lately

relieved from one, the parent of numberless protocols, in

The

Syria.

European
the kites

Montenegro, those of the Danubian

affairs of

principalities,

have

likewise,

We

deliberation.

may

turn, been

in

subjects

know not how soon

of

or where

be again collected by a massacre or an in-

surrection.
It were well to bear in

mind that such occasional meetings

have also their portion of inconvenience and

failure is discreditable

transient and partial.

Their

risk.

the effect of their success, at best,

The

evils

they are meant to correct

are themselves the offspring of one pervading evU, the source

In cases of sickness, consulta-

of which is Constantinople.
tions are not of good

omen

avoided, and then

is

it

but at times they cannot be

usually thought best to call

them

where the patient resides, and not on the spot where his
fever

was caught or his leg fractured.

In these high matters, to which the principal Powers of

Europe habitually and necessarily

direct

their attention,

although the interest, the legitimate interest,

is

common,

and the right equal, our own government occupies a peculiar

position, comparatively advantageous, but also, in proportion

to

the

advantage, responsible.

manifest.

Of

all

The

causes of this are

the Powers, Great Britain has most to

by the inertness and decay of the Ottoman Empire, and

least to gain by its dismemberment.
Though her course of
lose

policy

may

at times give

stances in which she

institutions,

is

umbrage to the Porte, the circumplaced, and the character of our

exempt her from

its

mistrust.

Others

may

be

118

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

more

feared,

consequently more

and

[paet

favoured,

ii.

by the

Turkisli authorities; but confidence and goodwill depend

less

on fear than on hopes and sympathies.

The

subject in

hand

and the questions

it

this rapid sketch of

is

so large,

its

bearings so multiplex,

embraces so momentous, that even

it

there

may be enough

in

to weary, if not

most patient of readers. We never thought

of bringing all its elements, however briefly, within so narrow
a compass and even now we do not pretend to more than

to bewilder, the

a very light notice of two or three outstanding poiats, which

ought not to be entirely overlooked.

Authors, in seeking to explain the decline of Turkish
power, have noticed two practices in particular as helping
greatly to accelerate

upon,

is

it.

One, which we have already touched

the debasement of the coinage.

exclusion of the Imperial Princes from

business.

The

discredit, uncertainty,

which attend the former

fraud,

and in

all

illusion,

The
all

other

is the

share in pubhc

and temptation
have at

all

to

times

countries produced, more or less, the same de-

plorable effects.

Our own

the truth of this remark.

history may be quoted to confirm

prominent example

is offered

by Froude in his account of the financial embarrassments

which occurred under the Protectorate of Somerset. Some
of us can personally remember with what determination
Parliament, on the report of the Bullion Committee in
1816, enacted at every hazard the renewal of cash payments
at the

Bank.

With

respect to the princes,

it

stands to reason that the

which they are condemned must operate with

twofold venom upon the State.
The jealousy which keeps
restrictions to

them spell-bound

in the seraglio hoodwinks their underrenders

and
the want of knowledge an heirloom
standings,

in the ruling family, at the same time that it confirms their

imperial keeper in those habits of indolejice and self-indul-

DEFECTS OF THE CURBENCY,

1877.]

119

gence which the dread of competition and popularity on

It tells with unusual

might otherwise counteract.

their side

force in a country

where so much depends on the personal

when every

acquirements of the sovereign, and at a period

government

is

expected to give proof of qualities commen-

and the progress of its

surate with the wants of its people

A word would

rivals.

from the palace, and

It

its

suffice

remove

to

this

nightmare

consequences from the Empii-e.

would certainly requii-e more than a word to redress the

But the temporary

defects of the currency.

to that object

would be overpaid by

economy, such as now,

it

sacrifice essential

its results,

and a real

appears, is in progress, followed

by other productive reforms, and sustained by the concurrent

action of friendly Powers, would go far to revive the credit

and open the resources of the Porte

Those
redoubt

to

an

whom

every molehill

impregnable

fortress,

greatest success in these respects

effect

any, a disastrous one

if

an indefinite extent.

to
is

a mountain, every

may

fancy that

would have

on that

little

the

or no

diversity of races

and consequent opposition of feelings and interests which

make

the Turkish

That

there,

Empire a hotbed

as elsewhere, difficulty

of internal dissension.

and danger

exist in

circumstances of social antagonism, cannot be fairly denied

but candour, while making the admission,

sent from

is

entitled to dis-

In their days of prosperity, the

most enlightened of Turkish ministers might reasonably have
its

exaggeration.

opposed any serious relaxation of the Mussulman system.

was sufficient for their purpose that all went on as usual,

It

and that no defeat or

likely to

deficit,

insurrection or calamity, was

throw more than a passing, shadow on the

stability

Turks were Turks, and rayahs rayahs.

Both were to move invariably in their separate spheres ; and
if Christian heads were exposed to Turkish sabres, it was

of the Empire.

natural that they should be occasionally cut

off,

But

the

120

THE EASTEKN QUESTION.

[pam

il.

successors of those statesmen have no such luxury to enjoy.

embarked on a current, generated by false principles and vicious courses, which threatens to sweep them
into ruin government, religion, empire, and all.
It is

They

are

only by straining or rowing strenuously against the flood

that they can hope to escape.
ultimately

fail

Their best exertions may

but, taken in the right direction, they offer

good chances of

safety, retarding

meanwhile the consumma-

tion to be dreaded, and softening the approaches to what in

the end

may

prove inevitable.

This for the worst.

But the danger

itself is far less

considerable than might be supposed at a distance.

ous,

and

non-Mussulman

by no means the

force either of

subjects are, they have

union or of endurance.
classes on the

They

Then* separation into

ground of race or creed

They have

of weakness to them.
other.

Numer-

at heart disaffected, as the Sultan's

different

is evidently a source

little

sympathy

for each

are rivals for Turkish favour, and in some

respects antagonistic

among

most in common

the habit of submission to Turkish

rule.

is

themselves.

What

they have

Neither Greek, nor Armenian, nor Slavonian can

hope to occupy a throne

Each

Islamism.

left

class in the

vacant by the professor of

supposed case would probably

consent more cheerfully to the Sultan's

authority than

accept the rule of an adverse Christian sect.

tians, in proportion as the

Turks extend the

The

Chris-

circle of their

and treat them with forbearance and considerahave less to stimulate their longing for independence,

privileges,
tion,

and

them above the dread of their longOn the same account their hold
upon the sympathies of Christendom, and the confidence
less

to

raise

established conquerors.

they might derive from that source, are greatly attenuated.

Besides, the weight of the Ottoman sceptre has never
j)r.essed upon them by an immediate contact with
the whole

GENEBAL BEVIBW OP THE SUBJECT.

m7.]

121

From, the time of the

conquest they have been allowed in some important respects
of their everyday

surface

to

manage

own

their

life.

affairs.

Even

the collection of the

ha/ratsch, before the abolition of that tax, was entrusted to

own

their

magistrates.

The amount

to be levied

on each

might be, by the

district

was fixed by the Porte,

pasha

but the assessment was regulated by the elders or

or,

it

notables of each religious communitj'.

felt,

and what in

reality they

had most

What

they most

to complain of,

was

the arbitrary abuse of power, the unauthorised exaction, the

oppressive or humiliating treatment of individuals.

But

all

these motives to revolt have been gradually dispelled, and

more

away from want of fuel than to gather

fresh strength from an increase of liberty and the prospect
are

likely to die

of further improvement.

More, much more, might be written on this inexhaustible

theme.

What

is

written already might have

judiciously treated,

more

clearly developed,

been more
more ably com.

Writer and reader have, nevertheless, travelled on

and have now reached, not indeed the terminus,
but a station where they may conveniently take breath, and

pressed.

together,

review, as
their road.

from some elevated point, the various stages of

The object of the journey is not an idle one.

character is serious. It cannot be dismissed from

thought like a railway excursion or a dissolving view. Let

Its

us, before
sible,

forth,

we

part,

compare notes, and determine,

if

pos-

whether from argument and statement, as here set

we are warranted in drawing conclusions on which

our minds

may

rest with a certain

and whether we are

amount of

entitled, in conscience, to

conviction,

wish that our

convictions should pass, as eventual rules of action, into the

minds of others more powerful than ourselves.

Has it been fairly established in the preceding pages that
,we have,- as a nation, strong motives, continually in opera-

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

122

[pakt

and founded on our own immediate

tion,

maintaining and improving

Turkey
trade

is

our

interests,

friendly relations

ii

for

with

that a considerable and growing portion of our

derived from the Turkish dominions; that, from

a political point of view,

we have much

to apprehend from

and that our communications

hy steam and telegraph with India and our immense pos-

their decline or dissolution

sessions there are dependent on the goodwill and protection

Ottoman Government ?
In the next place, are we satisfied that it has been our
policy and also our practice, from an early period, to cultiof the

vate friendly relations with the Porte ?

later

and in

years,

to her succour

critical

emergencies,

Have we not

in

either hastened

by means of counsel, mediation, and even

occasionally by active assistance, or taken part, however

in coercive measures calculated to bring her

reluctantly,

into

of

a state

Christendom
Thirdly, is

political

harmony with the Powers

of

?
it

not proved that, as one of them, we have

given our formal guaranty for the independence and integrity

of the Sultan's dominions, and incurred thereby a positive
obligation to

redeem our pledge, when

called upon, at the

cost or immediate risk of British treasure and blood ?

Fourthly,

is it

not manifest that, whether from within or

from without, the Turkish Empire is exposed to an imminent

danger of falling into confusion and becoming eventually a
neighbours liable at

most powerful neighbours of

any time to become adverse to om*

prey to the ambition of

its

policy and jealous of our prosperity ?

Fifthly, has it

not been shown that Turkey, notwith-

many

causes of wealoness and social embarrass-

standing

its

ment, possesses a fund of resources which have only to be

worked by means within reach in order, as a consequence of
the process, to retard indefinitely,

if

not to avert

entii-ely.

ENGKLAND'S INTEREST

1877.]

AND DUTY.

May

the impending catastrophe ?

it

123

not be added, with

improvement are so far from

being irremovable that many of them, and some in appear-

truth, that the obstacles to

ance the most obdurate, have already yielded to the pressure

of necessity and the evidence of facts ?
Sixthly, can

be denied at the same time that the

it

Turkish Government has displayed, together with a sense

of its weakness,

an utter incapacity for extricating

without support and

surround

it

that, left to its

own unaided

no reasonable prospect of escape

for existence

itself,

from the dangers which

assistance,

exertions, it has

that even

now

it

depends

on the forbearance of the Christian Powers

and that we are bound in duty no

less

than entitled to

require, as the price of our generosity, its

strenuous en-

forcement of such measures as are necessary, according to

its

own proclaimed and recorded

and

vitality,

confession, to sustain its

the responsible confidence of

to justify

its

allies ?
If,

as

it

would seem, there can be only one true answer to

these questions, the inevitable conclusion to be drawn from

them may be

left

with safety to the deliberate judgment of

The interests of our trade with Turkey,

and the Danube those of our political power on

the country.
Persia,

the shores of the Euxine, the Archipelago, and the Medi-

terranean

India

those, again, of our direct

communication with

to say nothing of China and Australia

concerned in the decision.

Are we

are palpably

to relinquish,

when

it is

most needed, a policy dating from one of the best periods of

our history ? Are we to surrender a position acquired by
the exertions of our diplomacy and by the triumphs of our

arms ?

Are we

to wait with fettered limbs

eyes for that solution which

and bandaged

we have most reason to deOr are we, in a wiser

precate of the Eastern Question ?

and nobler

spirit, to

confroot the peril, which hitherto

we

THE EASTEEN QUESTION.

124

have never ceased to acknowledge

to

[part

employ at

il.

once,

though with some inconvenience and doubt, the means required for meeting it with effect, and to do our best, without
hesitation, for diverting a calamity which, be it far or near,

must be attended in its consummation with evils of the

gi'eatest magnitude ?
A straight, an obvious course lies open before us. It is
recommended no less by a consistent view of our interests than
by rights and obligations pressed home on our sense of duty
by a just apprehension of worse.
it,

We

or rather to persist in following

are free to enter upon

it,

diate sacrifices, even of a financial kind,

difiiculties to

without any imme-

and with no

greater

encounter than must ever attend upon a course

of diplomatic action limited

by

its object

rather than by

time, and applied, in concurrence with other Powers, less

in earnest, perhaps, than ourselves, but engaged ostensibly

as

we

are, to the complicated affairs of a distant empire

and

a mistrustful government.

Should doubts remain,

let the alternative,

such as

described above, be fairly and fully weighed.

Let

weighed together with our special engagements, and

its object

be

let this

A course

additional consideration be thrown into the scale.

of policy which has for

it is
it

the maintenance of peace

by means of an improved system of administration throughout the Turkish Empire, and of the concurrent operation of
the Porte and her

mate

allies,

even were

it

to fail as to the ulti-

results, would, in its progress, work, beneficially for

Europe, to the

under the joint

relief of millions

who

effects of ignorance,

are

still

suffering

misgovernment, and

fanaticism.
It is reasonable to
-great depositary of

presume

power in

that,

under Providence, every

this world has its mission.

Crown and Parliament of England have

also a responsible .one,

theirs, a

The

proud and

It is the mission of knowledge,

125

INB'ATtTATlOiT 01* I'HE POR'TB.

1877.]

freedom, and humanity, issuing from the highest of sources,

and hallowed

Power

is

duties.

throughout

its

by Christian

course

the instrument of our practical

Let us take heed.

lore.

fidelity to

Indifference to the end

its

may

involve a forfeiture of the means.

June

18, 1877.

Such are the opinions which I threw upon paper some

Crimean war,

four or five years after the termination of the

of that war which rescued

pretensions of Eussia by

Turkey from the domineering

means of

auxiliary forces derived

from England and France, placing in a strong light both

the weakness of the

Ottoman Empire and the strength of

those motives which brought the two

support,

allies to its

with the moral or more than the moral concurrence of other

my

point

of view, those opinions have undergone no change.

But

European Powers.

In a general sense, and from

circumstances have not maintained the same consistencj'.

Turkey, instead of calling out the political sympathies of

Western Europe as a State threatened with

loss of inde-

pendence by the demands of an ambitious neighbour, has

now exposed

reproach by causing a great dis-

itself to just

turbance, attributable in its origin to the Porte's oppressive

principles of government,

and

later to its

haughty rejection

of those salutary counsels which

it

signataries of the treaty of Paris.

It has, moreover, incurred

received from

all its

co-

the imminent peril attached to open unaided war with a

contiguous empire far more powerful than

its

own

in every

and whose eventual triumph might entail disastrous

consequences on the greater part of European Christendom.

respect,

There may have been, and probably were, intrigues from

without which ripened into insurrection the discontent of

Bosnia and Herzegovina

but surely

it

required a deep

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

126

[past

it.'

sense of misrule on the part of a suffering and unarmed

population to lay

itself bare,

by

acts of disobedience, to the

rigours of an unsparing and fanatical despotism.

of Sultan Abdul- Aziz gained
his

subjects

religion,

who were

nor can

of

The

reign

no favour even from those

of

His Majesty's own race and

be forgotten that in his ill-omened time

it

the neglect of promised reforms went

hand

in

hand with

the

acquisition of millions obtained from the wealth of Chris-

tendom, and cancelled by an act of indefinite bankruptcy.

It can hardly be denied that facts of this kind weigh

heavily in the balance

when

the Porte's engagements, dis-

though perhaps not always formally

tinctly implied,

ex-

pressed, are put into one scale, and its fragments or shadows

The marked

of performance into the other.

disproportion

between them may well throw doubt on the Porte's appeal

to the beneficial clauses of the treaty of Paris.

degree of validity

may

still

be ascribed to that

If any
treaty, it

cannot with justice or reason be made to bear upon those

securities

sary to

which

demand

all

Europe, so to say, has deemed

it

neces-

for the complete execution of the proclaimed

reforms, and the restoration of peace on solid grounds in

the disturbed provinces.

the war * which
scale, the

is

Whatever may be the

now unhappily

results of

in progress on a colossal

mediating Powers have respected the permanent

independence and integrity of the Turkish Empii-e.

The

temporary interference of foreign agents with the internal

arrajigements of the Porte must of course be unpleasant to

the Sultan and his

supposing

its real

Mussulman

subjects

Turkish authorities, and has for

capacity of

but

its object

of Europe and the welfare of Turkey

The

its necessity,

character to be such, originates with the

the tranquillity

itself.

Mussulman Turkey

for reforms

may

Russia declared war against Turkey April 24th, 1877.

not

THE WORK

1877.;]

be equal to

me

its

MlDHAT PASSa.

OS"

need of them, but

has always appeared to

it

sufficient for the introduction of

On this account

improvement.

127

a real and progressive

the more to be regretted,

it is

and also the more to be resented, that nearly a score of

years from the treaty of Paris, so remarkable for increase
of revenue

and freedom from disturbance, should have

such scanty traces of advancement and good

faith,

Austria,

whose

territory bordered

and such

How

ample proofs of impolicy and extravagance.

left

on the insurgent

could

district

and was peopled with numerous sympathisers, look with

indifference

on a movement

so likely to

interests, and, in the probable

event of

compromise her
expansion,

its

produce a mischievous excitement elsewhere ?

to.

"Were not

the elements of that political disease, the Eastern Question,

discernible in the

authority ?

Was

local

first
it

symptoms of

would consent to lay down

their arms,

previous habits of obedience,

and resume their

on a simple assurance of

pardon and better treatment for the future

naturally sprang

up on both

enthusiasm impelled the

same time that

resistance to

be expected that the insurgents

to

Sympathies

Popular

sides of the frontier.

Christian Governments at the

alarmed the Porte, so that, while

its effects

the pressure from without increased, the resistance within

hardened into positive

In proportion

refusal.

determination to reject the

demand

to

their

of securities, the

Turks

abounded in professions and enactments of reform. They

armed menace of Prussia by an exhaustive
display of force, they threw down the barrier of creed, and

replied to the

united the various classes of population into one patriotic

mass under the common appellation of Ottomans, represented by a Parliament composed of two

houses a Senate

and Deputies.

is this

Great and radical indeed

the institutions of Turkey.

are the obvious questions

Can

which

it

it

change in

succeed ? can

suggests.

it last ?

mixture of

128

5:he

eastern

by a

antagonistic elements shaped

forced

at

trying,

may

QUESli'lON'.

flash

[pAitT

of urgency, and

once into action under circumstances severely

The

well be viewed with surprise and doubt.

of its principal author is to aU appearance un-

sincerity

shaken, although

it

was probably hurried into existence as

a refuge from the importunity of foreign dictators.

are those

If."

who would have

the Porte, as

it

given

it

There

a fair chance by leaving

were, on trial for a reasonable time after the

departure of the ambassadors from Constantinople, and

reserving the right of their Governments to interfere afresh

upon the evident

failure of the

new system.

Such a course

would certainly have postponed the war, and perhaps might

even have prevented it from ever breaking out. Come

what may short of a Turkish dismemberment, the work of

Midhat Pasha is not likely to pass away without leaving
The Sultan's
salutary traces of its temporary existence.
uncontrolled authority, the inveterate

corruptions

of the

metropolitan Ministry, and the cat-and-dog relations between

Mussulmans and Christians can never be the same

as here-

tofore.

Although

it is

not

my intention

to censui'e

bygone trans-

actions, I cannot entirely suppress the regret with

look back on some

present deplorable war.

ominous of

failure

What,

more

for instance, could be

than the want of union among the medi-

ating Powers from the very

ceedings ?

which I

of the incidents preliminary to the

What more

commencement of their proto the Turks than the

offensive

unscrupulous hostilities of Servia and Montenegro ?

What

more disreputable both to Turkey and to Europe than the

manner in which the convicted perpetrators of the Bulgarian
outrages escaped from the pursuits of justice ? What more
injudicious than the unyielding obstinacy with which the

Porte repelled the modified

refused to settle

counsels of

its

allies,

and

the terms of a mutual disarmament with

ATTITUDE OF THE GREAT POWERS.

1877.]

129

Russia by means of an accredited representative at

St.

Petersburg ?

No

doubt the Eastern Question

and dangers, affecting

violent passions,

verj'

is

a network of difficulties

important

state of rest

The

break out again with ruinous activity.

liable to

ments of which

composed explain

it is

exciting

interests',

and even when lulled into a

its

ele-

character.

northern Power, possessing a vast extent of territory, and

capable of bringing a most formidable array of forces into
the

field,

presses

down

to the south

though apparently verging towards

upon an empire which,

its ruin,

comprises whole

regions of splendid fertility and the choicest positions for

sway and trade.

The former

is

thought to covet, at the

very least, some important portions

of

neighbour's

its

dominions, and to seek the accomplishment of

its

views by

an intriguing policy in times of peace, and by downright

conquest in times of war.

The Porte

facilitates its rival's

success by a system of misrule which paralj'ses

its

natural

advantages, and comes in aid of strong original causes to

among

produce a

spirit of disaffection

subjects.

Russia, on the other hand, is thereby furnished

the majority of

its

with millions of partisans from within the Turkish Empire,

and the energies of an impulsive sympathy from without.

Of late, indeed, she has drifted into a position of which she
has availed herself

to

assume

the

guise

of

Europe's

champion, and at the same time to drive the Sultan into a

single-handed war fraught with chances fatal to his inde-

pendence.

and in

Other European Powers, for various reasons

different degrees, see at all times

them even

much

to

alarm

two
They know that the small dark cloud on the
horizon may surge into a sweeping tempest, and they must
lose no time in determining when and by what means they
may have to protect their own particular interests even toparties.

in the prospect of a rupture between the

130

THE EASTEEN QUESTION.

[paet

ii.

Of such inducements to hostile

England may be said to have the lion's share.
Whatever consideration obliges her to rest her sheet
anchor on peace, she may be carried into stormy latitudes
by resistless forces incidental to a wide expanse of surface
on land as well as at sea.
the extremity of war.
action,

We
being

able to hold to the anchor of peace.

But the

declared neutrals.

the

thank Providence for

of the British Isles have to

still

home

of the Eastern Question throws

into the shade.

from the

Danube

contest which is

all

We

are

raging in

generalities

Public curiosity fastens eagerly on news

seat of war, whether

or

now

among

it

be on the banks of the

the mountains of Armenia.

Speculation

on tip-toe strains its sight to catch a glimpse of things

beyond our actual horizon, and the dimness of the objects
would seem to sharpen the appetite for discovery. No
wonder that such should be the case. The mill-stone is
accessible to all, and I cannot deny my wish, like that of
thousands, to penetrate its mysteries, and also, unlike that
of many, my sense of inability to reach their place of seclu

sion.

"What opinions I

service of

my

readers.

may venture to entertain are

The first to be mentioned

upon the supposition that Eussia

more than the redress

is

at the

turns

bent on something

of grievances in

European Turkey.

If so, the present appearances warrant a conjectm-e that the

intended passage of the Danube

is

a demonstration, and the

Imagine the Russians

incursion from Circassia the reality.

to advance so far

the Porte to terms.

say:

We

"We

on the two lines of invasion as to bring

What more

are content to

jjlausible

than for them to

redeem our pledge

ask nothing there for ourselves

in Europe.

but we are entitled to

a fair indemnity for the cost and sacrifices of war, and on

this

ground we propose

territory in Asia already

to retain a part or the

won and

whole of

actually occupied

by our

POSSIBLE DANGEHS OP THE FUTURE.

1877.J

armies " ?

demand

131

so appropriately stated might include

a cession of Erzeroum,

and with

the

it

entrance of the

Euphrates Valley, which terminates only in the Gulf of

There are

Persia.

politicians

who

see in such an acquisi-

by Russia a danger which threatens our Indian dominions, and consequently raises the question of what should

tion

be done to counteract

it.

gested by the map.

Any

An

answer

one

who

may perhaps

be sug-

consults that oracle will

perceive that distance alone presents a serious difficulty to

hostile enterprise

to contend with

from that quarter

resources in point of force,

would not be

may be
the

and

recruiting,

As

inferior to his.

we had

surely, if

an enemy in the Indian or Persian

seas,

Suez Canal,

for the

but

unto the day

is

it

may perhaps

fairly

upon

the evil thereof," especially as

to act

on

We

its behalf.

lose sight of the facilities to

an invading army, nor of the

must

effect

Other more exposed interests

Eussia.

The

not, however,

be derived from the river by

pardy by the existing war, should

to

we may reckon
side when

on our

which the possession of

Armenia might have in helping to cover the

from the Caspian Sea into Central Asia.

favourable

of its

be said that " sufficient

confidently on having all neutral nations

called

it

would not preclude

that our possession of shares

necessity of employing force for the defence

freedom

our

or provisioning,

may
it

line of

advance

be brought into jeo-

take a turn decidedly

fettered

navigation of the

Danube, an indefinite occupation of the befriended provinces in Turkey, a free passage of the Dardanelles, and
even the appropriation of Constantinople
tingencies

itself,

are

aU con-

which the negotiation of a peace dictated by

Russian victory might raise into dilemmas of the most

More than one question is involved in

the solution they require.
Which of them, if any, would
leave us no choice but that of hostile resistance ? Which
formidable kind.

132

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

would

entitle

ii.

us to the eo-o]Deration of one or more auxi-

Could we enter upon

liaries ?

Lpakt

hostilities

with a reasonable

prospect of success, and with no sacrifice greater than what

the fruits of success weald repay ?
of the

It is clear that not one

enumerated conditions could be accepted by the

Porte without more or less injury, commercial,

territorial,

or political, to the interests of other States, and

more parThe

ticularly, in

some

respects, to those of Great Britain.

mere introduction of Eussian armed vessels into the Archipelago and Mediterranean from the Black Sea would make
a very objectionable alteration in the relative position of
other naval Powers, and be a constant source of anxiety and
peril to the

Ottoman

authorities.

The

transfer of Con-

stantinople itself to the possession of Eussia would manifestly place the

adjacent straits at the mercy of a

Power

whose maxims of trade and exclusiveness of policy might

any time hamper,

if

at

not suspend, the trade of Europe with

the countries which they enclose.

Questions of vital im-

portance had better rest with governments and representative

but private individuals

assemblies,

sometimes even
points.

usefully,

may

fairly,

and

hazard an opinion on exceptional

In the present instance two things are

commonest understanding

clear to the

the one as pressing on every

government concerned, the other as touching aU that

most

is

valuable to every inhabitant of a contented country.

Every nerve should

expected

crisis,

at

once be strained to prepare for the

not only by readiness of measures and

means within, but by union of counsels and concert of operations without. The other indispensable duty is to ascertain,
as nearly as possible, the amount of effective means for a
If there be one proposition more obvious
successful issue.
than another,

it is

that wai-, at the best, carries with

great sacrifices that to undertake

calculation is aldn to madness.

it

it

such

without necessity or

History records the con-

1S77.]

THE PROPER TREATMENT OF RUSSIA.

133

sequences of neglect in these matters, and our recent

proclamation of present neutrality seems to warrant the
expectation of a deliberate but unfettered policy in this
country.
If the Eussians, like other nations of the high north,

have a natural leaning towards the sun and the brighter

regions of the earth,

we have the assurances

reign and his ministers that they confine

success in

of their sovetheir views of

Turkey to poiuts on which they have already in

principle the concurrence of

Europe

and

it

may

be found

wiser to display om* reliance on their sincerity, while

observe their

movements with

vigilance,

we

and prepare

counteract any failure in their promises.

Stratford de Eedcliffe.

to

XIII.

INTEENATIONAL KELATIONS
AND HOV THEY MAY BE MAINTAINED FOE THE BEST
INTERESTS OF MANKIND.
(OCTOBER,

Theee

is little risk

1S7T.)

of boiitradiction in stating that the

international relations of the civilised world were never so

extensive as they are at the present time, never perhaps

more important, or more

liable to serious disturbance.

In

countries previously well-peopled, a great increase of population is almost everywhere

if

not a solitary exception,

or Asia where any

nised by
if

more or

less discerned.

is at least

marked decrease of population

It

statistical writers.

Tui-key,

the only part of

Europe

is

recog-

was natural that commerce,

not obstructed by special causes, should expand in some-

thing of the

same proportion.

Science,

exj)loring with

signal success the powers of nature, has operated in the

same

direction.

been enlisted in
facilitate

The
its

elements, multiplied in number, have

service.

Steam and

rail

unite to

the personal intercourse of the various races of

mankind, and the products of their labour and

skill are

conveyed from one region to another with unusual speed

and reciprocal advantage. Japan is no longer an isolated
group of islands.
trade.

The

China

Celestial

is

no longer open only to foreign

Empire has

felt

the power of European

armies even to the submission of its capital

of a portion of

its

dependencies.

and the surrender

Australia, that vast insular

POLITICS AS MODIFIED

1877.]

continent,

New

BY THE TELEGRAPH.

135

Zealand, and other inferior but not unim-

life, have been made to teem with

and greater still is the development of
the divine command to " increase and multiply " in those

portant holds of savage

civilised inhabitants,

"wilds immeasurably spread" the discovery of which we owe

to the genius of

If

one undaunted navigator.

we turn from the mere extension of these communities

which stand in reciprocal relations with each other, we can

hardly

fail to

perceive what vital interests are involved in

and

the maintenance of those relations on sound principles

durable forms.

Political security,

commercial prosperity,

the power which upholds a state, and the trade which

or less in every country nourishes the arts

more

and comforts of

peace, supplies the sinews of war, and enlarges the circle of

beneficence, are
ties of

bound up

in great measure with external

a iindred and interchangeable nature.

in an age of wonderful approximation,

if

We
that

ai."e

living

word may

suflfice

to express the grand result of steam-engines, electric

wires,

and submarine telegraphs.

seizes a favourable opportunity,

The London merchant

and from his counting-house

Gracechurch Street or King's Arms Yard despaches an

at

order for sale or purchase to his correspondent at Eio,

Cincinnati, or Benares.
off

Scarcely has he had time to sleep

the effects of an unrestricted dinner

when he

telegraph that his purpose is fulfilled, and,

it

learns

by

may

be,

another thousand added to the mUlion in prospect.

State

official,

whatever

may be

his

department,

behind the merchant in rapidity of despatch.

a

command

theatre of

He

The
is

not

transmits

some remote settlement or

war, and decides the fate of an army or the
or instruction to

fortunes of a colony in less time than the mails used to

consume in passing from York

this,

to

London.

Far more than

I hope not to err in stating that convivial hilarity has

been hushed into astonishment by the communication of a

136

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

[pakt

ii.

message and reply which have traversed the Atlantic between

the

spoonful of soup and the last glass of claret.

first

Advantages of so remarkable a kind are now in manj^

countries at the disposal of individuals and their Govern-

Hence a large increase of international

tions, and on critical occasions of no small rivalry
the quickest means of promoting their success.
ments.

It

transacin using

happens unfortunately that the extension and import-

ance of international relations carry with them a proportionate

liability to disturbance.

In matters of trade there must be

competition, and competition

is

a fertile source of enmity

and wrong, of obstructive statutes and fraudulent devices.

N ations

are brought into contact, contention,

on grounds of

No

conflicting

and

hostilitj'

interest or questionable right.

distance prevents such incidental collisions.

The

con-

sciousness of i^ower engenders arrogance, which stimulates

pretension and disdains compromise.

course of growth

is

despot whose habit

republic

Prosperity in

apt to be daring and combative.

is dictation

which

its

The

defies resistance, the

which in the guise of patriotism

insists

on

neighbour's submission to wrong, are often alike the causes

of quarrel that withers the fruits of industry and destroys

the spirit of enterprise.

As

the eifects of these provoca-

augmented

tions are constantly multiplied by the

human

intercourse,

it

would be dif&cult

to

activity of

employ too much

care in searching into their natui'e and providing timely

means of

controlling them.

Much, no doubt, has been

done from early times to check the

traceable to such sources, and
actually in force

of living

much

evils

of disturbance

of a remedial kind

is

but numerous events within the memory

men may

be cited to show that room enough

remains for useful inquiry and practical improvement.

cannot presume to prosecute the one or to suggest the

other in any degree adequate to the demands of so vast a

WHAr

1877.]

subject.

INTEllNATIONAL INTEBESTS MEAN.

Even my aim

But having

falls

137

short of any such completeness.

acquired, by no merit of

my

experience of the matters in question, I

own, some

little

may perhaps

be

allowed to lay before the public such ill-digested notions as

my

course of

my

within

life,

whether active or otherwise, has brought

range of thought.

Since international relations involve the best interests of

mankind in the

were

largest sense, it

consist.

Let us take them one

bj'

consider

well to

without further delay in what those interests

essentially

one in the order of

theii*

importance.

may

well be thought that in a list constructed

on that

principle the first place belongs of right to morality.

Does

It

any one ask the meaning of that word when so applied ?

The answer

is

obvious

namely, that in the

first

dealings of

one nation with another fairness should be the prevailing

spirit

on both

sides, equally

ea<;h other largely in

whether the parties

differ

from

power, wealth, and knowledge, or stand

on much the

same level in those important respects.

Humanity comes next, but chiefly as a part of mora^tJ^
The temptations to act with violence and cruelty are strong
when commanders from civilised countries have to deal with
the inhabitants of newl^^ discovered
excesses are

regions

and

not uufrequently provoked by the

their

savages

themselves, apt, as they are in general, to be treacherous,

But strength and knowledge ,on one

side, weakness and ignorance on the other, show by their
contrast which of the two parties is bound to set the good

thievish,

example.

Though

and

irritable.

Let history speak in

illustration of

my

meaning.

separated in reality by a long lapse of years.

Cook

and Cortez may be brought within the compass of a single

frame.

Both were endowed with mental

challenged inquiry and

commanded

qualities

that

The

great

admiration.

English circumnavigator passed over the untrodden waters

THE EASTEEN QUESTION.

138
like a divinity,

proached

it

sidex'ation.

and wherever

[pakt

ii.

found the human form ap-

lie

with a friendly feeling and sympathetic con-

The famous invader

of Mexico saw in the half-

tamed population of that country nothing but a swarm of

to be subdued by fear and plundered

inferior creatures

without mercy.
Look here upon

Apart

this picture,

fi-om consequences,

and on

this.

has not England reason to be

proud of her seafaring representative

Can Spain

entertain

the same sentiment in favour of her unscrupulous marauder?

How

is it now in the lands they respectively discovered ?

The descendants of those savages who ignorantly murdered
Cook are now described as more inclined to intercourse with

strangers,

and give more signs of progressive

civilisation,

than any other originals of the Pacific islands. The Mexican

population, on the contrary, though long intermingled with

immigrants from Europe and their offspring, have relapsed

into a state of very imperfect settlement, more remarkable
for a wild spirit of independence

and a normal aversion

strangers, than for a love of constitutional order

and

to

social

improvement.

Among

mankmd we

the best interests of

can hardly be

wrong in giving a high place to the acquisition of knowledge,

or in calling to

mind how much

the communications of one

country with another tend to promote the enjoyment of this

universal benefit. It requires but

how

deeply the hiunan

position,

mind

and what varieties

vestigation are suggested

little reflection

by the influence of surrounding

of Chaldeea in their nightly watches

objects.

The shepherds

were the

earliest observers of the planetary

other marvels of the

to perceive

by climate and local

of thought and modes of in-

is affected

sky.

movements and

The mountainous

regions of

Greece, Palestine, and Helvetia, fostered that love of inde-

IMPKOVED STATE OF FEELING BETWEEN NATIONS. 139

1877.]

pendeiice -which distinguished their respective inhabitants.

The development

of art in

traced to the inspiration of

its

finest expressions maj-

some genial

climate,

and

be

to the

form and colour derived from the same source.

What would the -world have been if the various races of
mankind had been shut in by impassable barriers; and

perfections of

-what do the least favoured parts of the earth not

owe

to that

spirit of enterprise which has gradually brought the nations

into more or less of fellowship, and given, one might almost

say,

by general interchange, the character of common stock,

to the special advantages of each ?

But those

even those of whom

it

may

be said that

Kno-wledge to their eyes her ample page,

Bich -with the spoils of time, did ne'er unroll

can hardly

fail

to recognise in peace

and commerce the

foremost of those interests which stand ia close connection

The

iirst is

as the air

existence.

almost as

To name them

is

enough.

much the life of international

relations

with the subject of this essay.

we breathe is a necessary condition of human

The second may be fitly described as being at

once the child and parent of the other.

Illustrations

would

be thrown away upon a statement at once so ob-rious and so

true.

Taking
peace,

it

then for

granted that

morality, kno-wiedge,

and commerce are those interests which, in a social

and practically kept in view

when nations are dealing with each other, it is satisfactory
in some degree to learn from history that together with the
sense, ought to be constantly

increase of population

and intercourse there has been a

gradual resort to measm'es which tend to strengthen and

extend the

relations

attendant on that progress.

The

beginnings, indeed, of international intercourse have but

too often borne a character of injustice

and violence, ending

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

140

in the subjugation,
other.

Even

ii.

not the extinction, of one party by the

if

hour a score of consecutive years

to this

from disturbance or actual

occurrence

[PABT

hostilitj'^ is,

we

all

free

know, of rare

but such are the requirements of trade, such

is

the force of peaceful habits, that even in the heat of war the

means

of carrying

a blockade

is

it

on are supplied by neutrals, and to run

rather esteemed as an act of courage than

censured as a breach of law.

Mankind on

the whole have

shown

in various waj's from

the earliest times, and by steps interruptedly progressive,

the importance thej' attach to those great interests which

are involved in the communications of one country with

another, and the high degree in which they feel the duty of

promoting them by

means.

available

all

They have

not,

perhaps, been equally careful to give a strictly moral character to their international relations

but whatever

may be

defective in that respect is rather a consequence of inherent

carelessness than of perverted principle.

We

have now to enter upon another department of this

extensive subject, one which

may

serve to throw light

on

the correctness of what I have asserted in the preceding

paragraph.

mere

i-anks of persons

of words indicating the various

list

employed

for the

maintenance or extension

of international interests goes far to show

how

deeply those

interests are valued throughout the civilised world.

names of ambassador,
minister,

charge

The

legate, nuncio, internuncio, envoy,

d'affaires,

consul,

consul-general,

vice-

consul, to say nothing of political and consular agents, are

familiar to all of us.

Multiply these by the number of

persons employed in various countries under the several

denominations, or in aid of their object, and we find what

might almost be termed an army of

great service of >\hich

we

civilians devoted to the

are treating.

into account the expenses of such

Taking furthermore

and so many

establish-

THE ORIGIN OF EMBASSIES.

1877.]

inents,

headed by individuals more or

141

less qualified for the

performance of important and at times entangled functions,

we can hardly refuse our

tribute of gratitude to those

who

have taken the lead in providing for the welfafe of nations

on one of

Whatever

weakest sides.

its

remain in the general machinery,

it is

may

defects

still

highly encouraging

much has already been done in the right

direction, and it may well be hoped that in proportion as
errors are perceived and new wants felt, the same spirit
which has hitherto animated the directors of human in-

to

know

that so

telligence

wUl continue

Whatever the

ment

to operate with

original

wholesome

may have

term

been, the employ-

of embassies for international purposes

the earliest,

if

not the very

would seem to

Early instances of the

date from a very remote period.

practice are to be found in the

effect.

Old Testament.

earliest, are

Among

those mentioned in

the twentieth and twenty-first chapters of

the book of

The fourteenth verse of the former is thus

Numbers.
" And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh unto

worded

the king of

knowest

all

Edom, Thus

saith thy brother Israel,

Thou

The request

the travel that hath befallen us."

preceded by this preface was permission for the Israelites

to pass

through the Edomite country.

are indeed styled messengers,

stated in the Bible,

modern

The ambassadors

but the circumstances, as

were precisely those which according to

definition characterise

The second

an embassy.

instance recorded in the Pentateuch, is similar to the first

in form,

object,

and

result,

respect to the sovereign for

differing

from

it

whose permission

only with
to traverse

Moses applied. We are left to conjecture in

what manner the ambassadors were personally treated, but
silence warrants a supposition that they had nothing to
complain of on that account, and that safety at least was
his country

their

accustomed privilege.

Nor

is

there reason to believe

THE EASTEEN

142

security thau

that less

QUESTIOjST.

now was

[part

afforded to

ir.

individuals

charged with a public commission from one sovereign to

another, though of rank inferior to that of ambassadors, if

such indeed were employed at any early period of historical

The

times.

K-qpvi of

the Homeric Greeks appears to have

acted without risk of personal molestation

as well as the

vpia-jSvs,

who possessed

when on

duty,

the ambassadorial

character in a higher and more exclusive sense, and who, as

we learn from J^schylus, was exempted by custom and

public opinion, if not by law, from violence or insult.
It

may

be

doubted whether ambassadors among the

Greeks and Romans commanded the confidence of their

countrymen to the same amount as they enjoyed in respect

of foreigners. Embassies appear to have been formed of
Demosthenes, when he was sent to

numerous members.
treat

with Philip

Mention

is

made

of

Macedon, had

several colleagues.

in history of embassies entertained in

Athens at the public expense, as composed of members

more or less numerous. Livy and Cicero use the plural
number in making mention of legates, whether received or
sent out

When

by Eome.

the Jews sent an embassy to

more than one

Virgil describes Jineas as sending a hundred
legate.
envoys (centum oratores) in one company to some neighbouring court of Italy. As each of them carried a branch
of olive in his hand, their appearance in a body must have
Augustus

Csesar, it

was composed of

at least

been that of a shrubbery, not mtich inferior to the moving

wood in Shakespeare's Macbeth. We must presume that
the charge undertaken in

common was

explained by only

one of the orators at a time. Had it been otherwise, the

roar of Pope's hundred oxen might well have been preferred

by the royal

listener.

According to modern usage the lowest rank of diplomatic

agency is as much protected as the first. Besides their

THE HIGH OFFICE OF AMBASSADOE.

1877.]

difference in point of

dignity and display,

of ambassador,

an important

some time back, attached

privilege is stiU, as for

title

143

and attached

to

it

exclusively

An

the personal representation of his sovereign.

and therefore

at liberty to appeal bj^

on equal

accredited,

is

word of mouth from

An

the administration of a coimtry to their master.

is

mean

agent so

qualified is understood in monarchical states to be

terms with the king or emperor to v^hom he

to the

envoy

presented to the sovereign, but the transaction of diplo-

matic business

lies

between him and the minister alone.

charg^ d'affaires has no recognised claim to approach the

These distinctions are

throne except by favour.

at present

kept practically in view less than formerly, and those

who

write in the public journals appear in general to ignore

them

altogether, but

it

remains to be shown that they have

been at any time submitted by competent authority to a

new form of regulation.

There is a tone of grandeur in its sound which makes the

term " ambassador " a natural object of curiosity as to its
origin

and

derivation.

their side.

butes,

Grandiloquence

word, augments
is

not

is

home

it

as

would have been greatly on

one of their national

and their substitution of an

for the double s

had claimed

If the Spaniards

of their invention, the likelihood

attri-

pronounced gutturally,
in the French and English forms of the

its effect

on the

x,

But

ear.

this conjecture

out by the opinion of inquirers.

of Greece and

Eome

The languages
have been rummaged in vain for some

root from which the title

may have

The

sprung.

lexico-

gi-aphers have

been reduced to the necessity of making

guesses which do more honour to their ingenuity than to
their judgment.
But to pursue the inquiry further would

be a mere waste of time.

It is

enough

have the word, and are not ignorant of

time and place of

its

to

its

know

that

meaning.

adoption, and whether

it

vi'e

The

preceded or

144

THE EASTERN QUESTIOK.

followed that of

its

which may. be

left

To

butterflies.

culminates, to

correlative,

[paet

ii.

" embassy," are questions

without reproach to the hunters of literary

trace the working of the sj'stem in which it

mark the advantages and

national practice, and to suggest available

defects of inter-

means

of correc-

tion or improvement therein, are the pursuits which best

our attention, and hold out most remunerative

deserve

But the present occasion

more than some irregular notices of the

rewards to well-conducted study.

does not admit of

matter comprised in this very expansive outline.

It is

somewhat singular that so

little, if

anything, should

be known of the time or place where diplomatic agents,

whatever their rank or character, became resident.

clear

It is

enough that by ancient practice an embassy ceased

with the conclusion of the errand from which

From
Wootton it may
vitality.

were respectable persons sent to

residence.

derived its
Sir

Henry

be inferred that the custom had begun in

the reign of James the First.

of their countrj'.

it

a witty saying attributed to

He
lie

This expression

said that ambassadors

abroad for the benefit

lias

a sound at least of

In the time of Queen Mary the appearances

suggest that the Spanish ambassador resided permanently

in

England

but, supposing that to have

been the

case, it

may have been an exceptional consequence of her Majesty's

marriage with Philip.

It is certain historically that Eliza-

beth in the course of her eventful reign received special

embassies, that of Sully amongst the

number

and

it

may

be thought probable that her diplomatic communications

with France and Scotland bore the same character, but

it

would seem that she had a resident ambassador at Madrid

Be that as it may, whenever
in the person of Chaloner.
the credentials of an ambassador first bore a stamp of permanency, it was a step in the right direction, a sign of
increased anxiety for the maintenance of friendly or profit-

AMBASSADORS TREATED AS HOSTAGES.

iSy?.]

iable

relations between one country

of progress in

in fine,

all

145

and another

proof,

the elements of civilisation.

A similar improvement

portant respect of

all.

has taken place in the most imSo general among nations has been

the sense of supreme imiportance belonging to the security

of ambassadors in the performance of their official duties,
that

even in Peru, when Pizarro brought

Spanish yoke, the piinciple was

a royal commission has not the effect of

frailties,

under the

it

As
subduing human

distinctly recognised.

ambassadors have sometimes, though rarely, been

convicted of intrigues, nay, even of crimes against the State

in which they exercised their respective functions.

But the

instances in which they have been punished under the local

law, or by the will of the injured sovereign, are rarer

still.

The

been

guilty representative has, with few exceptions,

sent away, or at most sent back to his

own master with an

explanatory complaint, or an appeal to the employer's sense

of justice and power of correction.
As far back as the
palmy days of Kome there is evidence that the principle

which underlay such conduct prevailed in the minds of

noblest citizens.

One

of the Scipios

credited with a sentiment

honour.

when

in

power

which redounds greatly

A Eoman embassy having

been

ill-treated

its

is

to his

by the

meant to do in the way

" Certainly not what the Carthaginians have

Carthaginians, he was asked what he

of revenge

done,"

is

the reply ascribed to him.

In modern times, on

the occasion of war breaking out, the idea of treating an

not without example.

In Turkey

ambassador as a hostage

is

at least a case of that

kind has occurred within a century

from the present time.

M.
It

It took place in the person of

Bulgakoff, the Eussian representative at Constantinople.

was his fortune to undergo a term of confinement in the

seven towers, which, though

day for a state prison.

now untenanted,

served in his

The' battle of Navarino, which took

146

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

place just

fifty

[paet

years ago, might easily have given

An

leash of successors at once.

ii,

him

almost total destruction of

the Turkish naval power was the result of that conflict.

The combined squadrons of England, France, and Eussia

formed the victorious force. Those countries were formally
at peace with the Porte

Sultan's court.

their representatives were at the

Well might the Sultan's suspicions of

treachery be roused to a state of fury, and indeed there

reason to believe that Sultan Mahmoud's

was

first

is

intention

make the

to

respective ambassadors responsible for

what he naturally saw in the light of an unwarrantable

A message was

outrage.

conveyed

officially

from the Porte

to the three embassies that in the Porte's opinion the law

of nations

had been

Yet prudence prevailed under

violated.

the influence of some wise counsellors, and the ambassadors

were allowed to retire without other hindrance than the

refusal of passports.

What

a triumph was this for the

cause of international respect

How

greatly did

it

teU in

favour of the world's capacity for moral improvement

taiatters

The

in.

of political conduct

consular department stands next for consideration in

continuing the present subject of inquiry.

nity, as

Lower

in dig-

belonging rather to individual interests than to

those of the state in general,

it

has risen with the growth

of trade to a level of practical importance with the diplo-

matic order.

Eesiding in a foreign country, consuls enjoy

a certain amount of special respect from

virtue

its authorities

in

of their appointment by an independent sovereign

But they are amenable to local jurisdiction

when exempted from its action by the provisions of a
Power.

In Turkey, by

unless
treaty.

treaties of old date, styled capitulations, the

foreign consuls are not only independent of the national

law, but are themselves entitled to settle differences between
their

own countrymen, and

even, in cases of dispute between

THE CONSULAR DEPARTMENT.

187?.]

147

the latter and the dependents of other consulates, to exer-

judgment as well

cise a joint authority for

example of

this

liberality it

the encouragement of
policy,

but that the

may be

commerce was a part of the Sultan's

office

of consul stood well in the esti-

mation of public

men and

At what period a

resort to consular establishments

may

necessary

but

it

be

From

as trial.

inferred not only that

their respective governments.

became

without inconvenience to conjecture;

left

know

will interest the curious to

pointment of the kind bearing

its

present

that the first ap-

name took

place

in Italy under the questionable auspices of our Richard the

Third.

Surely

mercantile

acquiesced in
therefore

it

was a grand

officer. It

we

its

adoption,

are in

title

wherewith to invest a

would seem, however, that the Italians

if

they did not suggest

a manner bound to accept

it,

it

and

as an

appropriate appellation, though the lictor with his axe and

bundle of sticks no longer bears

it

company.

Convenience, to which the gradations of diplomacy are

probably to be ascribed, was no doubt the parent of similar

degi'ees in the consular line.

The

functions of a consul-

general are deemed co-extensive with the country to which

he

A consul's are confined in principle to a disA vice-consul is either the consul's aid, or an agent

is sent.

trict.

empowered to act as a fuU consul, with smaller appointments and in some district or seaport of minor importance.
In countries where the foreign trade is on a large scale, the
consvdar service naturally tends to grow up into the same
proportions. Individual traders of the same country as the
consul look naturally to

him

for advice, assistance,

and such

protection as the limited extent of his privileges, or his com-

munication with the authorities on

afford.

He

is

But the range

whom

he depends,

may

of consular duty is wider than this.

expected to keep a watchful eye over

all

within his district of a nature to interest his

that passes

own governl2

THE BASTEEN

lis

ment and

QUESTlOl?.

[paeT

it.

"With this view the consul is generally

country.

instructed to maintaia a double correspondence, namely,

with the ministerial

office at

matic chief whose orders he

home, and also with the

is

bound

to respect.

moreover, in our service, to draw up at fixed periods a

tical report
little

on the

state of trade

where he

is.

He

diplo-

He

has,

statis-

no

fills

space in the neighbourhood of his residence.

It

depends upon himself to be an object of high respect

among those who form

Though by no means a

the

social

circle

around him.
he

star of the first magnitude,

appears to them of greater dimensions than a superior

luminary in the distant

capital.

He

and his colleagues act

as spectacles to the ambassador, and, in states where the

Foreign Office stands in awe of a Parliament, they go far to

illuminate a whole series of blue books, and thereby

show

the importance progressively attached to international in-

and the promotion of

interests.
It is no
wonder that the post of consul should be much prized by
the mercantile class.
In places where we have no regular

tercourse

its

trade or other interest to serve, but in which nevertheless a

British subject, or even a British vessel,

by accident require assistance, there

may now and then

is

no

difficulty

in

merchant ready to accept the

appointment of consul, with no other remuneration than the

finding a respectable native

honour of hoisting our union-jack over his door. The arrangement may have its disadvantages, though it must be
allowed to supply an occasional want on the principle of
strict economy.
In a country

must

like ours, the

whole consular establishment

require an expense of no inconsiderable amount.

interests

which

profit

by

it

The

are too important to be left

without such means of support and encouragement as the

State can reasonably supply. Liberal and frugal tendencies
are therefore brought into mild conflict with each other,

THE BBMUNEEATION OF CONSULS.

1877,]

and the

spirit of

149

party which presides in our parliamentary

no small fluctuation in those

constitution occasions

cordant principles.

In

illustration of this

dis-

remark I may

he allowed to mention what Lord Castlereagh, when Foreign

Minister, once said to
left

me on

mj' return from abroad:

"You

us squandering pounds, and you find us squabbling for

sixpences."

The

recollection of this passage in

my

inter-

course with an illustrious but unfortunate statesman carries

me

back to another circumstance of the past connected

with

my

present theme.

It fell to

my

lot,

when charged

with our mission to the United States, to draw up a scale of

numerous consulships in that

part of the New World. I recommended for each a yearly
allowance proportioned to the work to be done, and sufficient
to enable the .consul to live on terms of social equality with
the respectable classes of his district. He was not expected
to entertain ex officio, but it seemed desirable that his mode
salaries appropriate to our

of living should be that of a gentleman possessing a moderate

income.

How,

as a rule, could he otherwise have the degree

of influence required for the wholesome discharge of his

duties ?

How,

for instance with a family, could

he be free

from those anxieties and temptations which depress the

mind, and sometimes add discredit to a failure of energy ?

With
ceive

respect to fees, which consuls are authorised to re-

from their

prescribed
so

much

them

clients

by law,

on account of certain chancery acts

the annual

variation that

it

may

amount of them

is subject to

well be thought best to form

into a fund at the disposal of the Government.

In

such case they would be equally available for the payment

of salaries, but with the advantage of not giviag a character
of uncertainty to the consular stipend.

Fixity of income

goes far to insure the regulation of expense and keeping out

of debt, that frequent source of embarrassment
tion.

and humilia-

If the remembrance of so remote a transaction

may

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

150

be relied on,

my

[paet

11.

plan was approved at the Foreign Office

and carried more or

less into

until another party

eifect,

came into power with retrenchment figuring in its programme. The word went forth, and a change more or less
slashing was brought to bear on our table of American
with no other view but the single one of reduction.

salaries,

This,

correctly stated, lies

if

The machinery

regret.

interests as those

open to a strong feeling of

for protecting

and promoting such

which underlie the term international

relations has a just claim to efficiency as the principle of

its

financial

maintenance.

Cheapness, as the

exclusive

aim of settlement in such cases, may prove in the end

to

Economy may

be extravagance.

more advantage

be

consulted with

in a judicious selection of places where

most needed, and where a greater or

lower degree of rank and appointment is the most suitable.
consular authority

is

In recent years the increase of attention paid to the

qualification of candidates for official
fairly

with

taken

its

attendant examinations

provide

the

with

State

office

no doubt,

mechanical talents

It tends to deprive igno-

capacities.

rance, sloth, and dulness of the preferment they were

at times to obtain in the reign

hardly pretend
qualities of
tion, the

to'

to

grounded in the

of any kind generally

It helps to bring into use the

from a wider range of

Competition

is calculated,

servants well

rudiments of such knowledge as

requires.

employment may be

as an earnest of good results.

of patronage.

But

wont
it

can

develop or even to ascertain the higher

miad, the judgment, the foresight, the resolu-

morahty, which are the true elements of usefulness

and honourable success in public life. " Cramming " and

" coaching," to use the slang of the day, will often serve to
obtain a preference for some youth whose only superiority

over his rivals

lies

in a quick

dignitary of our Church,

who

memory.

An

illustrious

had gained the university

1877.]

PKOPOSED CHANGES IN THE CONSULAR SERVICE.

scholarship at Cambridge, told

correctly a score of the

me

151

had answered

that he

two dozen questions put to him

during his examination, and that a few months later he

could not have answered four of them.

In the

been employed to

test the

name

dates was the

com-

first

which had

petition paper I ever saw, one of the questions

comparative merit of the candi-

of a stream in Dorsetshire,

It is refreshing to learn

from the public journals that the

improvement of our consular service engages the serious

attention of

Her

Majesty's Minister for Foreign Affairs.

It

appears that a measure having this object in view has actually

passed through
to

which

it

its first stage of operation.

applies are Turkey, Persia,

The

countries

and Egypt, where

under present circumstances it is most wanted. The formation of a body of " student dragomans," eligible for eventual

employment as consuls or

interpreters, can hardly fail to be

useful in a high degree.

Whatever may be his rank, a

consul

who

is

ignorant of the national language where he

resides, especially if it be at a seaport, acts

difficulties.

own

He must

salary be small,

under needless

employ an interpreter, and,

pay him

at a rate

which

if his

is fitter to

cause discontent and embarrassment than to obtain good

work or

to exclude temptation.

The

principle of opening

two doors of preferment to those who stand in the

first

instance at one, might perhaps be carried further with ad-

vantage to the public.

It

might even be introduced with a

prospect of good results into the

foreign service.

home

as well as into the

Together with the growth of population,

wealth, knowledge, and activity throughout Europe, to say

nothing of America, the business of every

ment increases from year

to year,

official

depart-

and in England more

make
more and more dependent for
information, and consequently even in some degree for
particularly the frequent changes of ministry tend to

the chief of each department

THE EASTEEN QUESTION.

1.5i

on

opinion,

his

subordinate

_.[pART-n..

It

officers.

is,

therefore,

evidently desirable that the clerks in each of the leading

establishments should be something more than the

title

in

modern acceptation implies, that their minds should not be

tethered down in one narrow circle, but acquire first elements of judgment and a freer spirit by more extended
Grooves of thought, con-

practice in the official region.

movements of intellect to some inexpansive

line, are to be found in more than one of the learned professions, and rare even is the lawyer who can discuss the
fining the

merits of a political measure with the large comprehension

of a statesman.

Let the clerks of each

first-rate

depart-

ment be interchangeable at convenient times, and even

attached now and then for a while to some diplomatic
mission or consulship abroad, and

would be strange

it

if

the traveller, enlightened by variety of scene and occupation, did not finally prove a safer counsellor to his chief

than

if

he had stagnated during his best years in one same

pool of almost mechanical routine.

It should not be for-

gotten that the functions of a consul in the East are judicial

as well as commercial, and that a moderate

knowledge

is

not only a creditable

amount of legal
accomplishment, but an

acquisition not to be omitted without serious prejudice to

the interests

concerned.

This

the Turkish capital, because

originally

instituted

court

is

the

more important

the ambassador's
of last

transferred to the Consul-General,

who

appeal

at

court, as

has

been

has, moreover, the

privilege in certain cases of a seat at the chief native tri-

bunal, where Turkish law and the Turkish language are

naturally in use.

"When, as in some rare cases, in Egypt and at

Hamburg

for instance, a diplomatic character is attached to the con-

sulship, the rule of international law affords a

more complete

secmity to the individual who holds the double

office.

If

SUGGESTED EEFOEMS.

1877.]

oases of this kind were

more

might have reason to rejoice

153

frequent, the trading classes

but

it is

by no means unlikely

that the inconvenience to any independent state of having a

nm'sery of foreign arrogance, far away from metropolitan

town and seaport, has had the

control, in every provincial

effect of limiting

the admission of such rights as the fuU

extent of international privilege confers.

Permission to trade, which has not yet been entu'ely

exploded frorn the consular service,

may

derive credit from

economical tendency, but can hardly be thought to merit

its

approval on any other ground, whether moral, political, or

The

commercial.

avoid reproach,

is

trading consul, careful as he

by the mere

fact

exposed to

necessarily detracts from the respect

may be to
much that

due to his

o6.cial

character and reliance on the impartiality of his decisions.

He may

be called upon to give judgment in his

may have

he

own cause

to contend with the local authorities on his

private account

he

is

lucky indeed

if

he escapes being an

object of jealousy or suspicion to rival traders.

less to

remark that of

men

all

It is need-

a magistrate, in which capa-

city consuls are generally entitled to act, at least

name

interests,

and above any kind of disparaging suspicion.

Among
life

under the

of arbiters, ought to be free from the bias of private

the papers belonging to the period of

my

official

I have recently found one which, more than thirty years

old, contains opinions so

still

entertain, that I

by inserting a few of
of a simple

may
its

much

in accordance with those I

strengthen

my present

passages here.

memorandum, and

on Turkey I probably drew

it

statement

It is in the

form

as its immediate bearing

up

for transmission to

was

Down-

ing Street

Much might be effected hy opening the

several departments of the estaSurely the public service would gain if attaches
were placed within reach of practical consular knowledge, if consuls were
,

blishment to each other.

THE EASTEBN QUESTION.

154

[pakt

ii.

circle, if linguists were called into a wider

Englishmen had less to apprehend from being classed
with native agents, and the native more to hope from their connection
with the service in short, if more activity, variety, and promotion,
founded on solid acquirements, were opened to all.
Our general system holds out few prizes to them, and if they are
well paid, they are undistinguished and tethered into caste.

less rooted to

one spot or one

sphere of action,

if

A consul is now considered as placed for life, except in cases of gross

... A system founded on the principles of transfer, pro-

misconduct.

motion, and uncertain tenure might go far in the way of remedy, and,
as consuls now retire on pensions, there would be no hardship.

would perhaps be more useful as a prize

than in any other point of view.
succession of students should be provided.

The rank

of consul-general

for the meritorious

We

are told

by writers on the law of nations that every

nation has a right to trade with those

agree with

it

its traffic is

in the. practice,

an injury.

who

are ready to

and therefore that to molest

Whatever modifications of

the counter-claim of belligerents

may have

this right

introduced, the

consuls or protectors of trade are entitled to every consideration and encouragement consistent with the

good order and

independence of the country where they reside. The example

of a State whose subjects carry on an almost unlimited com-

merce, and whose outlying dominions are of unparalleled

must tell more or less on the policy of other States

and England is therefore bound not only to give full protection to her own commercial interests, but also in so doing
to act by methods sound in principle and acceptable to the
extent,

world at large.

Her

standard, which floats respected in

every clime, declares her sense of the obligation by virtually

bearing on

its folds

a watchword for

from commerce the shackles of

all

who would

selfish error,

strike off

and secure in

time by general concurrence the unrestrained diifusion of

nature's ever-multiplying productions,

and of

art's still in-

creasing contributions to the comfort of mankind.

we move as a nation on the line marked

out by Providence, and happy is our lot in other matters

Thus

it is

that

THE DIPLOMATIST'S SPHERE OF ACTION.

1877.]

also

when we take

for our guide the rule of action

human

bridges of
tion,

can

Oceans have been justly styled the

to suggest.

fail

which

Wisdom

an earnest search into the laws of Almighty

hardly

155

intercourse.

The

fact implies the inten-

and therefore we act ia obedience to the Creator when,

by means of statute, treaty, or subordinate agency, we promote the interchange of produce, and encourage by protectAttention to the qualification of

ing the salutary process.

persons employed in carrying these processes into

evidently

With

no small part of our duty.

consuls. little remains to be said on this point,

might be added belongs, with slight shades of

any

at aU, to the

more privileged

effect is

respect to

and what

difference, if

class of diplomacy.

An

ambassador, as the personal representative of his sovereign,

ought, in the abstract at least, to possess that degree of
superiority which ability, education, manners,

on terms of equality with the

first

and character,

He

united to good purpose, natm-ally confer.

should

live

of the land, and, in

serving the interests of his country with vigilance and firmness,

remember that

though

its

branches

for a season.

his

Such

his mission has its roots in peace,

may be shaken and

is

government and execute

ing from

call for

of diplomacy

it

when

may be

never shrink-

the urgency of circumstances

an iadependent decision.

part of the subject would be superfluous.

ments, differing

leaves scattered

its instructions,

when

responsibility

appears to

its

the spirit in which he should inform

in degree, befit

acting in chief.

No

More on

this

Similar require-

aU the members

one need be told

that the service is one of honour proportioned to its im-

portance.

To make

plod through

it

its earlier

deserving individuals

a profession confined to those

stages

but

who

would be favourable to a few

critical

emergencies

may

require

an exceptional choice, and recourse might be had to the

Houses of Parliament with every chance of success. The

THE BASTBEN QUBSTION.

156

[part

II.

education of that contentious and untrammelled arena

is

calculated to invigorate, enlarge, and elevate the mind, nor

is it likely

that faculties of keen intelligence so exercised

would disappoint the public when called to the management

of

some weighty negotiation.

kind has recently occurred,

approved from

first

A prominent
and

example of

appointment

the

to last, notwithstanding its

has

its

The

Commerce, that

bond of

tliis

Every medal
composed of light and

has no material reality.

Even day

reverse.

darkness.
the

ideal

was

unusual

character and unsuccessful issue.* Perfection is not for

world.

tliis

itself is

soui'ce of blessings to

our race,

and first-born of peace, may be charged

nations,

with the contradiction of supplying those

who

are at

war

with the means of mutual destruction.

It is nevertheless consoling to observe the

improvement

which from time to time has taken place in the general

view of what constitutes the true principle of commercial

There was a day when a treaty regulating the

between two countries conferred no credit on the

agreements.
traffic

negotiator unless

it

gave some decided advantage to his side

better principle now prevails in such

and
the
treaty
which gives no advantage to either
matters,
of the bargain.

party, but provides equally for the interests of both, is held

to

be the soundest.

The

settlement of disputes by arbitra-

tion has not yet superseded the rougher

method

of appeal-

ing to the sword, but a few successive instances of

it which
do honour to the present century, and the tendencies of

public opinion, encourage the hope of its becoming ere long

a fixed rule of international law.

The annual

conferences,

such as took place quite recently at Geneva, are no hght

signs of a

movement

in the right direction,

and may with

reason perhaps be haUed as harbingers of a pacific era.

* Mission
1876.

of the

Marquis of Salisbury to Constantinople, December,

THE EBROE OP TOO MUCH RETICENCE.

1877.]

Present appearances in the

mercial departments of

oui'

political, religious,

civilised

1B7

and com-

world hang with the

gloom of heavy clouds over the dawn of that prospect hut

as hope lay under a load of evil in Pandora's hox, and as,
;

from our experience of nature's operations, we perceive that

may

extremes are apt to produce their contraries, we

be

allowed to hold good against the suggestions of utter dis-

The

couragement.

destructive wars

reader need not be reminded of the

which, on a colossal scale and with

quent recurrence, have marked the last thirty years

mighty changes in the

fre-

what

have in

relative condition of states

consequence taken place, side by side with a series of

triumphs for the most part auxiliary to the arts of

scientific

peace and the brotherhood of

need he be told that the

enmity

is

The

and unscrupulous

the slaughterhouse of an heroic soldiery with

more hideous
patriotism and
no

Still less

in horrors which render every

no result but that of preparation

is

societies.

spirit of violence

now culminating

field of battle

human

for other scenes of carnage

Exhaustive

still.

sacrifices

declare

visible relaxation of hostihty in

charities of

Turkey or

Christendom bend over the

impartial benevolence.

the

There

religious zeal of either belligerent.

in Eussia.

suiferers with

Surgeons and nurses of repute en-

counter in numbers privation and danger at the

call

of

humanity.

Eeporters of every description throng the

of conflict.

Voices of sorrow and indignation resound from

fields

The neutral Governments alone, as it would

mute and motionless. Neither the waste of hfe
in regular armies, nor wanton cruelties of the undisciplined,
every quarter.

seem, are

have called forth any authoritative expression of censui-e on

such astounding excesses. Still less are they known to
have made any overture leading to the acceptance of their
mediation by the belligerent Powers. Their reticence at

such a

crisis

may

be regretted the more as Em-opean

THE EASfEEN

l58
interests

are

concerned

no

in

[pam

QTJES*I01T.

small

degree.

It.

Russian

ambition and Turkish vengeance are alike to be appre-

Whatever

hended, and consequently to be kept in check.

may be thought

of their respective lines of conduct, the

tributary frontier provinces have claims on the sympathy of

all

who

weak

and reprobate as men pohtical

believe as Christians,

oppression.
to

Their position,

stipulate

grievous in the

on

if

extreme.

may

find himself compelled

demand concessions

and emphatically

would

probably

Should victory declare

finally in favour of Russia, the

to

Russia should prove too

their behalf,

be

itself

sovereign of that country

by the clamour of

his subjects

injurious to the interests of Europe,

to those of England.

To

obtain the con-

currence of several independent Powers in the course of

by these remarks would, no doubt, be a

task of considerable difficulty. But to overcome the worst
action suggested

difficulties for

a great and beneficent purpose

and well might Englishmen be proud of

if

the attempt were

made

is

their

in good faith and

true glory,

government

by

suitable

means, though without any adequate success.

Stkatfokd de Redclqte.

XIV.

EECOLLECTIONS OF THE EEVIVAL OF

GKEEK INDEPENDENCE.
[PART

I.,

AueusT, 1878.]

recently laid on the table of the

Some papers

Commons

relate

somewhat

distant

interests of that

House

of

to transactions concerning Greece of a

date,

but

country in

closely
its

connected with the

present and prospective

state.

It so

happened that I was

called

upon

to take

an active

part in the negotiations which led to the revival of Hellenic

independence, nor have I ever ceased to give

attention to the conduct of the

my

earnest

Government established

at

Athens, and the condition of the people submitted constitutionally to its rule.
flatter

me

These circumstances concur to

with the hope of rendering some

little

service to

the cause of inquiry by putting into a convenient shape such

recollections as I retain of the occurrences in question.

aid of a

memory subject

In

to the usual infirmities, I shall have

recourse to the surer testimony of correspondence, quotations

from which wiU

occasionally find a place

in the

following pages.
It

was not

till

after

my

return from America in the

autumn of 1823 that I had anything to do with the affairs

of Greece.
Even then I had first to go through a series of
conferences, having for their object the friendly settlement

160

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

[part

it.

of all our outstanding differences with the United States.

This interesting but

fruitless negotiation

occupied several

months of the following year, and its failure, though much

to be regretted, had the consolation of not being attributable
to the British Government or its representatives.

The appointment

in view

was an embassy

at the Sultan's

and consequently an immediate connection with the

conflict still raging between the Porte and its Hellenic
court,

subjects.

Hence

before I went to

it

my

was that I had

to visit St. Petersburg

further destination at Stamboul.

The

basis of a mediation between the contending parties, to one

at

least of

whom

a friendly proposal of that kind was

thought likely to prove agreeable, had to be laid down at

the former capital, and happy should I have been to share
in the accomplishment of so laudable a plan.

was

at

directed

Mr. Canning

that time Secretary for Foreign Affairs, and he

me

to

draw up a statement of the various points

which would probably have to be considered in discussing

the range and character of the intended

offer.

The memo-

randum, which I wrote in consequence, is too long for

insertion here, but parts of it, and those the very first, may
be introduced with some degree of advantage.

word

for

word

They

follow

It is presumed that the British Government would hail the complete

independence of Greece, if effected by the Greeks themselves, as the best
solution of the difficulties connected with the present conflict between
that country and the Porte ; but sentiments of humanity, and the
natural sympathy between a people in the possession of liberty and a
people struggling to obtain it, must not be allowed to operate to the
exclusion of all other considerations. Some views of British policy may
perhaps combine with^the best feelings of human nature to' induce
Great Britain to stand forward without reserve in support of the independence of Greece, but there is no denying that to place hersdf in

such an attitude she must act in contradiction to that pacific and comprehensive system of policy which she has adopted for the most beneficial
purposes, at the risk of being involved in war without the support of her
principal allies, and on very questionable grounds of justice.

MEMORANDUM ON GREEK

1878.]

ICl

AFFAIE.S.

The opinions of the leading powers of Europe have been given in

favour of an arrangement which, though it holds out important advantages to Greece, would nevertheless have the effect of replacing that
country under the sovereignty of the Porte. It is not to be expected
that the Sultan would give up so large a portion of his empire without
an appeal to arms, especially at the requisition of a single power. The
right of Great Britain to make such a recLuisition under the present
circumstances would find biit little countenance either in the principles
of the law of nations, or in any specific obligations contracted by
Turkey.
.

It is therefore evident that in the conference.s at Petersbui'g there can

be no question of the complete independence of Greece, but only of its
pacification on terms consistent on one side with the sovereignty of the
Porte, and calculated on the other to secure the Greeks in essential
points from the violence and misgovernment of their former possessors.
If the Sultan cannot be required to relinquish the entire sovereignty of
Greece, neither can the Greeks be required to return to their former

position luider his sway.

Considering the dreadful extremities to which the war in Greece has

been carried, and the veiy great uncertainty of its final issue, the Allied
Powers cannot fail to serve both the contending parties by engaging

them

to sacrifice a part of their respective pretensions for the restoration

But if the same motives which preclude Great Britain and

the Allies from insisting on the independence of Greece restrain them
also from going to war in support of the plan which they are preparing
of peace.

to urge

on the acceptance of the Porte,

it is

but

fair that

they should

abstain from employing any degree of coercion to bring the Greeks into
their measures.

The Greeks may act unwisely in preferring a precarious independence

accompanied with war in its worst shape, to any arrangement which
the Allied Powers are likely to eifect in their behalf, but it would
surely be the height of injustice and cruelty to deny them the right of
judging for themselves in a case of such vital importance.
It thus
appears that in attempting the pacification of Greece the AUies are
bound to stop short of war.
But it would be a fatal mistake to suppose, while determining not to
go the length of hostilities, that any plan of pacification at aU acceptable
to the Greeks can be pressed with success upon the Porte by other
means than those of a virtual compulsion.
The Turks, in shutting their eyes to the most obvious considerations
of policy and humanity, might plead the example of nations far superior
to them in the arts of government, and enjoying the advantages of a
purer religion. But to induce the Porte to recede in any degree from
the contest in which she is now engaged, an apprehension of something
worae than the continuance of that contest, however sanguinary and
impolitic, of some evil more to be dreaded than an insurrection of the

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

162

[part

ii.

must be presented to her imagination. War, though not

some of the principal powers of Europe, or, at
least, with one of them, must he made to appear theprohahle conseq[uence
The
of protracted hostilities between the Porte and her Greek subjects.
Turkish ministry must be led to view the danger as a natural result of
that state of things, to which their acceptance of the proposed plan of
pacification could alone put an end.
Janissaries,

actually menaced, with

The memorandum

continues in a similar strain

In order not to alarm the pride of the Turkish Government at the

same time that their fears are excited, a tone of conciliation and friendly
interest must be adopted at least in making the first communication.
Particular attention should be paid to this point, equally whether the
charge of opening and conducting the negotiation be entrusted to the
Russian minister alone, or to the representatives of all the Allied Powers
at Constantinople.

The adoption of the one or of the other of these two modes of proceeding will probably depend on the principle on which the Allied
Powers may see fit to ground their intervention.
If Russia be put
forward to interfere on behalf of the Greeks in virtue of her specific
stipulations with the Porte, the Russian ambassador wiU. naturally
become the organ of her proposals and remonstrances. The ambassadors
of the iovi other principal powers can hardly in that case take any other
than an auxihary and occasional part in the negotiations with the Porte.
If the suggestion of Austria, on the other hand, be adopted, and the
offer of mediating between the Porte and her insurgent subjects be made
in the name of all the Allied Powers on the general ground of the great
European interests, the ambassadors of those powers wLU probably be
called

Of

upon

The one has

venience.
collision
it

to act collectively.

these two distinct

with the Porte

modes

of proceeding neither is free from incon-

the disadvantage of bringing Russia again' into

;

and the other may be thought

to carry with

the risk of committing England to all the principles of the Holy

AUiance.
Considering the alternative with reference to the Turks alone, the
most effectiial course would perhaps be found to embrace both the
above-mentioned principles.
The ambassadors of the five Allied Powers ought to be instructed to
commu.nicate to the Porte in similar terms, though separately, the

common

views of their respective sovereigns with regard to the pacifica-

tion of Greece, at the same time that the Russian ambassador might
interfere in the same sense in virtue of treaty stipulations subsisting

between his Court and the Turkish Government. A joint representation, grounded on general principles and expressed in a more authoritative

TURKISH AND GREEK BOUNDARIES.

1S78.]

tone,

might be held in

163

reserve, in case the Porte should obstinately

and it is worth considering

whether the important measure of breaking off all friendly relations
with the Turkish part of the Porte's dominions might not, if necessary,
be finally resorted to.
Such a measure would doubtless be attended with considerable iaeonvenience to trade, but besides that it would lead the Turks to
apprehend war with the principal powers of Europe as its probable
though not immediate consequence, their supplies of grain for the consumption of Constantinople would be rendered very precarious by it,
and their finances would be materially affected.
It may be objected to this expedient that the AUies, if prepared to
resort to it against the Porte, ought equally to employ it, if necessary,
for the purpose of influencing the Greeks.
But the objection is not well
persist in rejecting the proposal of the Allies

founded.
The Allied Powers have diplomatic relations with the former and
none with the latter. Those relations they have a perfect right to
suspend on grounds far short of what would justify an appeal to arms
and the interruption of commerce must follow on a withdrawal of that
;

protection without which the Christian merchant could not safely pursue
his business in Turkey.

The Turks,

to say nothing of their religion, are

known

to differ, toto

from the nations of European origin in custom, language, and laws.

They are themselves so sensible, and indeed so proud, of this difference,
that they recognise no general law of nations, and in their discussions
with other countries rest their claims exclusively on treaty.
If the Greeks were to persist in rejecting the overtures of the Allies
after the Porte had acceded to them, they could be made to know that
they had nothing more favourable to expect from European mediation,
and that they would thenceforth be left without further countenance
from any Christian power than what would result from a fair application
ccelo,

of the rules of neutrality.

The memorandum concludes with the folio wiug addition:

be easy, however desirable, to come to an early decision as
of islands and extent of country to be comprised within
It is important that the Greeks of the continent
the limits of Greece.
should have, if possible, a good natural boundary to separate them from
In general, military possession or a very
their Turkish neighbours.
decided superiority in population is what may be expected to offer a
It will not

to the

number

principle for regulating the extent of their territory.

The

instructions intended for

me

were already in part on

paper when one of the public journals announced as an

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

IQi

[PAitT

li.

authentic fact that hoth belligerents were committed to a

which might be

refusal of any mediation

The

offered.

knowledge of this both-sided resolution put necessarily a

The

stop to further progress in diplomatic equipment.

Eussians took offence at this interruption, and seemed to

fancy that some political design lay in ambush under its
After a delay of no unreasonable length the mission

skirts.

to Petersburg

was again taken up with that degree of

change in form and purpose which circumstances required.

I was to go by Vienna,

to'

communicate with the Emperor

and his chief Minister there, and to have powers for settling
by convention the boundaiy between our territories and
As to mediation,
those of Russia in North America.
the task was limited, or nearly so, to an interchange of
explanations regarding the proposed conference,
sion

by England

for the present,

its

suspen-

and the views entertained

respectively in prospect of its eventual resumption.

principal instruction

only ample in
sures

left

itself,

composed

my

for

The

guidance was not

but an accompaniment of

fifty

enclo-

nothing to be desired on the score of information.

It contained the following passage

" You

will take ad-

vantage of your residence there (at St. Petersburg) to enter

into explanation with the Russian Ministry

question of Greece

and as

w.ell to

as to state expUcitly the opinion of

it."

upon the whole

learn their ulterior views,

your Government upon

subsequent paragraph served to show

how

utterly

would have been an attempt at mediation following

upon the occurrence referred to above, and also to
explain more fuUy the form and character of the occurrence

useless
close

itself.

ment

To

these specific

explanations

succeeded a state-

of the general principles on which the British policy

was grounded at the time and so much historical interest

adheres to them that I am induced to repeat the very woi'ds
;

in

which they are expressed

CONVERSATIONS WITH PBINCB METTEKNICH.

1878.]

To

preserve the peace of the world

of England.

For

is

165

the leading object of the policy

this purpose, it is necessary in the first place to prevent

power the breaking out of new quarrels in the

it can be done by friendly mediation,
and, thirdly, where that is hopeless, to narrow as

to the utmost of our

second ^place, to compose, where

existing differences,

much

as possible their range

an imperturbable neutrality in

and, fourthly, to maintain for ourselves

all cases

where nothing occurs

to affect

injuriously oui interests or our honour.

It

became

my

business to inculcate the application of

these principles to the impending question of mediation

whether at Vienna or

at Petersburg.

On

visiting the capital

of Austria I lost no time in waiting on Prince Metternich,

and requesting an audience of the Emperor. From our

Henry Wellesley, I met with
from the Sovereign and
all suitable and friendly support
his Chancellor a reception of which I had no reason to

resident ambassador there, Sir

complain.
full.

My

discussions with the Prince were frank and

His Imperial master

listened graciously,

his opinions without any apparent reserve.

and stated

Nevertheless

the same language in substance proceeded from both.

They

would not admit the uselessness of opening a conference

immediate mediation;

for

they professed to hold cheap the

Greek declaration which had operated so powerfully on the

Cabinet; they would be no party to what they
deemed an encouragement on our part to revolution, and
British

they were not disposed to adopt our doctrine of excluding

by previous engagement the eventual use of force from the

means of obtaining compliance. Prince Metternich referred

me at one time to M. Gentz, a well-known political writer,

who was then employed privately by him in drawing up
parts of the State correspondence.

man was

Discussion with so able

interesting enough, but the questions in

hand

derived no advantage, in a British sense, from his capacious

mind.

It

was evident that Austria meant to side with

much from sympathy as from un-

Russia, not perhaps so

[paet

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

166

willingness to loosen her friendly

connection

ii.

with that

power, which in Prince Metternich's time was ever an object

of dislike to the Germans, and of apprehension to ^ their
central authority.

Christmas

me

found

still

at Vienna.

The long wintry

way to St. Petersbm-g, as yet

had one advantage namely, that of delay. Time
was wanted to smooth down the ruffled tempers of Count
Nesselrode and his autocratic master. A serious overflow of
the Neva had recently occurred, and, instead of operating
like the waters of Lethe, it had increased the vexation caused
region to be traversed on the

unrailed,

by what they deemed

be English trickery.

to

tardy

on the scene of negotiation was more likely to do

good than harm, and the notion was subsequently justified
by a courteous reception. At a customary state ball in his
arrival

Winter Palace the Emperor was pleased to

for a long conversation

me

which had the

to the highest society as

When

accredited

me

deal with

Count Nesselrode,

to liimself.

had been one of

The

much

eifect

single

me

out

of accrediting

as the royal letter

had

business began, I had to

by M. PoHtica, who
diplomatic colleagues at Washington.

my

assisted

course to be pursued required a certain degree

of

The Russians, although they were out

of

management.

humour, had no wish

to break with us.

It

seemed there-

precedence

to the Noi"th American

boundary question, and to keep in reserve the less palatable
subject of Turkey and Greece.
A brief succession of con-

fore

best

to

give

ferences sufficed to produce a conventional regulation of the

boundary

line,

which was

subsequently ratified

by the

respective Governments.

A
rode

rougher road then opened before

betrayed

some

silence about the

representatives,

little

mediation.

MM.

us.

impatience at

Count Nessel-

my

continued

The French and Austrian

de la Ferronaye and Lebzeltern, had


RUSSIA AND TURKEY.

1878.]

To

their share of this feeling.

for the delay to cease.

my instructions

It could

167

say the truth, it was time

no longer he concealed that

were limited to explanation on our side and

a mutual interchange of views as to any eventual co-opera-

France and the two

tion for restoring, peace in the Levant.

Emperors wished

have England a party to their con-

to

come

ference, hut to all appearance were ready to

agreement without her.

Count Nesselrode was soon brought

willingness to go on when he learned
restricted.

pleasure,

to an

preliminary conversation with

by his un-

to a stop
to

what

was

limits I

"We agreed, however, to take the Emperor's

and the consequence was a renewal of our

But the second endeavour proved

as useless as the

talk.
first.

I could take no part in a conference, and our Eussian

would not give up a resort

to coercion as a final

allj^

means of

The audience
Emperor detained

obtaining assent to an offer of mediation.

the audience of leave

me

ensued, and

the

nearly three-quarters of an hour, anxious, as

it

seemed,

to explain the principles on which his general policy

founded, and their application to the

Greece in particular.
occasion contained
discourse,

and

all

My report

affairs

was
Turkey and

of

of what passed on the

the principal points of his Majesty's

after a lapse of

more than

fifty

venture to repeat by quotation some parts of

years I

it

may

not wholly

destitute of historical interest.

The Emperor declared that throughout his late difference with the
Porte he had laboured conscientiously to avoid the necessity of an appeal
He assured me that in proceeding to takemeasures for restoring
to arms.
tranquillity in the East his only motives were those of humanity towards
the Greeks, of concern for the general welfare of Eiurope, and anxiety
remove as far as possible all subjects of irritation between himself
and the Sultan. " I am well aware," said his Imperial Majesty, " that
to

the resources of Russia, great as they are, could scarcely be called into
action without exciting, perhaps not unreasonably, the vigilance and
solicitude of other sovereigns, and it is on this very account that I have
made it a solemn duty since the evacuation of France by the Allied

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

168

[paut

ii.

His
my empire in an attitude of perfect repose."
Imperial Majesty was so explicit in his assertions that the intervention
which he contemplated was of a strictly pacific character, that I ventured
to avow my emharrassment in endeavouring to reconcile those assertions
with the evident unwillingness which existed to satisfy the scruples of
Forces to keep

Great Britain by a positive and binding assurance to the same effect.

The Emperor condescended to reply that we had only to go into the
conferences in order to be completely satisfied, but I listened in vain
for an explanation of the causes which deterred the Russian Cabinet,
anxious as it is for the co-operation of Great Britain, from promising to

manner which they are disposed

Speaking of the war in Greece, the Emperor betrayed a mind divided between sympathy with a people of his own
persuasion goaded into rebellion by their sufferings, and disapprobation
of the revolutionary principles which had been mixed up with the

satisfy the British ministers in the only

to appreciate.

causes of their struggle.

These extracts carry

of the

Emperor

me

back to Vienna and

my

audience

Francis, whose language on the subject of

mediation was in substance the same as that of his imperial

but with a difference in something more than

brother,

manner and expression.

that " if England chose
he was also prepared to

He

told Tae, frankly, as he said,

to take her

own

line in the affair,

He

follow his own.

should place

himself at the side of the Emperor of Russia,

who had

need of countenance and support against his own nation

nation ambitious as in the days of the Empress Catherine

and

cherishing hopes

still

Turkey.

He

without England

of

conquest on the side of

was prepared to go into the Conference

not that by so doing he saw any prospect

of effecting the pacification of Greece

but to

tie

up

Russia from taking any active part in the war between the

The best, he thought, that

Turks and the Creeks.
could happen would be that the Sultan should succeed in
.

putting

down

the insurrection, and then that of his

own

accord he should improve the condition of his Christian

subjects.

He

had no

feeling for rebels.

reduced to submission," &c.

They were

to be


1878.]

ME.,

CANNING ON THE GREEK DIFFICULTY.

The two Emperors and

169

their respective ministers being

same mind, my only remaining duty

was to return to London. I left St. Petersburg with the
persuasion that no conference in which Austrian counsels
prevailed would have any satisfactory, or indeed any efficient
issue at all, and such in fact turned out to be the sequence
so unmistakably of the

of

my

mission, which could pretend to

greater merit

n,o

than that of protecting the Greeks from an ominous act of

interference with their struggles for liberty.

journey had no political interest, but

tunity of passing through

of "Warsaw, which I

had

Moscow and
visited

in the latter city I found the

on

it

The homeward

gave

me an

oppor-

Berlin, to say nothing

my way

out.

Although

Emperor Alexander and

his

Minister for Foreign Affairs, I had no further communication with

them on the

subject of Greece.

After a gracious reception

by the King and a few months

of quiet in England, I started with fresh instructions for

myself again mixed up with

During the interval a deputation

Constantinople, and found

the Levantine affairs.

from the heads of the Greek insurrection appeared in

London, and

its

members

v/ere

admitted to a conference

with the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.

object of the mission

was

The

to obtain the consent of

chief

England

become the protectress of Greece. Mr. Canning's reply

was recorded in a precis of the conference, from which I
extract the following passage, showing in addition the

to

determination at that time of the Hellenic leaders

" There might be a point in the contest," said Mr. Canning, "in which
Great Britain might exert her influence to promote a compromise between the Greeks and the Porte, not for the entire independence of
Greece, for that would be asking everything, and could not be the subject
of a compromise (if they could conquer it, it was well, and that was
their affair), but for anything short of independence which might form
The Greek deputies
the basis of an arrangement -ndth the Porte.
The Greeks would never again
declared such a plan to be impossible.


THE EASTERN QUESTION,

170
live in

amity with the Turks

[pakt

They must

among them.

estaLlishecl

ii.

either conquer or die."

In a despatch from the Secretary of State to the King's

Ambassador at Vienna, dated October 3, 1825, the following
instruction occurs

Your Excellency

will not fail to point out to Prince

Mettemich that

the language of his Majesty's proclamation sufficiently implies the resolution of his Majesty not to contract with the Greeks any other relations

than those of the neutrality which his Majesty has hitherto scrupulously
observed.

My

journey to

commenced about the

Constantinople

middle of October.

From

the French coast to Naples

it

was by land. At Naples I embarked on board the " Eevenge,"

Admiral Sir Harry Neale's

in passing

by Geneva, I

and Count Capo

fell

d'Istria,

flagship.

On the way thither,

Adam Czartorj'ski

in with Prince

both in honourable exile, alike in

their attachment to countries labouring

under

eclipse, the

former looking for a crown which never encircled his brows,

the latter destined to a success of inferior dignity in Greece,

where he met the blow which closed his career for ever.
It

was a part of

my

duty to seek information about the

Greece from the Government established

state of things in

under British colours at

soil

Corfu.

where Alcinous reigned of

Christmas by an
as well as the

life

illness

There, on the
old,

I was

which threatened

classic

detained

my own

till

happiness

of another.

The subsequent

portion of

my voyage

was lengthened by

contrary winds and other incidental circumstances.

A new

year had begun before we entered the Archipelago.

In our

up that sea we anchored for the greater part of a

wintry Sunday between the Morea and the rocky little island
It was an eventful pause.
of Hydra.
News reached us
progi'ess

there of the

Emperor Alexander's death at Taganrog. Two

Greek insurgents came on board the Eevenge.'

of the leading

'

DIFFICULT NEGOTIATIONS.

1878.]

After nightfall

we were caught

in a hurricane.

attendant on the admiral was lost.

on, as best
still

we

for the

A roj'al brig

Nevertheless we hurried

Beyond, the winds were

could, to Smyrna.

At the Dardanelles

adverse.

171

I exchanged the

'

Revenge

my

Medina,' while the admiral's band softened

'

regret into tears

'

by playing, as I took leave on deck, the

national air of Greece, expressive, as

and almost hopeless resolution.

In

had nothing

detention in the Strait, 1

was, of plaintive

it

short,

after a fresh

for it but to get

on

horseback and ride overland to the city of bazaars and

minarets.

My interview

Hydra with Prince Alexander

off

Mavrocordato and his companion M. Zographos had cast a

deep shade on

my

diplomatic prospects

sovereigns in Eussia led

tions,

and

it

me

to expect

but the change of

some fresh

instruc-

might be of consequence that I should receive

them without any avoidable

delay.

The Greeks had

reason to indulge in flattering dreams of triumph.

ever their courage might inspire,

resources were ebbing

down

it

was

to low- water

little

"What-

clear that their

mark; that acts of

a pu'atical character, imposed perhaps by their necessities,

had raised in Christendom

feelings of impatience to their

and that a lamentable want of union among

their chiefs and classes diminished the effect of what still
disadvantage

remained to them as elements of resistance.

Peace with

Turkey on condition of their deliverance from the evils of

Mussulman rule and social contact in the Morea, leaving its
entirely excluded

by Turks, seemed by no means

from then- contemplation. Little might

serve to rekindle

much

fortresses to be garrisoned

brighter views, but for the time

it

appeared that a sense of weakness had chilled those noble

yet perilous aspirations, to which the Hellenic

mind

is

naturally prone.

I had scarcely reached Constantinople when the Secretary

of

Embassy, who was acting

as minister at the time of

my

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

172
arrival,

His
j'our

approached

me

ii.

with a very unpleasant intimation.

words almost were these

first

[rAiiT

Excellency that there

'

am

sorry to inform

Of
They

a traitor in the embassy.'

is

course I asked for the grounds of his information.

were such by his statement as warranted suspicion, but not

enough
'

to

Can you

man

him

a positive charge on the person suspected.

refer me,' I said,

5'ou aver ?

what

stantiate

fix

'

'

any one who can

to

of excellent sense, and in every

made

way

Of

respectable.

Conceive

my

embarrass-

Important negotiations were in the wind.

suspected individual was an

tion between the

capacity; his

sub-

inquh-y, but could only learn that in his per-

suasion the charge was no fancy.

ment.

full)'

He named the Dutch Ambassador,

official

Embassy and

The

channel of communica-

the Porte.

I esteemed his

judgment was sound; he had much experience

of local affairs; he was in favour with the Turkish ministers.

I could not set

him

aside without a risk of increasing

manner with any degree

decisive

my

with the Porte, nor indeed could I act in that

difficulties

of justice while the grounds

of accusation were incomplete.

Enough

of this.

negotiate,
tions,

Sooner or

riituation.

had

to

make

the best of an untoward

n\y principal business was

later

and plenty of guidance flowed from

my

to

instruc-

ily attention was notably directed to the pacification

of Greece.

The renewal

Turkey and

Itussia

exertion.

of diplomatic relations

had also

The Sultan and

to

his

between

be hastened by British
ministers

were

still

in-

exorable on the former question, nor were they so without

good reason of what may be termed the mechanical kind.

The Greeks, as I have alreadj^ intimated, were nearty run
to earth,

and the burden of the war rested almost entirely

upon shoulders well able to bear it. The famous Mehemet

Ali, Pasha of Egj'pt, commanded in Candia, and by means
of his son Ibrahim and a powerful squadron threatened the

ENGLISH MEDIATION FIFTY YEARS AGO.

1S78.]

chief holds of the insurrection,

No

Morea.
Greece.

settle

particularly those in the

true alliance was yet constituted in favour of

Austria, at least

Russia kept

Turks.

in

making

aloof,

her

it

Mahmoud and
mind.

his ministers into a

The weight

point to

first

difference with

It lay at that time almost exclusively with

Sultan

with the

sentiment, sided

what remained of her own

state of

173

England

more

Turkey.
to bring

conciliatory

yf responsibility, which devolved

in consequence on me, was not

much

lessened by the readi-

ness of the Greeks to relj upon our intercession, or the

willingness of Russia and France to leave the field open to

The Porte had no inclination

our single-handed experiment.

whatever to entertain our suggestions, and

became evident

it

that her apprehensions would have to be awakened before

any wholesome impression could be made.

I did not reach Constantinople

till

the 27th of February,

and even that late arrival at the scene of my mtended

negotiation was achieved by leaving on board the Medina
'

'

my

family as well as

my ofiicial correspondence. Important

my knowledge, namely, the accession

events then came to

of Nicholas to the throne of Russia, the

mission to

St.

Duke

of Wellington's

Petersburg, Lord Strangford's unauthorised

suggestion to Coimt Nesselrode of England's readiness to

join the

other

allies in

conference for the pacification of

Greece, and the positive disavowal of that notion by the

British Government.

The

me from London

held good.

act alone

still

instructions which I took with

England was forced

to

on the subject of Greece, and resolved, in virtue

of her unfettered position, to

make

a single-handed effort in

order to obtain the desired pacification.

As her

diplomatic

instrument in Turkey for carrying that purpose into

I had to persuade the Porte by

means

effect,

of friendly argument

that Turkish interests would be best consulted by

ance of our proposed mediation and

yielding

its

accept-

to

those

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

174
reiterated

[paet

demands of Eussia which appeared to have

ii.

justice

in their favour.

From
as

it

was

the

Duke

in his

at the end of

were written.

of Wellington I received as

power to

give,

much support

but he was on his departure

March when his first communications to me

He had not then heard from me, nor did I

He

receive his despatches before the 20th of April.

joined

me

officially to

en-

assure the Porte that the Eussian

Government entertained sincerely the most pacific intentions

towards Turkey, at the same time that they were determined
to obtain a satisfactory execution of their outstanding de-

mands, which his Grace thought

resisted without

just,

imminent danger

and no longer to be
Sultan and his

to the

empire.
Such were the points of his injunction. With
what an honest, friendly earnestness he pressed them on my
attention, may be collected from his private letter to me,

which, coming from

interest the

most

great a man,

so

St.

My dear

Sie,

can hardly

fail

to

careless of readers.

Petbksburg

inclose a letter

wHch.

March 27

I tliink

(15), 1826.

you had

better at

once communicate in extsnso to tlie Eeis Effendi. It is precisely the

truth as it exists here ; and the Government of the Porte had better

know it.
The Porte may

rely

upon

it

that the present

Emperor will never

own Government

interfere in the cause of the Greeks, excepting as our

wouldj in the form of a friend that is as long as he remains at peace.

If in a state of hostility, of course H. I. M. will avail himself of every
instrument which can be of service to his own cause and injurious to
But, if at peace with the Porte, H. I. M. will not interfere
his enemy.
:

excepting as a friend.
is

am likewise

to finish all little questions

c[uite certain

with the Porte, and

that the desire here

to

remain

at peace.

Ottoman Government should not see that

all the advantage of a final settlement is on their side, and that they
should not take the first step towards such settlement, particularly on
points in which justice is already on the side of the Emperor. I have,
therefore, thought it best to write down clearly and distinctly what I
saw and know to be going on here.
Of course, I can give yo\i no instructions, but I consider myself
It is impossible that the

THE STRUGGLE AT MISSOLONGHI.

1878.]

responsible for the advice I give

send with

you

175

to sliow the official letter

which

this.

Believe me, ever yours most sincerely,

Wellington.

(Signed)

The Sultan
Duke's

letter,

declined receiving a communication of the

and

it

was only by a

little

tour de

main that

I overcame his reluctance.

The Duke took with him to England

a protocol, being the

record of an understanding to which he had brought the

Eussian Government respecting Greece, and in the following year

it

formed the basis of that

triple convention

received its formal ratification in the

My

own proceedings,

month

which

of July.

separate as they were, and, to say

the most of them, preliminary, occupied in

early part the

its

somewhat cold reserve on the part

of the Turkish Ministers, and the use they made of their
customary forms to keep me at a distance, were warnings of
I succeeded, however, in obtaining a
ominous import.

intervening period.

private interview with the Reis Eifendi before the public

ceremonies of waiting on the

Mahmoud.

course with

M.

had

Grand

Vizir and Sultan

also the advantage of confidential inter-

Minjiacky, the Russian charge d'affaires, a

sensible, trustworthy

man.

He

ought to have been super-

seded by M. Ribeaupierre, invested with the more representative character of envoy, but the expectation of that

improvement in the
was

still

i-elations

disappointed.

mark of

between Russia and Turkey

The Porte turned

a deaf ear alike

to friendly warnings, to useful offers, and to imperative

demands.

The Greeks, meanwhile, were holding

out at

Missolonghi, their national assembly was about to meet,

and they were in treaty

for, if

they had not already engaged,

the services of three distinguished individuals, Count Capo

d'lstria.

Sir Richard Church, and

Lord Cochrane, in the

Commodore.

respective positions of President, General, and

[paet

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

176

A far more important event was

ii.

About the middle

at hand.

of June a revolt of the Janissaries took place at Constantinople.

It was speedily extinguished in the blood of their

and in the ashes of their establishment. A general

suppression of the order ensued, and the
complete
and
attention, the energies, the resources of Mahmoud were

leaders,

utterly absorbed in the formation of a regular arm3^

The

breathing-time thus afforded to Greece, in so far as

the Porte was concerned, agreed, or nearly so, with the

fall

of Missolonghi followed by a great discouragement in the

insxirgent ranks.
all

Decorum and

policy both required that

communications between them and the British Embassy

should be carried on with

secrecj',

and Captain Hamilton,

who commanded what little force we had in tlie Archipelago,

became the medium of our confidential intercourse. Through
him I received a formal request to intercede on their behalf
with the Porte on terms which were more in keeping with
the language I heard off

Hydra

in the

month

than that which had been held, as before

Greek deputies in

Downing

Street.

of January

stated,

by the

This opening for

mediation afforded by a voice from under fortune's wheel

was

lost

upon the Turks, who adhered invariably

to their

cuckoo note, denying the right of any foreign party to come

between a sovereign and his rebel subjects. In England
the Sultan's vigoxu" in dealing with his refractory Janissaries
inspired a certain deference which had the effect of retarding

our prosecution of the Greek

affair.

Much

correspondence

of temporary interest filled up the interval of many months

which preceded the London convention of the 6th of July,

1827.

Meanwhile the new Government of Russia was by

Their charge d'affaires had spared no pains
idle.

no means

to bring the Porte into a tractable state of

their
to.

own

affairs.

A formal

It took place at

mind

respecting

conference was at length agreed

Ackermann, and ended in an apparent

MR. CANNING ON LORD COCHRANE.

1878.]

settlement of the differences in question.

signed, and

M.

Eibeaupierre

made

177

Articles

were

at last his appearance

in the Turkish capital.

For the time being it was principally at sea that the war
made itself felt. Incidental acts of piracy and a mistaken
exercise of belligerent rights continued to disturb the peace
of

Europe and

To

neutrals.

to inflict

serious injury on

the

trade of

inflame these causes of inquietude and com-

plaint there prevailed a

rumour of some

lawless enterprise

proposed by Lord Cochrane with the view,

it

was thought,

of increasing his fortune in the waters of Greece under the

Hellenic
light it

This danger was never realised, but in what

flag.

was regarded

at

home

the following private letter

from Mr. Canning to me, under date of July

best explain

is

1826,

may

know

not what to say to you about Lord Coclirane and his

Last year our proclamation put
down, but I suppose
convinced, as I am, upon a little reflection, that the fulmen thereof

I really

Mm

expedition.
lie is

3,

nearly

hruHm

stantinople

till

and that as he cannot be tried for burning Con;

he has actually burnt it after which it may be quite

impossible to prove the fact in a court of justice to the satisfaction of

twelve London jurymen he thinis that, being already proscribed from

the British service, an exile, and very nearly an outlaw, he has very
little to apprehend from any further process of the law, and may gain
by a few months' buccaneering in the Archipelago.
What is certain is, first, that Lord 0. has sailed in a yacht, nobody
.

knows where. He had been for some months at Brussels he came over to
England furtively, took a review of certain steamboats building in the
river Thames, and embarked somewhere in Cornwall supposed for the
;

Mediterranean.
Secondly, that two frigates have been some time building for the
Greek Committee at New York, one of which is now finished, the other
not so, or ever likely to be so, as the money for both is not forthcoming,
nor indeed for one without selling the other which the Yankees, who
put no enthusiasm in the business, intend to do.
Thirdly, that of the steamboats building here one has sailed, not
armed, and that three or four smaller ones, laden with arms, have
sailed also
supposed to be intended to furnish the " Perseverance " in
some port at which they are to touch on their way.

THE EASTEEN QUESTION.

178

Ipaet u.

Now against all these elements of a formidable armament our Act of

Parliament of 1819 does not afford any preventive protection.
Yachts may sail from this country, and so may steamboats, if unarmed, without any question, and so may arms as a matter of merchandise ; and, however strong the moral evidence of their destination, the
law cannot interfere to stop them. It is only when these elements of
armament are combined that they come within the provisions of the
law and if that combination does not take place till they have left this
country, the law is powerless against them. The only weak part in this
law, quoad the Turk, is that the export of cannon might still be prevented
;

it was last year, when undoubtedly that prohibimade the proclamation effectual. But it would not have had that
effect long.
Cannon would have been exported to other countries to

by

order in Council, as

tion

which the export v/as not and could not be prohibited, and would havebeen picked up there by the ships for which they were destined or
what our manufacturers have dreaded most, other countries which have
foundries would have got the trade into their hands. The six months'
suspension, if we were to believe the representations of the manufacturers, had nearly ruined two of the principal establishments in this
;

coimtry.

The warlike steam vessels and the warlike stores have both cleared
out for Malta. But the Act of Parliament (of which, for your edification, I enclose a copy) applies to Malta as strongly as to England, and
the Governor would unquestionably put it in force against any attempt
In the Ionian Islands the law has
to put together the armament there.
no force but orders are sent to the Ionian Government not to harbour
Lord Cochrane there for an hour.
After all, therefore, perhaps the enterprise may be more difficult in
execution than in conception. But if it does take place, you must make
the best excuse you can, and you may represent the open assistance
rendered by the Turk Ibraham Pasha as increasing in an incalculable
degree the difficulty which the British Government has in restraining
;

British subjects.

At length the British Government, associated with France

and Russia, to the exclusion of Austria, was able to give a
more decided character to its Eastern policy. The articles
of the triple convention are too well

been

known, besides having

lately presented afresh to Parliament, for

me

to think

them here.

Peace to be maintained in general,

to be restored in particular, the emancipation of the insurgent
of inserting

Greeks on terms consistent with the Sultan's suzerainete, and

a strict observance of neutrality with

all its

obligations in

AN ANXIOUS

1878.]

179

CRISIS.

the meantime, were the professed objects of Great Britain.

The

the three contracting

representatives of

respective

powers at Constantinople were to be charged with the

presentation of an offer of mediation and the
armistice to the Turkish Government.

demand

If the overtures were

not accepted within a month from the time of their

nication, other

efforts of three as

The month

commu-

measures short of hostility were to be taken.

The " Commander

allies

of an

of the Faithful " stood out against the

he had stood out against those of one.

The

assigned to reflection came to an end.

kept their word, and three squadrons, forming an

united force of nine ships of the line, were brought into

The

Hellenic ^eas.

object of this formidable

movement

was to produce a de facto armistice by force instead of the

one to which the Porte's consent had been unavailiugly
proposed.

The

admirals were bound to report their pro-

ceedings to the plenipotentiaries residing at head-quarters,

who met by agreement every day

for

the purpose

of

comparing and considering the respective reports as they

came in.
On one of the Sundays in October I was
on the point of starting for the daily rendezvous when a
packet from Smyrna was put into my hands. Within it I
found a shabby

little

note addressed in apparent hurry to

our consul there by the commander of a small English

vessel who, being becalmed at

some distance from the

Morea, had heai'd what convinced him that a great battle had
taken place between the allied squadrons and the Turco-

Egyptian

fleet.

I put the note into

my

pocket and went to

our place of meeting at the French embassy.

communications which ensued were quite

The mutual

satisfactory.

Sir

Edward Codrington had met Ibrahim Pasha under sail on

his way from the Gulf of Corinth to attack some position
of the Greeks, and had checked his progress by a friendly

but determined

veto.

Interposition of such a kind was in

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

180

[pakt

ir.

Thereupon the conmembers had risen to separate,

perfect keeping with the instructions.

ference broke up, and its

my French colleague's
His Excellency had no sooner read it than he raised
his head, exclaiming, " Trois tetes dans un bonnet, n'est-ce
pas ? " Nothing could be done at the moment, and we
when

I placed the ominous note in

hand.

parted with a strong shade of anxiety cast upon our previous

contentment.

The thunders
tain Cotton left

of broadside and explosion heard by Cap-

no doubt that a

decisive,

and probably to

the Turks a disastrous, event had occurred.

tion,

borne upon a

What

if it

flood of cruel details,

Its confirma-

would soon

looked as having originated with the

the Turks charging

it

on them were to see

a treacherous surprise ?

Would

the

it

arrive.

allies,

and

in the light of

ambassadors in that

case be treated as hostages, and, according to the practice

made to do penance
The prospect was by no means
so when it became known that

of earKer times, be

in

Towers

attractive,

still

less

the

Seven

and

the Porte was

already in possession of what I had learned from Smyrna,

where a great indiscretion had been committed by our

consul, who, without apprising me of the fact, had made his

Pasha acquainted with the contents of the

tell-tale note.

It was believed that the Sultan in his first gush of anger

meant to deal sharply with the ambassadors, and that he

had been diverted from that course by the prudent suggestion of an octogenarian Vizir, the very man who, years
before, had been ousted by Mehemet Ali from the govern-

ment

of Egypt.

knowledge

is,

my own personal
we were openly charged by the Reis

All I can state upon

that

Effendi with having violated the law of nations, and that

the tramp of soldiers making the

circuit of the British

premises at night confirmed during several days the appre-

hension of some

evil design.

THE SETTLEMENT AT BEKLIN.

1878.]

When
came

the battle of Navarmo,

its

ISi

cause and

its result,

the Porte's resentment gradually cooled

into full light,

down, at the same time that the Sultan's unbroken adherence to his repulsive policy remained without a shadow
of change.

month

of

In concert with

November

my

colleagues I employed the

in occasional efforts to obtain a

favourable heariug at the Porte.

more

Explanations were given,

arguments were urged, warnings were repeated to no pur-

The lamented decease of Mr. Canniag in August had

been followed at home by those rather hesitating counsels
pose.

which are apt to accompany an uncertain tenure of

Nothing in the shape of instruction had reached

The

the astounding incident of Navarino.

to pursue

of war.

was the

What

pacification of

me

object

office.

since

we had

Greece without the menace

then remained for us to do, except to threaten

a simultaneous departure, opening the door to incalculable

consequences, to confirm the threat by corresponding preparations,

and ultimately to give the strongest proof of our

truth and consistency by

its

execution

In the sight of

all

Europe, moreover, the dignity and honour of our Sovereigns

were in danger of being compromised.

More, perhaps much more, remains to be written on this

very important portion of the great question so recently set

by the Congress of Berlin in a manner which does

most people think, to those who were chiefly concerned in its proceedings. Set at rest for ever would be a

at rest

credit, as

some "vicious weed,"

the trouble now suppressed should spring up again at a
period more or less remote, much present advantage is still
our own, and we have good authority for saying that " Suffibold word; but

cient unto the

if,

day

like the root of

is

the evU thereof."

Steatfobd de Eedcliffe.

XV.
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVIVAL OF
GREEK INDEPENDENCE.
[PAET

The

NOYEMBEE,

II.,

instructions under which

autumn of 1825

capable

common

Their

I left

related chiefly to Russia,

ticularly, as the reader ah'eady

Greece.

1878.]

England

in the

and more par-

knows, to the question of

object, in so far as it

appeared

of treatment at the time, was the restoration of

peace either disturbed or threatened in the Levant.

in that quarter was disturbed by the

Peace

Greek insurrection,

and endangered to a further extent by certain claims of

Russia oifensive to Turkey.

Insuperable obstacles, for the

most part chargeable on weather, prevented

my

reaching

Constantinople before the 27th of February, 1826.

instructions, occasioned

ander and the

there.

Duke

A later batch,

Other
by the death of the Emperor Alex-

of "Wellington's embassy, awaited

February, arrived on the 9th of March.

tions were dictated

policy

imperial

danger

me

of

at

me

under dates of the 10th and 14th of

These

last instruc-

by an apprehension of change in the

St. Petersburg,
and a consequent

impending

hostilities.

They imposed upon

the duty of acting without delay at the Porte, and

pressing the admonitions of the Government with open and

somewhat peremptory vehemence on the Sultan and his

Ministers.

OBJECTS OF THE MISSION IN

1878.J

may be

This

effectively illustrated

by a few words from

the authentic correspondence of the time.

to ask

183

1825.

was ordered

an audience of the Eeis Effendi immediately on the

receipt of the despatch dated the 10th of February,

and

"to urge him in the most strenuous manner to obtain

from the Divan an instant declaration of their readiness

to treat for an

accommodation with the Greeks upon any

reasonable basis which the

Ottoman Government might

suggest."

I was to send the declaration,

as

little

if it

delay as possible, to the

St. Petersburg, and, if the

could be obtained, with

Duke

of Wellington at

Divan hesitated, "to

tell

the Reis

Effendi that the Porte was not to reckon upon Great Britain
as an ally in a

war undertaken against the Porte by Russia

for the protection of the Greeks."

Another important subject occupied several pages of the

same despatch, namely, the intelligence, communicated to
Mr. Canning by Coimt Lieven, the Russian ambassador in
London, of a plan entertained by the Pasha of Egypt and
the Porte for transferring the Christian population of the

Morea to the banks of the Nile, and replacing them by a

Mussulman population from the same quarter. " Great
Britain," says the instruction, " will not permit the execu-

tion of a system of depopulation which exceeds the per-

mitted violences of war, and transgresses the conventional

restraints of civilisation."

This I was ordered to declare to the Porte " in the most

distinct terms,"

provided there was i-eason to believe that

the intelligence in question derived sufficient confirmation

either

from

reliable sources or

from positive

facts.

The communications which ensued between the British

Embassy and the Ottoman Minister were anything but
satisfactory.

The

Porte, in reply to every urgent inquiry,

assuined an air of indignant innocence, but shrank at the

THE EASTEKN QUESTION.

184'.

[paut

ii.

same time from giving a clear unquestionable denial of the

charge. Ibrahim Pasha conducted his operations in Greece,
with that degree of unsparing cruelty which justified the

worst suspicions, but no overt act was traced to him with

the

had

of proving that he

effect

adopted the alleged

plan.

Much
full

of;

more, say a volume, might be written to explain in

the discussions and transactions of the year

but articles of a review have their

somewhat

elastic, limits,

and

it is

now

allotted,

treated

though

time to go forward instead

of lingering to no good purpose over a bygone period.

premise that the negociations,

It is right, nevertheless, to

by one or
more of the embassies, covered a space of twenty-one

or rather the efforts to produce them, conducted

months, including the suppression of the Janissaries and the

at

Ackerman, on the conclusion

M. de Ribeaupierre

arrived at Constantinople as

Turko-Russian conference
of which

envoy,

and his appearance in

this

character seemed to

announce the restoration of a durable peace between the

Czar and the Sultan.

The

limited functions

of charge

had been previously exercised by Monsieur Minwho left no reason to doubt his having given what

d'affaires
ciackj'',

little

support his position allowed to the steps I had to take

at the Porte in obedience to

my

instructions.

The Greeks meanwhile, impelled by

a sense of increased

weakness, were anxious to take refuge from despair under

British mediation, and the

Turks were resolved

in similar

degree to stand out for a complete suppression of their

resistance

by

The Sultan gathered

force of arms.

to this resolution

strength

from the sympathies of Austria, and the

ill-concealed language

of

the

Internuncio in favom* of

Turldsh unwillingness to take our

offers into friendly con-

sideration.

Intrigues, which have since

come

to light with the force

DEPARTUEE OF THE AMBASSADOES.

1878.]

and tended, no doubt,

obstinacy which in fact needed no

of conyiction, were secretly

to stimulate that political

such

aid, as its resistance to

on

185

foot,

the battle of Navarino and the

retirement of the ambassadors sufficiently proved.

It is not at all unlikely that the latter event

was invested

with a deceptive colouring by the agents of intrigue.

Their

dupes were not long in discovering the fallacy and lamenting

They

its effects.

perceived,

when

it

was too

late, that

they had thrown away their last chance, nay, their best
prospect of bringing the war to a close on moderate terms,

and avoiding

its

extension to other more powerful and dan-

The

gerous adversaries.

alhes wished to relieve the insur-

gent Greeks from Turkish misrule by peaceable means;

but

it

was

their determination at any cost to preserve the

lawful trade of nations in the Levant waters from piracy and

every other kind of violent and injurious interruption.

On

the 8th of December, rather more than six weeks

after the destruction of the

Turkish

fleet,

when every hope

of a peaceful issue by diplomacy was exhausted, the French

The Russians

and British embassies embarked.

The

followed

had been
The French were the first on board.
rejected by the Porte.
The English party, including of course the ambassador and
his famUy, had to find their way after dark to the two small
a few days later.

application for passports

mercantile vessels hired for their voyage.

fresh north

wind with rain had the good effect of screening them from
public notice, and giving them a quick night passage to the
Dardanelles, where the Pasha in

command

received their

compliments with courtesy, and allowed them to pursue

their exodus without a moment's detention.
In spite of

much

talk about the danger of meeting with pirates in the

Archipelago,

we got

safely to

Smyrna, where a

manded by Captain Crofton was

convey us into smoother waters.

frigate

com-

and
Communication with the

in waiting to receive

THE EASTEKN QUESTION,

186

[pakt

ii.

Greeks on our part was out of the question, but it was

satisfactory to know that recent events had relieved them
for the time
forces.

The

from any immediate attack by the Turkish

had not come too soon. They were so

relief

reduced in means and hopes, that the terms of peace they

were ready to accept might have favoured

mediation at the Porte,

if,

my

offers of

taken as proofs of weakness, they

had not confirmed the Sultan

in his resolution to stand out

against every specific overture short of absolute submission.

That precious breathing-time, which had been

afforded to

Greece by the mutiuy and suppression of the Janissaries,

was preceded by an outbreak of plague, moderate in character and extent, but alarming enough to make communication

more or

less a

slacken the flow

matter of danger, and consequently to

of public business, which in

never remarkable for

its rapidity.

Cases of the

Turkey

is

fatal disease

had occurred

ia a street adjoining the British Embassy, and

had become necessary to adopt the usual measures of
restriction on personal intercourse, and the fumigation of
everything wanted from without for domestic use. Ambassadors were not exempted from this inconvenient operation,
and it fell to my lot to undergo the unsavoury process on
my return from a visit to the Turkish prison, or Bagnio, as
This touch of a well-known calamity is
it was called.
memorable as having been the last appearance of plague at
Constantinople, or indeed in Egypt, where it was thought to
it

originate, as it did to all appearance in the time of Pericles,

its illustrious

victim.

The homeward voyage was lengthened by

and a much longer stay

where

a visit to Malta

was natural to
day to day, that despatches indicating the
views of Government would shortly arrive.
On failure of
at Corfu,

it

expect, from

this expectation

without

further

no course remained but

delay.

The

to proceed overland

Ministry, meanwhile,

had

RUSSIAN DECLAKATION OF WAE.

1878.]

187

The Duke of Wellington had become the head of a new combination; Lord
Dudley was Minister for Foreign Affairs. The cause of
undergone a considerable change.

Greek independence seemed to have gained nothing by the

change. " Untoward " was the epithet attached eoc cathedra
Russia, on the other hand, was
to the battle of Navarino.
preparing for war with Turkey. What line would be taken
by England was by no means clear to public conception.
The Eussian declaration of war took place in April. For
^ts

cause or excuse the

Emperor Nicholas was

plead the language employed by Sultan

at liberty to

Mahmoud

in a pro-

clamation issued after the departure of the ambassadors from

That the Sultan was

Constantinople.

iU.

advised in takiug

so hazardous a step, can hardly be doubted

when the

con-

sequences, fatal as they were to his policy, are taken into

consideration.

It is reasonable

enough

to suppose that

he

was led into that mistake by the intrigues of those who were
alien to the triple convention, although there was ample
ground in the Sultan's character
of intemperance on his part.

to account for

Be

that as

it

any degree

may, the Rus-

own impulse, did

not break off from the obligations imposed on them by their
special alliance with France and England.
The London
sians, in declaring

war pursuant

to their

Cabinet had to choose between a suspension of

all

proceed-

ings calculated to carry their declared purpose into effect,

and the adoption of some plan

tical armistice in

how

the Morea.

It

sufficient to obtain a prac-

was not easy

to

understand

there could be any hesitation on the subject.

Russia

Greek Chtirch had agreed by treaty with Protestant

England and Catholic France to bring about a state of peace
in the Levant which would have the effect of wresting
of the

Christian Greece from

sible for

Mohammedan

misrule.

Was

it

pos-

such an alliance to shrink in utter failure before

the obstinate resistance of such an oj)ponent, contending for

THE EASTEKN QUESTION.

188
SO

bad a cause ?

Our

his final resolution.

[pabt

ii.

great captain was not long in taking

He

accepted the offer of France to

send a powerful expedition into the Morea on behalf of the

Alliance, and accordragly an army, rated at 20,000 strong,
took up a position in that country under the

Marshal Maison.

Nothing could be more

view to peace, than such a measure,

command

effective,

of

with a

and nothing more

generous and trustworthy than the conduct of the French

Government throughout
no reason

this trying period.

England had

to regret the confidence she placed in her gal-

lant ally.

few weeks later diplomatic measures were adopted in

keeping with the military movement, and the action required

them out was common to the three Powers.

The position of Eussia as a belligerent did not prevent
M. Eibeaupierre from joining General Guilleminot and
myself in the Bay of Poros, and acting in concert with his

for carrying

previous colleagues for the purpose which our respective

had jointly in view.

some little advantage may perhaps accrue
from stating rather more particularly than heretofore in
what manner or to what degree the abolition of the Janissaries and the Sultan's consequent privation of troops had
operated on the mind and relaxed energies of Greece. The
insurgents could reasonably hope for a breathing-time,
precious, even if short in its duration. The Greeks in their
recent extremity liad awakened sympathies which were not

instructions

At

this point

slow to produce an encouraging

effect.

The

fall

of Misso-

longhi had been attended with such heroic actions and such
affecting circumstances that their partisans in every country

bestirred themselves to get assistance for them, either in

money, or in arms, provisions, and clothing.

Their actual

necessities concurred with their prospective hopes to animate

their patriotic zeal.

THE GREEK LEADEBS.

1878.]

It
fall

was somewhat

of Missolonghi

later,

189

during the interval between the

and the signature of the

triple

conven-

tion that the Greeks looked abroad for leaders capable of

giving effect to the last

remnant of

their nearly exhausted

Lieutenant- Colonel Fabvier, a French officer of

means.

had already the command of a portion

In their distress
they turned towards the British Isles, and finally succeeded
in obtaining the services of Lord Cochrane for their navy
and of Colonel Church for their army. The former of these
enterprising commanders added, while in their service, but

distinguished merit,

of their reduced and disheartened troops.

The

to his brilliant reputation.

little

country, as

it

may be

called, long

latter served his

new

and usefully with the

success of a Fabius rather than of a Csesar, and died in

Athens
It

at a very

advanced age.

remained for the Greeks to make a more important but

also a

more doubtful

John Capo

d'lstria.

reference was

made

to

acquisition in the person of

Count

Before they came to any decision

my

opinion, and, to say the truth, I

encountered no small dif&culty in making up

my miud. The

choice of a president in the very crisis of their affairs would

probably determine the fortunes of the insurrection.

Capo

d'lstria

He

dence.

Though
cast.

had much to recommend him to

possessed abilities above the

self-taught,

He

their confi-

common

his knowledge was of the

had learned state-business and the

matic writing in a ready school.

He

Count

standard.

European

art of diplo-

had large intercourse

He had the credit

with the statesmen of several countries.

of having promoted the Greek insurrection in its beginning,

and of having sacrificed his position in Eussia to that cause.

Above all, he was a Greek, a Greek of the Ionian Islands,
but

still

a Greek.

With a

full

thus attached to his person,

him

recognition of the advantages

my previous

acquaintance with

called for a close consideration before his title to the

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

190

[pabt

I knew

Greece could be admitted.

entire confidence of

ii.

that with plausible manners and an habitual air of candoui'

he joined a natural finesse which bordered occasionally on
deception.
I knew that he could hate free England and
I thought it by no
means impossible^ that he might be a Greek in sentiment
and not the less a Russian by position. If prepared to act
with independence, he would not only risk the loss of his

serve despotic Russia at the same time.

claim to Russian support, but he would also be liable to the

cravings of personal ambition, for the indulgence of which

the

character of the Greeks and the

country would

The two

abundant temptations.

scales of the balance

But

equipoise.

thrown

offer

were thus brought to an

a necessity, which could not with safety be

aside, caused the former of

The Greeks
counsels,

condition of their

them

to i)reponderate.

stood in need of a foreigner to direct their

first,

for the

purpose of overruling their internal

factions, and, secondly, for that of linking their course of

opei'ations with the established practice of

Capo

d'Istria

man whose

was to

qualities

all

Europe.

Count

appearance the only foreign states-

and circumstances

with the required conditions.

It

at all corresponded

was an obvious conclu-

sion that the Greeks would act wiselj^ in offering

Presidency, and hence the offer being

made was

him

the

graciously

accepted and carried duly into effect after an interval of

several months.

>

The Count was

in function as President

when the

three

representatives reached their field of confei'ence at or off the

insular vUlage of Poros.

It

was a part of their duty

consult with him, or rather to obtain information

means respecting the

of Greece.

The

actual condition

by

to

his

and future prospects

President lived on shore, where also the

The French and

English ambassadors stayed on board their respective ships.
Russian Plenipotentiary fixed his abode.

DIPLOMACY UNDER DIFFICULTIES.

1878.]

An

191

by convention, but existing

The securities
de facto, prevailed throughout the Morea.
for its duration were the French army on shore, and the
armistice, not established

English squadron either in the harbour of Navarino or near

The Greeks had a small

it.

far

Athens remained in possession of the

from Missolonghi.

The Russian

Turks.

on the continent not

force

Turkey on the

forces were invading

England and France

were stiU in a state of formal peace with the Porte, and the
Dutch ambassador at Constantinople was the depositary of

Danubian

side of the

Black Sea.

our mercantile interests in Turkey.

The

situation

As

venience.

had

little

to

recommend

it

in point of con-

the season advanced, our communications

were occasionally interrupted by strong gales of wind and

other forms of inclement weather.

Our Eussian

colleague

had the double advantage of being on dry land and near the
President,

who was himself very

ill

lodged in a very small

town, but neither of them could entirely avoid his share in

the

common fund

of troubles.
aifairs, and the position
upon to lay the foundations of a
suppress an old cause of disturb-

Such, in short, was the state of

of those

who were

new Greece, and

called

also to

ance in the Eastern world.

The

an easy one, was rendered more

and

task, in itself
difficult

by no means

by the character

and not impossibly by the views, of him to

we were bound to look for information and friendly

relations,

whom

assistance.

owned

He

stood like a party wall between those

his authority and those

mature their independence.

who
who were commissioned to

It

was evident that

our interference overpowered his sense of

The

its

dislike of

usefulness

and

our endeavours would have been

no disappointment to him. He let faU occasional doubts of

necessity.

failure of

our competency, and showed a constant unwillingness to

supply those local statistics which he was best qualified to

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

192
obtain,

[part n.

and which we required in order to adopt a sound and

became necessary to control these

tendencies of his mind by some display of determination on
our side. "We gave therefore a peremptory tone to our
equitable opinion.

requisitions,

It

and I did not hesitate to declare that

as Venice,

had been raised upon

we have papers whereon to build the reof Greece.
Week after week passed away

the source of his titular distinction,

piles,

so would

viving State
before

we could

obtain the desired particulars, and during

the tedious interval

we had no resource but

respective impressions

and

to talk over our

to familiarise ourselves with the

more prominent features of our appointed work.

Meanwhile the symptoms of returning peace grew stronger
with every day, and it soon became evident that a large
portion of the French army then occupying the Morea could
be recalled without a shadow of imj)rudence. Such part of
it as Marshal Maison on his retirement left in the country
was quite sufficient for any supposable contingency, and I
repeat that the confidence reposed in France by her

was

allies

fully justified.

Count Capo

d'Istria appears to

have thought

that even this reduced force should remain idle.

posed to the French commander that

together,

it

it

a pity

He

pi-o-

should be employed,

no doubt, with a Greek detachment, in a tempting

attack on Athens, and

The proposal was not

its

unsuspecting garrison of Turks.

rejected,

and even our admiral,

to

judge from his language in private, was inclined to favour

acceptance.

me

It

would seem that the Count had reserved

dupe ; and when I told him frankly, in

for his latest

reply to his overture, that an enterprise so objectionable

under the circumstances could meet with no countenance

from me, he threw himself back in his chair and had not a

word

It is indeed difficult to

imagine how he could

have thought a British ambassador capable of taking part
to say.

1878.]

SCHEME FOR THE PACIFICATION OF GEEECE.

in a surprise at the very best so unfair

For him

the political situation.

193

and inconsistent with

was natural enough, in

it

the spirit of a Greek President, or in the interest of belligerent Eussia, to covet the possession of Athens, nor would

the success of the scheme have been at variance with the

personal feelings of most Englishmen

but neither France

nor England was at war with the Porte, our negotiations

were directed to a peaceful settlement, and the armistice,
aegis

of honour over the

My refusal was

sure to be approved

which prevailed de facto, spread an

position of the Turks.
at

home, and

soon came out that the Government of

it

France had put an immediate veto on their

officer's

too

genial compliance.

After a term

ing as large
to derive

several weeks, which

of

was almost as

we succeeded in obtainan amount of information as we could hope

trying to health

to

as

patience,

from the country in

distracted, condition.

its

disordered, not to say

natural want of confidence in the

ef&ciency of such loose materials restrained us insensibly

from bringing our impressions to a decisive issue.

ness at length brought on the desired conclusion.

Weari-

Early

one morning, after a night of broken sleep, I came to the

resolution of urging my colleagues to join in giving a formal
character to our
deliberations.
tion.

No

repeated

discussions

and preparatory

time was lost in acting on this sugges-

sketch was drawn

up in the form of

articles

declaring our joint opinion on the several points which

had

to be settled for the pacification of Greece.

many

all together,

They were not

and those of most importance could be

counted on the fingers of a single hand.

It was evident that the relative situation of the contending parties could only be one of territorial separation. The
limits of independent

Greece and

were the quest^ns of most

its

difficulty.

form of government

With

respect to the

*HE EASTER]^

194

we had

latter

[paeT

QtJESTIOif.

to consider whether

it

if.

would be best to advise

the creation of a monarchy, or that of a republic, single or

Kegarding the former, what

confederate in its constitution.

extent of territory would

it

be suitable to propose for the

insurgent Greeks withdrawn from Turkish rule, and en-

dowed with the

rights of a separate

Power"?

Porte to be mulcted to the degree of abandoning

of

all

Was

the

that

pai't

dominions wherein the insurgent banner had been

its

raised, or

would

pendence

within

it

be enough to

the

more

establish

classical

Greek inde-

circumscription

of

Hellas, the Peloponnesus, and the central islands of the

Archipelago ?
Considerations of the grayest character affected each and
all of

The Greeks who had

these propositions.

Porte were comparatively few and poor.

How

support the charge of a royal Court with

all

defied the

could they

its

attendant

requirements ? Yet they had need of an imposing authority,

of a government adapted to their wants, their weaknesses,
their passions,

fostering their

of forming

and

their obligations, capable at once of

good and restraining their

them

into a

of industry, and inojBfensive on principle.

republican forms were

evil tendencies,

community progressive by means

little

Democratic or

calculated to secure their inter-

nal peace, to conciliate the good will of their neighbours, or

to

them

fit

for acquiring the confidence of

Europe.

On

the

whole, therefore, our conclusion rested on a form of govern-

ment kingly

in principle, if not

by name, subject of course

to constitutional limitations leading to gradual enlargement,

and consigned to a chief magistrate selected, whether to

wear a crown or a princely coronet, from among the families
of foreign royalty.

The

question of territorial extent was obviously subject

in a greater degree to the consent of that sovereign from

whom

the sacrifice would have to be exacted.

Every State

THE PROPOSED NEW GiBEEK

18?8.]

is

195

FttONTIEU.

naturally averse to any curtailment of its dominions,

and

the Sultan lay under a religious obligation to maintain, if

A cession of territory would,

possible, the integrity of his.

moreover, be doubly repugnant to his feelings

up

in favour of subjects set

when made

at his very door in all the pride

and sheltered by the protection of

with his normal and ever-encroach-

of triumphant rebellion,

Christian

Powers

allied

If peace

ing rival.

and a remission of the Eastern danger

were really the chief objects in pursuit, we were bound in

We

reason to put some measure to our demands.

at liberty to

lenic

were not

take for our only guides the admiration of Hel-

genius,

compounded of

or sympathy

religion

and

humanity.
Such, no doubt, were the sentiments prevailing
less in

Downing

and therefore

Street,

prudence appeared to circumscribe

was thought at

first

that

if

my

both

more or

duty and

sphere of action.

It

the future territory of Grreece

included to the north the sites of Thermopylae on one side

and of Actium on the other, and to the south and east the
Morea together with those islands where a Greek population abounded, as much would be obtained as the London
Conference was likely to approve, or the Ottoman authorities

could be persuaded to cede.

this outline

In the course of discussion

underwent a considerable change. It was deemed

preferable to propose
frontier

to

from the
largement

an extension of the northern Hne of

the mountain range which divides Thessaly

district

of Zeitoun.

The reasons

for this en-

mainly geographical, and we had the

advantage of the French ambassador's opinion in support
of

it.

were

General GuUleminot having applied himself to the

study of geography, and published a complete

his suggestions carried with

map

of Greece,

them a personal weight

in addi-

tion to the consideration derived from his official character.

Eeference to papers of this period laid before Parliament a

2

THE EASTERN

196
sliort

QtJESTIOK.

[past

ii.

time ago will enable the reader to judge in what degree

the diplomatic triumvirate went into the subjects committed

to their inquiry,

and how

far their opinions

by the reasons and arguments they

were borne out

detailed collectively to

explain them.

Our labours came

an end in the

to

cember, and on Christmas

Day His

"Dryad," in which I had taken

my

De-

latter half of

Majesty's frigate, the

full

share of numerous

conferences with their complement of simultaneous protocols

and subsequent reports, was tossing about in

sight

of

Malta, escorted by troops of thunderclouds and flashes of

From

lightning.

Malta, after a pause of some few days,

the good ship found

to Naples,

its

way through the

where I completed

my

Straits of Messina

communications with

the Government at home, and had leisure to recruit

health in the delightful climate of that fascinating

Whether

at

Poros or at Naples, the

ence had not

stream.

The

always

the

official

correspond-

smooth flow of an unruffled

operation of raising Greece from

ruinous exhaustion had

some resemblance

placing a foundered vessel, like

surface of the sea.

of applying the
forces might not

the

its

bed of

to that of re-

"Eurydice," on the

Opinions would vary as to the method

requisite

power

work in the same

at

times the

line, or

hauHng

the ropes might

be entangled, or the pulleys found unequal to their

Apart from

figurative

in their President,

much

my

city.

expressions, the Greeks,

task.

embodied

had naturally put in their claim

to a

greater extent of territory than the grounds of their

pretension warranted,

and the

Kussian Envoy at times

held language which sounded like the preface to a serious

divergence in the views of the triple alliance.
tion of Candia in our joint report from Poros

The men-

was also a
cause of unpleasant disagreement, although it had not
been recommended as a part of the emancipated domain,

1878.]

DOUBTFUL POLICY OF THE BEITISH GOVERNMENT. 197

but only named as an outside object

fit

for unprejudiced

consideration.

There are traces in the unpublished despatches of a

rather impatient wish

among

London

the authorities in

to

discover some opening for a more immediate renewal of

negotiations with

the

There

Porte.

is also

evidence in

same chapter of correspondence that no symptoms

but of Mahmoud's unshaken resistance to every proposal
In justice
of Alliance could be detected at Constantinople.

the

to the Sultan's

sequel proved

conduct

it

its flagrant

must be admitted

that, if the

imprudence, the resolution dis-

played in standing out against the destruction at Navarino,

war with Eussia,

the departure of the embassies, and the

did credit in

no common degree to his Highness's

spirit

and strength of mind.

My

personal connection with the aifairs of Greece was

now on

the eve of coming to a close, which bore an ap-

pearance of
out

to

finality,

though in course of time

possibility of disguising a certain mistrust of

political inclinations entertained at the
its

actual chief.

There was

as to the policy of our

also

on

turned

me and my

Foreign Office by

my

side a misgiving

Government with respect

in its future relations with Turkey.

it

There was no

be only a passing interruption.

to

Greece

This twofold motive

for seeking to bring the position into a clearer light pre-

vailed with

me

I wrote to

Lord Aberdeen

tinctly

my

to take

decisive step for that purpose.

in consequence, and stated dis-

readiness to return to Constantinople and carry

out his instructions, provided

the Conference of

London

approved and adopted in substance the unanimous opinions

submitted as definite results of the

conference at Poros.

In the contrary case he was to understand that I should

prefer retiring from the embassy, and, not to waste time,

I consulted the public interests by placing

my

conditional

THE EASTEEK QUESTION.

198

The answer

resignation at his disposal.

any unnecessary delay.

London, and

my

also the appointment of Sir

successor to the

surprise
relieved

occasioned

by

li.

arrived without

announced the acceptance of

It

Poros conclusions by the superior

the

as

[paet

Embassy

Conference

The

at Constantinople.

contradictory

this

of

Eobert Gordon
decision

was

by an item of additional information, to wit, that

any counter proposals from the Porte

liberty to consider

was reserved

The
had

to each

member

of the AlUance.

latitude thus given to the approaching negotiation

intended

its

effect.

was thrown back to the

The northern

frontier of Greece

line originally talked of, but not,

must be allowed, without an important compensation

by the establishment of what remained to Greece in a state
it

of unqualified independence.

Many

pages of despatch are compressed into this brief

statement, in the hope of conveying a general impression

of the truth to the reader's

mind without taxing

his indul-

gence to the point of weariness.

While Naples
mention may

is still

fitly

the scene of these reminiscences,

be made of an illustrious person to

whom

the opportunity was offered of assuming the sovereignty of

Greece with the sanction of the three

allied Powers.

Among

the distinguished foreigners then residing there was Prince

Leopold, who kindly permitted

time.

On

me to see him fi'om time to

me the honour of asking

one occasion he did

what I thought of his accepting the crown in question. The

answer was naturally suggested by the circumstances of
Greece emerging languidly from a

state of almost absolute

depression, and the chances in prospect of its recovery and

eventual aggrandisement. Manifold privations and difficulties

would have to be encountered for a season more or less

protracted, but a prize of most attractive value loomed out
in the distance, and a man's

own

heart could alone be his

THE GEEEK QUESTION IN

1878.]

adviser in

a case

199

1831.

composed of such divergent elements.

The whole world knows what kind of decision was ultimately

taken by the Prince, and we also know how much reason
the Greeks have

had to look with envy on the Belgians.

at the time that Capo d'Istria

was thought by many

It

had turned the scale in Prince Leopold's mind by holding

up to him the proffered kingdom in

its

darkest colours.

There may be some truth in this conjecture, but the naked

facts were suf&cient to discourage a man in whose high,

consummate prudence and judicious firmness were

more conspicuous than the spirit of daring enterprise.
qualities

Greece was a dead

letter to

me

till

the early part of 1831.

In the interval a great change of administration had taken

Lord Grey had succeeded to the Duke of WellingLord Palmerston had taken the direction of the Foreign

place.

ton,

Department.

It

was proposed by him that I should go on

a special mission to Constantinople.

obtain an additional

dependent State.

His object was

to

new
recommended

in-

extent of territory for the

The

line of frontier

at

Poros and sanctioned by the London Conference had not

been

finally

The Sultan

confirmed by the Porte's assent.

had narrowed the proposed

territory

by agreement with the

French and English ambassadors, and there was reason to

believe that the latter in acceding to his Highness's requisition only carried out the instructions of his

Lord Palmerston deemed

it

advisable to correct the lapse,

and the task of realising his

with

my personal

Government.

vyish

was not only consistent

opinions, but one which from antecedent

circumstances seemed naturally to devolve on me.

I

made my preparations

accordingly, and as soon as the

instructions were ready took leave.

At my

last interview

with the Secretary of State I could not conceal

my

decided

apprehension that the terms to be proposed would prove

insufficient.

Sir

James Graham was present

but neither

THE EASTEKN QUESTIOK.

,200

[part

ll.

he nor his colleague could suggest any additional means of

surmounting the
It

diificulty.

was already the month of Novemher before I was

liberty to start.

A boisterous

and a journey impeded

season brought

and then on

me

at

passage across the Channel

by the inclemency

at times

of the

with no unnecessary delay to Naples,

to Brindisi,

where a

frigate

Captain Grey waited to receive me.

commanded by

I lost no time in

embarking, and soon reached Corfu, whence the Lord High

Commissioner's barque conveyed

of

my journey

to Napoli di

me

to Corinth.

The

Romania, the temporary

rest

seat of

the Greek Government, was performed on horseback.

That part of the Morea which I crossed on my road

thither was the very type of desolation.

few scattered

and there a ruined cottage or a herds-

flocks of sheep, here

man's hovel, a stray horse or a lean donkey, some

wood

little

and a watercourse marked by aquatic

in the valleys,

shrubs were the only visible signs of a country either

habited or capable of habitation.

The

descended in the evening from the

of greater promise
tion,

and

iato a settled

the town gate at Napoli echoed to

The

hills,

presented a

field

but the light was too faint for observa-

had sunk

it

in-

plain of Argos, as I

gloom before the arch of

my

horse's feet.

struggle for independence which left such melancholy

traces of its fury

had ceased. Turk and Greek were at

But Greek was at war with Greek.

peace with each other.

The Morea,
scene of

freed from its turbaned oppressor, was the

civil

sence, one

headed by

conflict.

Two

hostile parties were in pre-

composed of the avroxdoves or

Coletti,

followers of

local natives

and

whose main strength lay in his mountain

more than doubtful

character, the other having

the prestige of government, but also

more

of the foreign

and doctrinal element than suited the wild habits and lawless notions of the Pelecari and their chief.
Coletti had

THE OBSTINACY OF GEEECE.

1878.]

201

served in the Court of AJi Pasha of Yaniila, no very strict

school of morality

he was in high credit with the French^

and a reputation, by no means undeserved, for bravery and

him a

intelligence gave

The

plausible title to their support.

ruling President of Greece at this time

Agostino Capo d'Istria,

was Count

a younger brother of Count John,

who had fallen not long before by the hand of an enthusiastic

assassin.
His abilities were not of a stiperior cast, and his
leaning towards Eussia, though it procured him the favour
of that power, diminished

what

the confidence of his country.

claim he possessed to

little

The

influence of

England

was exerted to prevent a collision between the adverse

forces,

but

it

made no impression on the Government,

and,

right or wrong, the insurgents held out for the redress of

Some

their grievances.

skirmishing took place near Argos,

and there was bloodshed, but not enough to produce any

Walking one day for exercise on the road

met a horseman with blood streaming down his

positive result.

to Argos, I

"

leg.

What has happened

my

to you,

and he answered in Greek, " There

is

friend ? " I said,

war,

indeed there was of that kind which checks

sir
all

progress without creating any remedial energy.

but what could be done ?

I added

my

Mr. Dawkins, our Minister in Greece.

The Government,

if it

" and

wholesome

Very

efforts to

All

war
sad,

those of

was unavailing.

deserved that name, had no ears for

any suggestion coming from beyond

circle.

its

own restricted
London was

Finally an appeal to the Conference in

our only resource.

I drew up a statement of what I had

urged in vain upon the President's consideration, and after

sending

it

to

Lord Palmerston resumed

my

journey to

Constantinople.
I found the "Actaeon" at anchor in the Dardanelles

Captain Grey had completed his voyage from Napoli in

less

tiipe

than

it

took the "Alban," a smaller steamer

THE EASTBEN QUESTION.

202

my

placed at
to carry

disposal

me from

to choose

[pakt

II.

by the kindness of Admiral Hotham,

I was at liberty

one coast to the other.

between

sail

Experience of long

and steam.

detentions from the prevalence of northerly winds induced

me

"Have you

to favour the latter.

said to the " Alban's "

"Yonder are

Straits.

on board

? "

piles

away from the " Actseon."

far

the Sea of

Marmora our

me

last.

wood.

"

visible.

and on

alone in

captain discovered that his coal

I naturally reminded him of the

How much is left ? "

little

came it," I asked, " that you decliaed my

" He had not been able to gauge the coal."

How

suggestion? "

When

I was walking on deck when he apprised

of this dilemma.

"

as

" Quite unnecessary," was the reply

we steamed
would not

plenty of coal?" I

we passed up the
of wood; shall we take a supply

commander

more."

" Enough for three hours, perhaps

I looked around: the coast was scarcely

" Which

is

point ? "

the nearest

"

Sulini,

believe, there

on the horizon."

" Steer a

to it," I added,

and turned away.

This was done, and our

coal just served to reach the place.

direct

course

I was so disgusted

that I left the steamer, and proceeded to Constantinople on

horseback.
the stakes

The Turks
it

pulled an old battery to pieces, and

furnished gave fuel to the " Alban's " boiler.

But neither did the " Alban " nor myself arrive before the
"Actseon." It amused me to think how my reliance on
steam, as the vanquisher of sail, had been defeated.
I was

now on

the scene of action.

My

colleagues in the

approaching negotiation were the Russian Minister and the

French charge

We

had to deal with a Turkish

His name I have forgotten.
The Eussian was Monsieur de Bontenieff, the Frenchman
Monsieur de Varennes both very estimable members of
diplomacy, and no less anxious than myself to obtain the
d'affaires.

Eeis Effendi unknown to me.

Porte's consent to our proposals.

THE SECEET AGENT.

1878.]

^03

I have already stated my apprehension that the terms I

to offer,

and theirs were the same, would not

Swayed by a

om- point.

had

suffice to carry

religious feeling, the Tui-ks will

never cede territory except under the pressure of positive

The Greeks are the

make a sacrifice of that

necessity.

last to

kind.

illin gly

of the land acquired

whom they would

To seU any portion

by their ancestors under the shade of

shame and a sacrilege

to be paid by
Greece in return for the required cession was limited, and
of little value but what it derived from the guarantee of the
Allies. So deep was my conviction of its insufficiency that I
the Prophet's banner is, in their view, a

Moreover, the amount of purchase

money

looked about for some additional means,

if

possibly such

could be found, for overcoming the scruples of the Porte.

It

happened that just

at this time

Mehemet Ali was

make him more than usually an object

I had heard something

a manner to

picion at Constantinople.

jealousy in Greece,
fear of
fully

acting in
of susof this

and fresh information showed that the

danger from Egypt might be expected to work power-

The

on the Sultan's- mind.

neglecte'd,

occasion was not to be

and I was fortunate enough to find a secret

channel by which

impressions derived from that source

might be made to favour our proposals.

In a quarter of

Stamboul called the Fanal, there lived a Greek, with

I

He

had been long acquainted.

talent which,

used with

much

whom

possessed that sort of

patient and timid discretion,

had gradually earned him a position of some consequence

among the leading Turks, and even a degree of influence at

the Seraglio.
I had reason to believe him well disposed
towards English interests, at least so far as they might tally
with his own.

made up my mind,

a line for his co-operation

with great circumspection.

his timidity

but

it

The

therefore, to

was necessary

throw out
to proceed

slightest alarm given to

would be certain to shut him up,

if

not to make

204

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

him

[paet

ii.

A friendly communication took

a dangerous confidant,

and we agreed to meet. His house, at some considerable distance up the " Golden Horn," was to he the

place,

scene of our interview.

I promised to go at night, and he

undertook to send his own boat for

night appointed for
boisterous.

down

my

my

strong north gale with driving rain blew

I had to walk no small distance to the

the harbour.

water, and then to

embark alone on

board I crouched imder

my

troubled waves.

its

On

umbrella in utter darkness, and

The

shivered to the blasts that rushed over me.

was only so

The

conveyance.

chanced to be one of the most

visit

far better that the

return

wind no longer beat against

our faces.

My

conversation with the agent in question led to a satis-

factory understanding between us.

my

He

engaged to work in

favour with the Sultan; I displayed a readiness to

consult his Majesty's wishes to the full length of

confidential intercourse

maintained

under his

simultaneously with

my tether,

auspices

the

official

could be

negotiation.

Secrecy was an indispensable condition, and the port

now

brought into view could only be approached by delicate

steering

among rocks and

my

I should have to act independently of

knowledge of the plan would insure a

to

On

quicksands.

the one side,

colleagues,

failure,

whose

on the other

awake the Sultan's hopes of eventual assistance from

England vdthout committing

mising

my own

open or

character.

secret, are

my

government or compro-

Negotiations in Turkey, whether

not apt to move

by

rail.

Months

were consumed in the twofold process by which I hoped to

attain the desired end.

We

were deep in July before we

arrived at the goal, nor did I get rid of the cough, which

had crowned my nocturnal adventure, until I anchored once

more in the waters of Napoli di Romania, and imbibed the
rays of a southern sun.

NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE SULTAN.

1878.]

It

205

would answer no good purpose to explore the labyrinth

and conferences which encumbered the pathway to

of papers

They differed little from other negotiations

of the day. Incidents are more significant, and to them, however few, I shall confine my attention. One Eeis Effendi died
under suspicions of poison. His successor gave us no end of
a successful issue.

trouble.

I stood in need of every appliance to obtain the

requisite

ascendency.

One cause of difficulty had been

The Grand Vizier was em-

foreseen in the very outset.

ployed on special business in one of the distant provinces,

and I knew from experience that the Porte would be likely

to use his absence as a pretext for reference

and

delay.

had drawn Lord Palmerston's attention to the circumstance,

and obtained his permission to send a confidential agent to

Mr. David Urquhart, who was

the Vizier's head- quarters.

recommended

to

me on

account of his personal acquaintance

with the Minister, undertook the service, and gave

reason to repent of the precautionary measure.

me no

I found

it

my own hands. The

my own discretion and

necessary to take the embassy into

exercise of this

though

it

d'affaires,

power was

caused

me some

regret to supersede the charge

I could not hesitate to do so in the interest of

Turks

negotiation.

revolt

Kings of Brentford.

commands
number

left to

at

A plurality of

their respect,

my

my

from the idea of two co-existing

ships,

and I took care

on the contrary,

to have a sufficient

disposal from time to time.

These were

But a stumbling-block
the very door. I knew to a

precautions of an auxiliary nature.

of large dimensions stood at

certainty that the acting interpreter

knew

it,

was not

to be trusted, I

but could not venture to put him aside.

More

danger lay in suspending than in employing his services.

I thought it best to have a frank explanation with him at
once.

Delicacy was out of the question.

his character

was no

secret.

I told

My

him at our

opinion of

first

meeting

206

EASTEbN

TitE

QUESTlOlJ.

[paut it

many words that- it was unchanged that, neverthethe

I would not make a scandal without fresh cause

in so
less,

sole test of his conduct in

if

my

fate.

my

judgment would he success

ship went down, his boat should infallibly share

He

bowed, and silently accepted the terms.

its

My

communications with the Porte continued to pass through

him, but of those with the Sultan he had of course no hint

The former took

whatever.
ters;

had

the latter

In both

stantial reality.

any,

was

step

as hard with

with

my

by

me

step.

colour chiefly from the Minis-

but a more sub-

of outline,

less

departments

The Sultan

the progress,

in his

if

way fought

behind the scenes as his Ministers did

colleagues

and

me

in front of them.

An

ap-

pearance at least of concession in some particulars became a

necessity.

I yielded to the pressure so far as to consent

new

that the

frontier line of

without receding, by having

Greece should be shortened,

its

termini, east

and west,

at

the respective Gulfs of Volo and Arta, the waters of both

being thrown open to the trade and vessels of either State.

This arrangement, to speak

sacrifice,

and vdth

it

truly,

involved a very small

the permanent advantage of a more

complete separation.

As soon

as a complete understanding

was

effected with

the Sultan, there remained the task of making

acceptable to

my

colleagues and working

it,

its

result

with their con-

currence and with that of the Turkish Plenipotentiaries,

into the

form of a regular convention.

of our joint conferences, a

In the midst of one

messenger direct from the palace

suddenly made his appearance, and announced the Sultan's

desire that

seemed

we should agree

to promise

to that conclusion

satisfaction

which really

to all parties.

Such an

intimation could obviously have no binding effect on the

representatives of the Alliance, but

it

created a general in-

clination to seek the solution of all remaining difficulties in

A FbRCEb

i878.j

Ms

a fair consideration of

207

CONCE^SlOif.

Majesty's wishes.

Thus

was

it

The several points of

that we at length reached our goal.
agreement were thrown into a conventional form, and a final
meeting was appointed for signing the document.

We

fondly imagined that cup and lip were

into contact,

now hrought

and that any apprehension of further disappointentirely misplaced.

ment would be

Dts

Our

aliter visum.

place of meeting was an imperial kiosk on the European

side of the Bosphorus, half-way between Therapia and

Yenikeui.

We entered

upon business soon after ten o'clock

one morning, and broke up at four the next. There was

an interval for dinner, and no doubt the pipe, as usual,
played

its part.

The

rest of the sixteen hours passed

on wings laden with

away

expostulation, and complaint.

cavil,

Our Mussulman antagonist began by opening a fire of small

From mere politeness we gave way
shot upon our lines.
on matters of no essential consequence.

He

took courage,

and endeavoured to wring more serious concessions from us.

Our

refusal

met

to sign,

and not to dispute.

rather cut off his right

a convention.
off

He

declared that he would

hand than put

his signature to such

still

have to sign with the other. At

became necessary to threaten him with the Sultan's

indignation.

subdue him.
aid,

was reminded that we had

We took the liberty of telling him that if he cut

one hand, he would

last it

He

provoked him.

Even

the fear of that peril did not immediately

Weariness and despair at length came to our

and the hateful convention received his signature before

the Ught of another sun

had

fully risen

upon

its

pages.

Such were the means, such were the slow and weary
steps, by which the new Hellas was lifted up to that great
mountain ridge whence the eye of the traveller may range
unchecked over the pastures of Thessaly. Six-and-forty
years have all but closed-over that

memorable transaction.

So long have the Greeks enjoyed the

fertile territory

which

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

208

was then shaken out of the Sultan's grasp

and so long, there

is

reason to

fear,

[part

il.

for their benefit,

have they

left

the price

of that cession a dead weight on the resources of their

confiding benefactors.

The main
and

my

object of the mission

was now accomplished,

thoughts were at liberty to prepare for an early de-

But I could not of course embark without taking

I was given to understand that my
audience would be confidential, and that the occasion

parture.

leave of the Sultan.

final

would be used to apprise

me

of his Majesty's reliance on the

goodwill of England, in case his relations with Egypt should

assume a hostile character. My secret ally from the Fanal

would act as interpreter, and a special agent would be sent

London on the
matters, it must be

Sultan's behalf.

to

saying either too

These were

delicate

allowed, and I felt keenly the danger of

much

or too

little.

In the one case I

might cause very serious embarrassment

at

home

in the

other I might throw the Sultan at once into the arms of

Eussia.

Subsequently,

instructions,

it

relieved

when I had

access to the Turkish

me from much

anxiety to find that

they tallied entirely with the language I had held. Whatever

pledge was implied in that language I amply redeemed by
submitting to

my

chief the expediency of sending a small

squadron to keep watch over the ambitious movements of

Mehemet Ali. That no such course was taken may or

may not be regretted but the truth is that Lord Gti'ey, our
;

then Prime Minister, having no ships to spare on the

ing establishment, could not

make up

his

mind

exist-

to apply to

Parliament for more.

The

audience went off as I had been led to expect.

It

took place in the palace of Beylerbey, on the Asiatic shore

of the Bosphorus. For reasons already stated the oflScial

me. His Highness the Caliph

For the first time he received me

interpreter did not attend

was extremely gracious.

SULTAN MAHMOUD.

1878.]

None

on his legs.

saw him again

to be

and the insignia thereof.

but the outline of his character

and person as they appeared to

find

me

conversation he caused

invested with his grand order

I never

At the

of his ministers were present.

of our political

close

209

me

in his lifetime

may

here

Eesolution and energy were the

an appropriate place.

Mahmoud's mind. His natural

abilities would hardly have distinguished him in private life.
In personal courage, if not deficient, he was by no means

foremost qualities of Sultan

superior.

His

measured by the rules of the

fnorality,

Koran, was anything but exemplary.

He

He

had no scruple

from motives of policy or

of taking life at pleasure

was not inattentive

to

interest.

changes of circumstance, or

There was, even

insensible to the requirements of time.

from early days, a vein of liberality in his views.

either

of mind,

he missed at

critical

times the precious oppor-

and incurred thereby an aggravated

tunity,

of inore than thirty years

and

But,

from want of foresight, or owing to a certain rigidity

compulsory cessions.

destruction of his fleet at Navarino.

up the

reins of sovereign

He had
On the

to lament the

other hand, he

power which had

from the hands of his later predecessors

rebellion in

His reign

Greece, Egypt, and Algiers

escaped successively from his rule.

gathered

loss.

was marked by disastrous wars

more than one of the provinces

fallen

he repressed

and his just

resentment crashed the mutinous Janissaries once and for

Checked no longer by them, he introduced a system

ever.

of reforms 'which

tended greatly to renovate the Ottoman

Empire, and to bring

it

into friendly

Powers of Christendom.

To

communion with the

him, moreover,

formation of a regular and disciplined

factious, fanatical militia,

than to

its foes.

more dangerous

due the

to the country

Unfortunately his habits of self-indulgence

kept pace with the revival of his authority,

close of his life

is

army in place of a

and the premature

suspended for a while the progress of im'

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

210

[part

Mahmoud, when young, had a

provement.

His dark beard

but time added nothing to

ii.

rather imposing

countenance.

set off the paleness of his

face,

its

was

slightly

expression.

His

below the average standard.

He

was healthy.

His

stature

constitution

wrote well, he rode weU, and acquired a

reputation for skill in archery.

may be

It

said with truth

that whatever merit he possessed was his own, and that

much

wrong in his character resulted from circumstances beyond his control.

Peace to his memory
of what was

We may now
my

After

turn back to the subject of Greek

departure from Napoli the

affairs.

dissensions

civil

had

not only continued, but assumed a more threatening and

dangerous aspect.
taken

The Conference

my suggestions

London had
and in consequence

acting in

into consideration,

of their being adopted, orders

had been sent out

with the view of enforcrag the desired

effect.

of the instruction was addressed to me, and

that

it

came

to

it

hand some two or three days

to Greece

duphcate

so happened
after I

had

learned from Mr. Dawkins that matters were coming to an

immediate extremity between the adverse

fast sailing cutter at

my

disposal,

and

it

parties.

I had a

occurred to me, on

a calculation of time and distances, that

my

duplicate, if

sent on at once, might possibly arrive before the original

and prevent a
earned

the

fatal

explosion.

satisfaction

Acting on this hope, I

of learning afterwards that

my

despatches had reached Mr. Dawkins on the morning of a

day which was to have been terminated by the capture of

Fort Palamidi and the subversion of the existing government. The Greeks were happily spared a scene of this
perilous

and

disgraceful

kind.

position was no longer tenable,

Petersburg

left

no doubt as

But Count Agostino's

and his

retreat

to the source

On

upon

St.

from which he

stopped a few days in the Bosphorus.

way to Odessa he
His vessel cast

janchor between Buyukdere, where the

Russian Minister

derived his political inspiration.

his

GREEK ENQUIEIES FOB A "POLICY."

1878.]

211

and Therapia, where I was

resided,

de Boutenieff he

living.
With Monsieur
was in frequent communication. The

Embassy had not

British

the fortune to receive even a card

With

from the ex- Vice-President.

his retirement

ended the

Capodistrian administration of Greece, which, at

necessity,

shaken

finally

But
Set in

and in

its

off as

progress a questionable benefit, was

me

The

heats of July had

I found myself free to embark.

My secret inter-

to note.

mediary with the Sultan had not disregarded his

own interests
which

while promoting the success of those negotiations

my

was

a galling and unprofitable burden.

remains for

little

when

first

province to conduct.

The

Island of

about to obtain an independent administration,

wished to be

its

governor with the

heartily disposed to befriend

him

title

it

Samos was
and he
I was

of Prince.

in this respect, but with

the condition that a free constitution should be secured to

Samos and
came

it

its

to

inhabitants.

my

At the moment

of embarkation

knowledge that the Prince in petto had

obtained the Sultan's consent to his appointment, but left

the

Samians to whistle for their constitution.

if I

had been purposely entrapped

be, it

was too

to seek

me

to take

It looked as

however that might

any counter step or even

an explanation.

Under

my

late for

but,

this passing cloud the sails

were

set,

and I turned

back once more on the city of Constantine.

Eomania

lay in our way,

and we sailed up the

no intention of making any stay in

tion

was sent

other notables
or position.

off,

its

Napoli di

gulf,

waters.

but with

deputa-

headed by Colocotroni, and composed of

more or

less distinguished

by

their conduct

After the customary interchange of news and

compliments, I was requested to state my opinion as to

what should be the policy of Greece when left to the enjoy-

ment of

its

newly acquired independence.

My

first

reply

was an expression of surprise that, having worked out their

freedom

at so

much

cost,

they should look to a stranger.

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

212

[pakt

ii,

liowver desirous to help them, for advice as to their future

They were not discouraged by

course.

returned more pressingly to the charge.

to parry their advances

appeared to value
withhold

it,

more

my

any

this evasion, but

Finding

it iiseless

further, 1 said that since they

opinion in good earnest, I would not

especially as

in half a dozen words.

it

might be conveyed to them

Your immediate

business, I con-

tinued, is to repair the ravages of war, to plough your lands,

build ships, and above all to increase your families.

" Material prosperity is the true basis of moral and political

to

come in their time.

They smiled and thanked
me, but I doubt their having given much heed in practice to
my counsels, frank and simple as they were. The conadvancement.

Institutional securities

strong hand is your

victions

first

need."

which then possessed

me on

But the Greeks do not

varied.

Their " grande idee "

Empire

is

is

this subject have never

my

see with

a pernicious illusion.

spectacles.

The Turkish

not yet weak enough to become their prey, but

may be used

as their garden

it

and field of productive industry.

Grant them a natural ambition, they must still employ the

means required for its success.
Efi'orts beyond their
strength, immoral enterprises, exaggerated pretensions, can

They have to strike

many stubborn conditions of their
concur to circumscribe. They have to

only end in failure and humiliation.

root into a soil which

present existence

gather strength from without as well as from within.

Their

true policy consists in meriting the confidence of Europe,

and cultivating the goodwill of their neighbours,

at the

same

time that they give free play to the springs of internal progress,

and uphold,

for their protection, the authority of law

in all its departments.

principle of

life

from

The

loftiest trees

slips or seeds,

have drawn the

and risen to

their

majestic height by the slow accessions of annual growth.

Our voyage came to a close at Ancona, and the remainder

way to London was only the work of a few days.

of our

im.'i

MISTAKES OF THE BEITISH GQVEENMENT,

The joy of

retvirning to a peaceful

and

the kind

was

still

which I was greeted

Strange to say, a few weeks

later,

while I

but the length of a moderate line of houses from

his abode ia
slightest

home was enhanced by

flattering approval with

by Pahnerston,

213

Great Stanhope Street, he never disclosed the

wish to

hea,r

what I thought of the Greeks in their

what remained to be done in order

actual position, or of

place the administration of their country

on a firm and

His choice of a Bavarian lad

able footing.

to

to

suit-

wear the

crown of Greece had nothing but the scarcity of candidates

to

recommend

The Eegency

it.

constructed under his

been formed of elements more

auspices could hardly have

incongruous and unpromising.

The

character of Prince

Otho, which in later years operated so fatally on the interests of Greece,

might easily have been ascertained from

the books of the Jesuits

by

Without pretending to any

whom

he was brought up.

pectiliar sagacity, I could

have

pointed to the danger of setting up three regents invested

with po-ordinate powers.

The Greeks had

already broken

and they would be sure to pa;ralyse the

action of the goyernment by sowing dissension among its

into three parties,

directors,

one of wljom was to be the nominal

inter pa/res

an

chief,

himself exposed to the temptation of coveting a

equal share of authority.
for incurring the

the measure

primus

object of jealousy to his colleagues,

There may have been reasons

hazards of a distracted Eegency

was unavoidable, the

are not the less to

and
more than

be deplored.

but

if

results of that necessity

To

we were
when its
nor were we more happy
say the least,

unfortunate in what was done for Greece at a time

future destinies were in the
in

mould ;

what we declined to do for Turkey at the same decisive

period.

It followed

upon the Sultan's disappointment

that,

in despair of getting help

from England, he turned with

open arms towards Eussia, and, come what might, accepted

the aid of a Eussian

army encamped within the

forts of the

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

214

fPABt

il.

Bosphorus, and also within sight of his defenceless capital.

The ground we then lost was indeed recovered some ten
years later, but at no small expense, in the very teeth of

France, and even at the risk of a general war.

Although I have reached the close of our

expressed by the heading of this
of the occasion on which to
lating to

it

all

article, I

subject, as

cannot lose sight

appearance the papers re-

were recently presented to Parliament.

A war

between Eussia and Turkey can hardly take place without

affecting

sensibly

the interests of Greece,

on the

or at least operating

Such a war

feelings of its inhabitants.

as

end in the Preliminaries of San Stefano

that which found its

and their correction by the Congress of Berlin, could not

possibly leave

unmoved those views

of future enlargement

which are so fondly cherished by the Hellenic mind. The

victories of Russia, the embarrassments of Turkey, and the
Slavonic encroachments have concurred to edge their appetite
for territorial extension,

pretensions

to

and

to bristle

succession

the

up

whenever

Christendom to smooth the way for that

information gathered from newspapers

their cherished
it

may

fatality.

may

please
If the.

be credited,

they accuse the British Government of having deserted their

cause, they are discontented with the Congress for limiting
its

favour to a simple recommendation, and they reproach

the Porte with acts of wanton cruelty committed by Turlcish

soldiers in Thessaly

and elsewhere.

It lies not with me to determine the measure of right or

wrong which attaches to such complaints, but I venture to
offer some few remarks on the relations, whether of neigh-

bourhood, of custom, or of treaty, in which the Hellenic

kingdom stands towards the Ottoman Empire and its soveAt best they cannot be much more than superficial,
and the space which remains for expressing them is already

reign.

much reduced.
The main object

of the late Congress was peace arranfe)i=

1878.1

THE GREEK CLAIM TO THESSALY AND EPIRUS.

in a spirit of

compromise on

prospect of its duration.

sucli

The

grounds as to

215
a fair

offer

claims of Greece were ad-

mitted for consideration, and the Porte was finally advised

,to

rectify the frontier of that

That

kingdom.

commendation could only apply to the

line

friendly re-

of boundary

which begins at the Gulf of Volo and terminates in that of

Arta.

That

line

of both parties,

was adopted with a view

to the separation

and the defence of the weaker one.

It

was

declared by the Convention of July 9 (21), 1832, to be a fixed

and irrevocable settlement.

There

is

reason to believe that the Greeks entertain a

claim to Thessaly and even to Epirus also.

the term rectification
cession, and, it

would have

must be allowed,

make

If that be true,

way

to that of

to a cession of considerable

extent and corresponding value.

persuaded to

to give

If the Sultan could be

so great a sacrifice, which is extremely

improbable, he would naturally insist upon an indemnitj',

difiicult if

not impossible for Greece to pay,

rience of the past, to be secured

or, after

expe-

by the guarantee of friendly

With regard to the principles of separation and

defence the maps present no local featui'es equal to those
which mark the present frontier. Thessaly, with the help

Powers.

of Pindus, might give to Greece a

mountain boundary, but

one of greater length, and therefore inferior as a line of

defence.

Epirus, to judge from

possesses no such advantage

on

its

its

standing in the maps,

northern side.

The Greek who learns fi'om history or by national tradiwhat manner his ancestors were dethroned and degraded by the armies of Islam, and who perhaps has felt
the weight of Mussulman misrule in his own generation,
can hardly fail to sigh for a more complete emancipation of
his race and a more extensive dominion for its glory and
security.
But the Turk on his side is equally open to fear
of losing the proud, imperious mastery so hardly won by his
tion in

Caliphs,

and at times so

pitilessly exercised

by himself,

to

THE EASTEEN QUESTION,

216

[pakt

ii.

say nothing of the jealous vigilance and haughty reserve

with which the authority of a people alien in creed and

manners has
It

to be guarded.

would seem, therefore, that a simple

rectification of the

frontier is all that can be reasonably expected,

localities

and

if

the

admit of so plausible an adjustment, the Porte

would do well
ready to give

to accept the resolution of Congress,

it

and be

the desired effect.

Mere justice requires that the system of liberal refornl,

to which the Ottoman authorities are solemnly pledged, and
which

is

partly in course of operation, should be taken into

the account, especially as English good faith

gaged to promote

from

treaty-,

its

is

formally en-

success with all the influence derived

acknowledged power, and practical experience.

The Eastern Question is not so dead but that

its own solution upon the failure of

work out

expedients

and

if it

it

may

present

should be found impossible for the

ill-matched elements of Turkish power to satisfy the re-

quirements of Europe, the claims of native occupancy, and

inheritance never lawfully forfeited,

favourable and effectual hearing.

now

by what measures of

fairly obtain a

by what untainted rules of

constituted, to consider

policy,

may

It rests with Greece, as

internal development, she

prepare for the eventual abdication, remembering

may

alwaj'^s

that for neighbours miitual goodwill, leading to confidence,

is

a vital condition of that peace so earnestly maintained by

the Congress of Berlin.

Steatfoed de Eedcltpfe.

THE EKD.

BEADEURY, AQNEW,

&

CO.,

PRIHTEBS, WHITEFEIARS.

"

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A Map to illustrate

y^'

THE TREATIES OF

HAN STEFANO AND BERLIN.

Scale of Entail Miles
l

TheSoundar^es
I,

S4

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36

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Stanford^ Gwg^Sstah^ London

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SMITH,

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Index.

31

INDEX.
Abeecrombie's Works

Acland's India

Admiralty Manual
iEsop's Fables
Agricultural Journal
Albert (The) Memorial
Speeches

Army

Lists
Austin's Jurisprudence

Choice of a Dwelling

8
16
22
25
18
21

Churton's Poetical Works

Classic Preachers Clode's Mihtary Fdrces
Martial Law -

24
20

Barbauld's Hymns
Talmud
Turkey My Boyhood -

20

29

Barclay's
Barkley's

15
10
25
8

Barrow's Autobiography

Barry's (Sir C.) Life

7, 20
(Canon), Witness for
.
Christ 15
(E.) Architecture - , 19

Bates' River Amazon

Bax's Eastern Seas

11
8

Bees and Flowers 25

Belcher's {Lady} 'Bounty' 10
gir Charles) Letters 6

Bell's
Bell's

Tower

of

London

Bertram's Harvest of the

Sea
Bible

17
2
11
18
id

Commentary

Bigg Withe/s Brazil

Birch's Ancient Pottery
Bird's Sandwich Islands

Japan

JKocky Mountains
Bisset's Sport in Africa
Blackstone's

g
11

9,

Comments

Blomheld's (Bp.) Memoir

Blunt's

Works

25
20

15

(Lady A-), Bedouins,

&c.
10
Borrow's Works
11, 22
Boswell's Johnson
Brewer's Studies
British Association

Brugsch's Egypt

4, 6,
-

Bunbury's Geography
Burbidge's Borneo
10,
BurCkhardt's Cicerone 12,
Burn's Nav. & Mil. Terms
Burrows' Constitution
Buttmann's Works
Buxton's Memoirs, &c. Political

Handbook

Byles on Religion Byron's Life ^-^ Poetical Works

Campbell's Chancellors
and Chief-Justices
Lord Bacon
Napoleon
Life

3
11

17
19
24
20
29
6
20
iS
7
23

Carnarvon's Athens
-

Cartwright's Jesuits
Cathedral (The)
Cathedrals of England
Cyprus
Cesnola's
Chaplin's Benedicite
Seas
Chisholm's Polar

4,

7'

to
23
16
15

4,

(loleridge's

Table-Talk

Cookery

Cooke's Sketches
Cook's Sermons
Crabbe's Life and Works
Crp.wford's

Argo

Curtius'

Works

C^ust*"? Annals

20

Essays Gleig's Waterloo

22
25
19
16
23
23
18
29
29
19
19
ig
21

of the

Darwin's Works

Wars

Dennis' Etruria
Dent's Sudeley

Derby's Homer
Derry's Bampton

24

Erasmus, Life
Davy's Consolations
Salmonia
De Cosson's Blue Nile

17
8
21
25
-

9
19

23
15

De

Ros's Young Officer

Deutsch's Talmud
Dilke's Papers of a Critic
Douglas's Gunnery and
- 8,
Bridges

'

- Horse-Shoeing
Ducange's Dictionary

Du

Chaillu's Africa
Dufferin's High Latitudes

Ellis's

22

24
25
27
9
11

24
i9

- 5,

24

6
8

9
6

Catullus
Elphinstone's India
Elphinstone's Turning
Elton's, E., Africa
Elze's Byron -

23

Ellis's

English in Spain Essays on Cathedrals

17
9
7

S24
15

16
11

g,

River of Golden Sand

Gladstone's

Rome

tural-Works

20, 22

Washington

5
19
23
7

Glynne's Churches
Goldsmith's Works

Gomm's, Life
Wm. IVth

Grey's

Grote's Histories

Works

27
24
16
16

3
20, 21

Life

Mrs.

Hallam's England
Middle Ages -

4
4
22

Remaihs History
Literary

23
28
28
24
6

Hall's English Grammar

First Latin Book

- 5,
Hamilton's Guards
Hamilton's Rheinsberg HandbooksforTravellers 12,14
21
Hatch's Aristotle Hatherley on Scripture 15
6
Hayward's Statesmen
Head's Engineer 24

Bur^oyne

'

Bubbles from ]!5"assau

22
Stokers and Pokers
Heber's Poetical Works 15, 23
Herries' Life
Herschel's Memoir

8
11

Hollway's

Norway

Home and

Colonial Library 30

Homer,

Iliad, Odyssey 23
Hook's Church Dictionary 14
Hook's (Theodore) Life
7
Hope's, B., Worship
16
Houghton's Monographs
6

Poetical Works
23
Houstoun's Wild West 11
Hutchinson's Dog- Breaking 25
Hutton's Principia Grxca 29

Jameson's Ital. Painters 7,19

Jennings* Field Paths and
Rambles
ri, 22
Jervis's Gallican Church 4, 15
Jesse's Gleanings

Jex-Blake's Sermons
Johnson's (Dr.) Life
Julian's Dictionary

Hymnology

17
16
7

of

14
22

Junius' Handwriting

Fergusson's

Architec-

19
8
Forbes' Burmah
20
Forsyth's Hortensius _Novels and Novelists 21
8
Foss' Biographia Juridica
21
Frere's India anti Africa
-

19

10, 18

3,

Madagascar

Memoir

21

- 7>

Eastlake's Essays
Eldon's Life Elgin's Letters

24

20, 22

Speeches, &c.

Duncan's Artillery
Durer, Albert
English in Spain

Roman Empire

(JifFard's Naval Deeds

Gill's Ascension
-

Cripps on Plate
Croker's Geography
Stories ior Children
Crowe's Flemish Painters
Painting in Italy ;
Titian
- 7,
Cumming's South Africa 9)25
-

Gibbon's

15
23
15
24

8
"6

Agamemnon

22
16

20, 25

Church and the Age

Galton's Art of Travel

Geographical Journal George's Mosel & Loire

Kerr's Country House

King Edward Vlth's

Grammars

20, 25
-

Kirk's Charies the Bold

Kirkes' Physiology
Kugler's Italian Schools
German Schools -

Modem

29
4
17

19
ig

Egyptians,
4)9

11
it

Lane's

Lawrence's Remmiscences

32

Index,

Layard's Nineveh Leathes' Heb. Grammar

9
29
19

Leslie's Hbk. for Painters

Levi's British Commerce

Lex Salica
Liddell's Rome

21
21

- 3,

27

Lispings from Low Latitudes 22

Little Arthur's England
26
Livingstone's Travels
9
; Life
6
Livingstonia
g
Loch's China
5
Lockhart's Spanish Ballads 23

Loudon's Gardening
Lyell's

Works

Lytton's

25

17, 18

JuHan Fane

NordhofTs Communistic
Societies

Seas>

II

Macdougall's Warfare
Macgregor's Rob Roy
Madras, Letters from

Mahon's Betisarius

24
10
8

Maine's (Sir H. S.) Works

Malcolm's Persia Mansel's Lectures Bampton Lectures Letters, Reviews, &c.
Marco Polo's Travels

7
21
10
21
15
21

Markham's Histories

Parkyns' Abyssinia

Peel's

Memoirs

New

So. Wales 10
Michel Angelo
"
7, 19
Middleton's Rembrandt
19
Millington's Land of Ham 15
'

Milman's Histories
St. Paul's
Christianity Latin Christianity
Fall of Jerusalem

Horace

- 4,
-

5,

- 4,
-

4,

'

16
14
16
14
23

7j23

(Bishop) Life of
Mivart's Essays

The Cat
Moore's Life of Byron
Moresby's New Guinea

Mossman's Japan

Privy Council Judgments

Puss in Boots -

Quarterly Review

21

Damascus

lion

4.6

Satsuma Rebel-

Mozley's Predestination
Muirhead's Vaux-de-Vire
Murchison's Siluria
-

Memoirs
Music and Dress

List

'

25

16
g
23

tory

7
21

15

4,

Robson's School Architecture

'

19
15
18
25
25
20
20

Robinson's Palestine
10,
Physical Geography
Alpine Flowers
Sub-Tropical Garden

Rowland's Constitution
Laws of Nature

St. James' Lectures

15
St. John's Wild Sports
25
Libyan Desert
g
Saldanha's Memoirs
7
Sale's Brigade in Afghan-

Scepticism in Geology Schliemann's _,Troy and

Mycenae

g,

'

Shadows of Sick Room Simmons' Court-Martial

24
24
14

Newth's Works on Science 16

NichoUs, Sir G., Poor Laws 21
5
NiIeGleanings(Stuart)3, 9, 18

25

and Works 5, 6, 8, 18, 22,

Smith (Dr. G.), Geography
of India

Smith (P.> Ancient History

Smith's (Dr.
aries

Wm.)

20
25,

8
3,4

Diction-

3, 4, 6, 7, 8, II, 14,

26

Smith's (Dr. Wm.) Ancient

Atlas II, 27
Educational Course 3, 28
Smaller Histories 16, 29

/^

Canterbury
Westminster Abbey
Sermons in East Bp.,

Memoir

Arnold
Corinthians
Christian Institutions
Stevens's Madame de Stael 6
Stephens's Chrysostom 6
Stories for Children
29
Street's Architecture of

Spain and Italy

Stuart's Nile

Student's

Manuals

19

3. 9 18
14, 26} 28

Sumner's Life
Swainson's Creeds

15
7
Sybel's' French Revolution 5
Symonds' Records of the
Rocks 18

Swiff s Life

Temple's India

8,

21

15,

ig
10
16

7,

ig

Thibaut's Musical Art

Thielmann's

Caucasus
Thomson's Sermons
Titian's Life

and Times

Tocqueville's France

Tomlinson's Sonnet
23
Tozer's Turkey & Greece 10
Tristram's Land of Moab
10
Great Sahara 9
Truro, Bp. of. The Cathedral, &c.
IS
Turkey, Lady^s Life in 10
Tyler's Primitive Culture
21
Tylor's Hist, of

Mankind

VambSry's Travels

Van Lennep's Asia Minor

Virchow's Freedom of
Science
-

15
.

6
22

cow
S 22
Stanley's Sinai
10
Bible in Holy Land
10
Eastern, Jewish, and
Scottish Church - 4, 16

18

ig

Bible Lands
Vatican Council

23
29

5
18

Smiles' Popular Biographies

Rejected Addresses
Reynold's Life
Ricardo's Worlcs Robertson's Church His-

Seebohm's Siberia 11, 17

Selborne on the Liturgy 4, 15

Nicolas' Historic Peerage

Nimrod

23
18
8

Napier's English Battles

Navy

Schomberg's Odyssey
School arid Prize Books
Scott's Architecture

Musters' Patagonians

New Testament

15

Nautical Almanack

Rae's Barbary
9
Rassam's Abyssinia
g
Rawlinson's Herodotus
3
Ancient monarchies
3
Russia in the East 10, 20
Redcliflfe (Lord S. de). Eastern Question
20

istan

Motley's Histories
Barneveld

Mounsey's

6
16
6
22
16
23
10
14
21
29

Porter's

Pitt

Miscellanies
Retreat from Mos-

22
9

Madame de

Stanhope's Histories

Percy's Metallurgy
Perry's St. Hugh Philip's Literary Essays
Philosophy in Sport
Pope's Works
-

Japan

Masters in Theology
Matthias's Greek Gram,
Mayo'sSportinAbyssinia 9, 25
Meade's New Zealand 10
Melville's Typee and Oraoo 10

16, 18

Stael,

Palgr ave's Taxation

Palliser's Monuments

Somerville's Life Physical Sciences, &c.

Reed's Shipbuilding, &c.

Chinchona
Marryat's Pottery

Meredith's

11, 20

Owen's Modern Artillery 24

Oxenham's Latin Elegiacs 31

Prayer-Book

M'Clintock's Arctic

Northcotes's Note-Book

21
8
9
15

16
18

Weigall's Princess Char.

lotte
6
Wellington's Despatches 5, 24
White's Naval Architecture 24
Whymper's Matterhorn 11
Wilberforce's Life 6
Wilkinson's Egyptians
3
Wilson's Life and Diary
7
;- Dr. John, Life of 6
Wilson's Michel Angelo - 7, 19
Wood's Oxus 8
Words of Human Wisdom 22
.

Young's Nyassa Yule's Marco Polo-

-A.

F., Crete

9
8
21