Year: 1876

his troops, as it is recorded and prayed
aloud in these words:-"O mighty general
issimo on high. if it is not Thy will to assist
this day Thy children, the Christians, at
least do not aid these dogs, the Turks, and
Thou wilt see what will please Thee" That
was an age of robust and downright faith,
and the sense of rough old soldier as to the
personal relations between man and the
supernal powers was, perhaps not greatly
different from what it seems to have been
in the fighting before Troy. This age is
somewhat different in that respect but the
sense in which the old soldiers prayer was
truest was in its implicit confidence that the
soldiers of the Cross would give sufficient
account Of Turkey if the case were left to
them--if all powers and agencies beyond
the reach of the soldiers on the battlefield
were set aside; and in that respect the
prayer is as good now as ever Once more
the standards of Christian government are
raised in that same old quarrel; the hereditary
foes Of seven centuries are face to face and
if the agencies that ordinarily interrupt
battles are set aside-if it is left to the SOL
uleTS-tHe Eastern question Will 10 ueH-
nitcly settled in q little while.


Appearances indicate that the case is
likely to be left to the soldiers +; that the
diplomacy which has so often saved the
Ottoman Empire from an impending destiny
has reached the end Of it's rope that the
complications, the contrivances, the needs
of far away nations, are no longer deemed of
more consequence than the salvation of the
tortured Slavic people. Negotiation has
come to an end at Constantinople. 1t could
not we'll do otherwise. Two weeks ago the
Sultan received from the ambassadors at his
of Europe required him to make peace with
his people in revolt, and at the same time he
received memorandum Of the liberties that
he would be required to concede to the Chris
tian people of his Empire. He has up till this
time not accepted those terms. They could
not be kept open indefinitely. He has in
stead proposed other terms which were eva
sions. England had declared that if he did
not accept the terms-which were drawn up
by the British Ministry-that she would
abandon the Sultan to his fate ; and yet,
upon his proposal of other terms, which was
certainly refusal of her terms, England
seems not to have acted on her threat, but
to have urged the other Powers to meet
Turkey half way. 1t is scarcely
credible that the British Ministry
did not perceive the difference for it was
seen Immediately in Rome, in Vienna and
in ST. Petersburg; and the Austrian and
italian governments declined to urge the
acceptance Of the Sultan's terms on Servia
from the distinct perception that they would
be disadvantageous to her, and Russia
pointed out their inadmissibility. Having
undertaken to settle the differences between
the Sultan and his subjects in pursuance Of
the public law of Europe. as found in the
Treaty of Paris, the Powers could not con-
sent to have their propositions regarded in
the light of idle advice to be refused and
scorned.


Hence the next step is Of graver nature,
for their position is that they undertake to
make peace, automatically if they can,
otherwise if they must. The will of six
great Powers is the law of Europe that a
seventh Power must recognize; and if the
seventh Power refuses to act in accordance
with that will it invites and defes the appli-
cation Of force. This, therefore, is the i'm
mediate proceeding by which the war arises
Turkey refuses to accept the terms Of peace
urged upon her by England, Russia, Ger
many, France, Austria and Italy; she
refuses to relinquish her hold upon
some millions Of Christian peoples,
in whose behalf these Powers appeal
to her and Russia, more directly interested
by sympathy in the fate of these millions,
moves at once to rescue them and to exc
cute the will of the combined Powers upon
the contumacious sovereign. That the Sui
tan should put himself in this position
might seem incredible if we did not know
the peculiarities Of his position. But for
our knowledge of the situation at Constan-
tinople, the fact that the Sultan has pur-
sued q course which could only end in q
war with overwhelming odds against him
would be taken as an evidence that he hns
the certainty of support from some other
Power The fact is, however, that the Sui
tan deems it wiser to defy Russia and Aus
tria than the fanatics of his own capital
He would have to face these if he accepted
the peace proposed; rejecting it he keeps on
terms with these and leaves Europe to en-
force its own DEGREES at his expense. This
will only take away from him some prov
inces that the treaty would have made prac-
tically independent. He hopes, at least.
that the storm will have that limit, but this
is far from certain.


Englands position is one Of great diff
Guilty. There never was Ministry placed
in more painful dilemma England pre-
sented the note the rejection of which by
Turkey is the final cause Of the war. 1t
L. c,,,aixat araoinal, In 1acliticn Ger