We see in the present state of affairs the Porte losing its influence over its subjects; we see a certainty, in our opinion, of increasing anarchy, of the dissolution of all those ties which, though feeble, yet still exist and which have kept society together in those countries. We see the inevitable result of such a state of things, and we cannot blame Russia for availing herself of it. But, yielding to Russia what she has obtained, we say to her— Thus far, and no farther.' Asia is large enough for both of us. There is no reason for these constant wars, or fears of wars, between Russia and England. Before the circumstances which led to the recent disastrous war, when none of those events which we have seen agitating the world had occurred, and when we were speaking in another place' of the conduct of Russia in Central Asia, I vindicated that conduct, which I thought was unjustly attacked, and I said then-what I repeat now-there is room enough for Russia and England in Asia.

But the room that we require we must secure. We have, therefore, entered into an alliance-a defensive alliancewith Turkey, to guard her against any further attack from Russia. We believe that the result of this Convention will be order and tranquillity. And then it will be for Europe-for we ask no exclusive privileges or commercial advantages—it will then be for Europe to assist England in availing ourselves of the wealth which has been so long neglected and undeveloped in regions once so fertile and so favoured. We are told, as I have said before, that we are undertaking great responsibilities. From those responsibilities we do not shrink. We think that, with prudence and discretion, we shall bring about a state of affairs as advantageous for Europe as for ourselves; and in that conviction we cannot bring ourselves to believe that the act which we have recommended is one that leads to trouble and to warfare. No, my lords, I am sure there will be no jealousy between England and France upon this subject. In taking Cyprus the movement is not Mediterranean, it is Indian. We have taken a step there which we think necessary for the maintenance of our Empire and for its preservation in peace.

If that be our first consideration, our next is the development

of the country. And upon that subject I am told that it was
expected to-night that I should in detail lay before the House
the minute system by which all those results which years may
bring about are instantly to be acquired. I, my lords, am
prepared to do nothing of the kind. We must act with con-
siderable caution. We are acting with a Power, let me remind
the House, which is an independent Power-the Sultan-and
we can decide nothing but with his consent and sanction. We
have been in communication with that Prince-who, I may be
allowed to remind the House, has other things to think about,
even than Asia Minor; for no man was ever tried, from his
accession to the throne till this moment, so severely as the
Sultan has been; but he has invariably during his reign ex-
pressed his desire to act with England and to act with Europe,
and especially in the better administration and management of
his affairs. The time will come-and I hope it is not distant
-when my noble friend the Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs may be able to communicate to the House details of
these matters, which will be most interesting. But we must
protest against being forced into statements on matters of
importance, which are necessarily still immature.
And we
must remember that, formally speaking, even the Treaty of
Berlin has not been ratified, and there are many things which
cannot even be commenced until the ratification of that treaty
has occurred.

My lords, I have now laid before you the general outline of the policy we have pursued, both in the Congress of Berlin and at Constantinople. They are intimately connected with each other, and they must be considered together. I only hope that the House will not misunderstand and I think the country will not misunderstand-our motives in occupying Cyprus, and in encouraging those intimate relations between ourselves and the Government and the population of Turkey. They are not movements of war; they are operations of peace and civilisation. We have no reason to fear war. Her Majesty has fleets and armies which are second to none. England must have seen with pride the Mediterranean covered with her ships; she must have seen with pride the discipline and devotion which have

[th!!

been shown to her and her Government by all her troops, drawn from every part of her Empire. I leave it to the illustrious duke, in whose presence I speak, to bear witness to the spirit of imperial patriotism which has been exhibited by the troops from India, which he recently reviewed at Malta. But it is not on our fleets and armies, however necessary they may be for the maintenance of our imperial strength, that I alone or mainly depend in that enterprise on which this country is about to enter. It is on what I most highly value-the consciousness that in the Eastern nations there is confidence in this country, and that, while they know we can enforce our policy, at the same time they know that our Empire is an Empire of liberty, of truth, and of justice.

203

DEFENCE OF MINISTERIAL POLICY IN GENERAL AGAINST THE DUKE OF ARGYLL. May 16, 1879.

[In the middle of the month of May 1879, news reached this country that the evacuation of Turkish territory by Russian troops was all but completed, and that there were other main stipulations of the Treaty of Berlin now on the point of fulfilment. The Duke of Argyll took this opportunity of delivering a general attack upon the whole position of the Government on both the Turkish and the Afghan questions, deriding the Treaty of Berlin as only the treaty of San Stefano in disguise, and accusing the Government of duplicity in their dealings with the Ameer.]

THE EARL OF BEACONSFIELD: My lords, you are aware, as the noble duke has just reminded you, that at this moment the Ameer of Afghanistan is a self-invited but honoured guest in the English camp, with the avowed object of negotiating a treaty of peace and friendship with the Queen of England, and I may say that under those circumstances, when I heard of the intended motion of the noble duke, and that he was going to call the attention of the House to the results of our foreign policy in Europe and Asia, I think I had some reason yesterday to remind him of that state of affairs to which I have referred, and to leave it with confidence to his discretion, as I left it then, to observe a statesmanlike silence in the circumstances now existing. My lords, I have been deeply disappointed in these expectations. At this very moment, when the questions to which he has referred, such as the appointment of a European resident in the cities of that Sovereign, when those questions are still under consideration, and which at this very moment are the subject of negotiations, the noble duke has thought it proper, referring, as he said, only to the past, to

treat these subjects in a manner-and in a manner which in the present conditions of communication may in twenty-four hours be known in those parts-which certainly may greatly affect the carriage of those negotiations. When I consider these circumstances, when I remember the position of the noble duke, a man of eminence for his ability and so exalted in his position, a man who has more than once been the trusted counsellor of his Sovereign, when I see that such a man as he comes forward, and with a criticism which I will not call malevolent, but which certainly was envenomed, attacks the policy of the Government which at this moment must be being weighed and scanned with the most intense interest abroad, I must say that I am greatly astonished. My Parliamentary experience has not been little, but certainly in the course of that experience I remember no similar instance of a person placed in so high a position adopting the course which the noble duke has thought it right to take.

For the reasons which I gave yesterday I shall certainly not follow the noble duke into the subject to which he has referred. My noble friend, when he addresses your lordships, will find that, although for the moment he may have to sacrifice the gratification of vindicating his personal honour, there are still various matters with respect to Afghanistan to which the noble duke has referred, to which it is necessary for him to allude. I, however, shall not touch upon them. Unfortunately for us, and perhaps still more unfortunately for the noble duke himself, he was not present when the debates in reference to Afghanistan were held. Those of your lordships who were present at those debates can scarcely accept as accurate the picture which the noble duke drew of those discussions. Your lordships have been told by the noble duke that you were obliged to consent to a hurried vote, moved by Her Majesty's Government, who had already committed the country to a certain policy with regard to Afghanistan. Your lordships will recollect that, on the contrary, the subject of the conduct of Her Majesty's Government in reference to Afghanistan was discussed for three nights in this House. Your lordships will also remember that with your indulgence I felt it to be my duty to wind up the