RUSSIA'S CONCESSIONS

the hands of the Porte, with the usual promise of reform, readily given because never meant to be kept.

Montenegro was declared independent under the condition of Montenegro absolute religious equality. She received an accession of terri- Declared Independent. tory, which contained about 50,000 inhabitants and included the important harbour of Antivari, which was a necessity to her existence. Dulcigno was given to Turkey, Spizza to Dalmatia. Montenegro obtained the right to navigate the shores of the Adriatic, but might not keep ships of war or have a war flag. Antivari and, indeed, all Roumanian waters were closed to warships of all nations. The martial policing of Montenegro was to be exercised by Austria, and Austrian consuls were to protect Roumanian commerce. Montenegro took upon herself responsibility for a certain amount of the Montenegrin debt.

July 6th was occupied by a very important session, in which Differences the relations of Russia to her Asiatic conquests were discussed. at the Congress. Here Russia and Great Britain found themselves in direct opposition, Russia claiming accessions of territory as part payment of the war indemnity, Great Britain, with her antiquated, narrowminded policy, doing her best to retain all she could in the demoralising and corrupting hands of Turkey. Bismarck had great difficulties in keeping the peace, and it is said that Beaconsfield had a special train waiting for him in the station, ready to depart for England if matters did not turn out in accordance with his wishes. Happily the controversies were arranged, and Gortshakov gave utterance to his views on the arrangement in language which it is worth while to reproduce.

on the

"Thanks," he remarked, "to the spirit of conciliation and Gortshakov reciprocal concessions, of which I can conscientiously claim a Settlements. large part for Russia, the work of the congress has moved to its end, that of a peace which is in the interests of the whole of Europe, and which will be worthy of the eminent men assembled at Berlin. Two days' sitting has been devoted to a question, the solution of which has been found to be an equitable arrangement, removed from petty passions, which will crown the work which we have in hand. We make the concession of Erzerum, of Bayazid and of the valley of Alaskand, those two last points covering the passage of caravans and the principal commercial route into Persia. I am also authorised to declare that my illustrious master is disposed, in his Sovereign power, to declare Batoum a free port, a concession to the material interests of all commercial nations, and especially of Great Britain, which has the largest commerce in the world. In conclusion, I must express the hope

Mutual

that, in the sitting of to-day, we shall have made an immense step towards the exalted object of our meeting."

This statement of the Russian representative was received Concessions. with applause, begun by Bismarck and continued by Salisbury. It was then officially announced that the Porte surrendered to Russia in Asia the territories of Arabashan, Kars and Batoum, with its harbours, while the Tsar's offer to make Batoum a free commercial port was gratefully accepted.

The Final
Sitting.

A Curious
Story

of a Map.

"Peace with Honour."

On July 23rd the twentieth and last sitting of the congress was held. Andrassy solemnly thanked Bismarck for the untiring energy with which he had conducted the business of the congress, and expressed the hope that its work might be lasting, and that the friendly relations between the Powers might strengthen and confirm the general feeling of friendship which existed between the Governments that had taken part in it.

The effect of the Treaty of Berlin has certainly not tended to increase the influence of Russia in the Balkan Peninsula. Bulgaria has proved rather a barrier to Russian progress than a door, while Roumania has flourished under a German Prince. There is no reason to believe that the Treaty of San Stefano, had it been duly sanctioned, would have been any more favourable to Russian ambition, whereas, in many respects, it would have been a better and more durable arrangement than the Treaty of Berlin. Still, the occasion was very dramatic, for the meeting of such remarkable personages as Beaconsfield and Bismarck lent distinction to any assembly. It was said by some that Beaconsfield was the most remarkable figure at the congress, because he had the force of Great Britain at his back. A strange story is also told about the concessions made by Russia. It is alleged that Gortshakov had brought with him from St. Petersburg a map on which was carefully marked the utmost territory which Russia would ask for, and the least which she would accept, and that when the British plenipotentiaries asked for a map to give them information about countries with which they were very little acquainted, this map was lent to them by Gortshakov. Their task, therefore, became easy, as they had nothing to do but ask for what they knew the Russians were willing to surrender.

Beaconsfield and Salisbury returned to London on July 16th, when the Treaty of Berlin was laid before Parliament. They were received with tumultuous rejoicings, and Beaconsfield made a speech to the crowd, telling them that he brought back " peace with honour," a somewhat exaggerated statement of the case. In his speech in the House of Lords he apologised for having

GLADSTONE AND THE TREATY OF BERLIN

ceded Sofia, which was south of the Balkans, to Bulgaria, but asserted that between Sofia and the valley of the Maritza lay the watershed of the Ikhtiman Pass, and that this was entirely in the possession of Eastern Roumelia. He ought to have known that the Ikhtiman Pass was no barrier at all to anyone attacking Adrianople from Sofia, and that not only was the pass itself given to Bulgaria by the treaty, but that the town of Ikhtiman was never evacuated by Bulgarian soldiers. He went on to speak of Greece as an interesting country with a future, which could afford to wait. With such levity and lack of knowledge were such momentous interests treated that letters in the public press drawing attention to misstatements passed entirely without notice.

Gladstone's criticism of this treaty was pronounced on July Gladstone 30th. He pointed out that Servia, Montenegro and Roumania, on the Treaty. which made war upon Turkey in reliance upon Russia, were rewarded with independence and an increase of territory, while Greece, which kept quiet and trusted Great Britain, received nothing. The action of the congress, which was to deal with the Treaty of San Stefano as a whole, was invalidated by the agreement with Russia and the Anglo-Turkish Convention which preceded it. The convention was an abuse of the prerogative of the Crown, made behind the back of Parliament. By it Great Britain had rendered herself responsible for Turkish policy, Turkish judicature, and Turkish finance, and for the corruption which paralysed them.

But this weighty indictment did not prevent the two Ministers Beaconsfrom being the heroes of the hour, from receiving the freedom of field's Lost Opportunity. the City of London, and from paying a tribute to the character of the Sultan, who had imposed a charge of £2,500,000 upon the nation as the cost of a policy which is now universally repudiated. With all his claims to be the champion of Imperialism, Beaconsfield threw away at Berlin the chance of acquiring Egypt, which was offered to him by Bismarck, not as plunder of the Turks, but in the best interests of Europe. The Minister refused it on the ground that it would violate the principle of the integrity of the Turkish Empire. There is no stronger condemnation of his policy than the condition of Egypt under British rule at the present time. To pass from Syria to Egypt is to pass from barbarism to civilisation. The foundations of civilisation are the security of life and property, but under Turkish rule it is dangerous to walk alone at night in the streets of Beyrout, Haifa or Jaffa, and to exhibit any signs of wealth is a direct incentive to its being taken

Failure of

forcibly from you. In Cairo and Alexandria an English lady may go anywhere without being molested, and the magnificent palaces of pashas which fill the streets testify to the security with which wealth may be acquired and displayed.

If we look back over the years that have passed since the the Treaty. conclusion of the Treaty of Berlin we see that it has not settled the question which calls for settlement now as it did then, and which can only be solved by the expulsion of the Turks from Europe. It has not secured the peace of the Balkan Peninsula nor the proper treatment of the Christians whom it left under Turkish rule. It has been violated by almost every Power that signed it, among others by Turkey, Russia, Austria, Roumania, Bulgaria and Montenegro. Two wars have followed it, neither of which need have taken place had the Treaty of San Stefano been adopted. Its effect has not been wholly bad, because some portions of the earth's surface, such as Bosnia, Herzegovina and Bulgaria are better off than before; but this was due to Russian self-sacrifice rather than to British diplomacy. The whole story of the treaty enforces the melancholy reflection that the world, after all, is governed with very little wisdom.

CHAPTER V

DISRAELI'S MINISTRY-1874-80

and

IN the second Ministry of Disraeli the Conservatives found them- Conselves in office, but not in power. Probably they had been servatism returned because the country felt that it needed rest after a long Commerce. period of legislative activity; all political energy is followed by an interval of repose, if not of reaction. The leaders of commerce, who had been on the Liberal side since the time of Lord Liverpool, were becoming Conservative from fear of the support given by the Liberals to trade unions and the working man. Beaconsfield was looked upon by the solid mercantile interests as their protector against adventurous innovation-a strange fate to befall a Jew, the Young Englander of the 'forties and the author of brilliant novels.

The Queen's commands to form a Ministry were given to Disraeli's Disraeli on February 18th, 1874, and he had no difficulty in doing Cabinet. so. Lord Cairns, a dignified and even majestic lawyer, who was something also of a statesman, was made Lord Chancellor; the Duke of Richmond, a respected peer of moderate ability, was President of the Council and leader of the House of Lords; Lord Derby was Secretary for Foreign Affairs; Lord Salisbury took the India Office; Lord Carnarvon, a distinguished scholar and man of letters, watched over the Colonies; Sir Stafford Northcote, who had been trained in the school of Gladstone, became Chancellor of the Exchequer; Gathorne Hardy was Secretary of War; and Lord John Manners, afterwards Duke of Rutland, who had been, with Disraeli, one of the leaders of the Young England party, was made Postmaster-General. The Home Office was given to Richard Assheton Cross, an excellent man of business, who looked after the Queen's money affairs with singular tact and judgment; and William Henry Smith, the creator of the railway bookstall business, famous for good sense and integrity, was made Financial Secretary to the Treasury.

This powerful Ministry was confronted with a weak Opposition, who were dissatisfied with themselves. The Nonconformists, who were the great support of the Liberal Party, disliked the Education Act, and the trade unions desired the repeal of